William Boyland (Photo: Facebook)
You're going to have Assemblyman William Boyland Jr. to kick around a while longer.
Last year, Mr. Boyland was charged with soliciting bribes in order to pay his legal bills in an otherwise unrelated bribery case, but jury selection for this second trial won't begin until July 15th, a federal judge ruled today.
The date of Mr. Boyland's trial next year is significant, as it could affect whether a special or regularly scheduled election occurs to replace him, should he ultimately be found guilty. A special election, which is most likely if Mr. Boyland were to be convicted by early 2014, would result in local party insiders handpicking his replacement, while a normal election would have an open Democratic primary. Mr. Boyland was originally gifted the seat from his father, William Sr., who resigned early in 2003 to trigger that very kind of special election scenario. The senior Boyland himself inherited the seat from his late brother Thomas.
Several other legislators, in addition to Mr. Boyland, have faced serious allegations in recent months, including State Senator Shirley Huntley and Assemblywoman Naomi Rivera. Unlike Ms. Huntley and Ms. Rivera, however, Mr. Boyland was able to survive his September 13th primary challenge, skating by with under 40% of the vote thanks to a wide field of challengers.
Mr. Boyland has steadfastly maintained his innocence.