Schock case on indefinite hold pending mid-case appeal

PEORIA — As expected, the Aaron Schock federal corruption trial has ground to a halt as the judge on Friday in the case officially vacated the Jan. 22 trial date.

In a two-line text entry, U.S. District Judge Colin Bruce wrote, “pursuant to the Notice of Appeal, the final pretrial and trial dates previously set by this court are hereby VACATED. This court will reset those dates at a later time. All motions currently pending before this court will likewise be held in abeyance until the case is returned at the conclusion of the appellate process.”

On Wednesday, Schock’s attorneys appealed a decision from Bruce a week ago that threw out two charges but left 22 others when he ruled on Schock’s motions to dismiss the case. Schock’s attorneys appealed the order with the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago in the hopes it would either override the judge and toss the case completely or send it back for further review.

Motions to dismiss are a common tool used by defense attorneys to challenge the legal basis of the allegations in an indictment. Granting a motion isn’t necessarily a sign that the charges aren’t valid on their merits. Rather, it’s more about how the charges were filed.

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