
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, February 5, 1995                   TAG: 9502060070
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B-4   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH                                LENGTH: Short

REVERSAL OF ETHICS CONVICTION ASKED

In asking a judge to set aside a jury's verdict that School Board member Charles W. Vincent violated a state ethics law, his attorney said prosecutors failed to prove Vincent meant to break the law.

A Virginia Beach Circuit Court jury last month convicted Vincent of nine misdemeanor counts for soliciting campaign contributions from businesses seeking school building contracts. The jury recommended a fine of $1,800.

But Judge Thomas Shadrick delayed making the verdict final, citing questions raised by Vincent's attorney, Andrew Sacks.

After the trial, Sacks argued the jury's verdict was improper. For Vincent to be convicted of violating the state Ethics in Public Contracting Act, prosecutors needed to prove he knew about the law and intentionally flouted it, Sacks said.

by CNB