WASHINGTON, Nov. 7 (UPI) -- A U.S. soldier's lawyer has challenged a military court's cocaine conviction because the judge is also a U.S. senator, and therefore, allegedly not impartial.
The challenge against Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., came from lawyers for Airman 1st Class Charles Lane, who was found guilty by three appellate judges, including Graham.
The New York Times said that in court papers, Lane's lawyers argue "Senator/Judge Graham cannot be an impartial and disinterested judge" because he is "politically accountable to his constituents for anything he does."
Graham rejected Lane's request to recuse himself from the case, his first since being named to the court in the fall of 2003.
The American Civil Liberties Union also says Graham is violating the U.S. Constitution's Incompatibility Clause, which prohibits members of Congress from also holding "an office of the United States," specifically in the executive branch.
