Detroit mayor removal hearings delayed

DETROIT, June 5 (UPI) -- Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's possible ouster will be delayed at least three weeks after City Council leaders announced a delay in removal proceedings.

Council President Kenneth Cockrel Jr. wrote a memo Wednesday suggesting forfeiture proceedings be pushed back to July 7 as attorneys draft rules and procedures for the unprecedented process., reported the Detroit News Thursday.

Kilpatrick and his former chief of staff, Christine Beatty, both face federal perjury charges in connection with text messages and their role in a police department scandal. Kilpatrick faces charges including perjury and obstruction of justice. The council's forfeiture proceedings are expected to take about a week with a cost of up to $500,000.

Kilpatrick's attorneys sent a May 27 memo arguing that the council's grounds for forfeiture are "legally deficient." Members only have power to remove him if he's convicted of a felony or lacks qualifications for the job, the attorneys argued. The opinion came in a executive memo vetoing a resolution asking Gov. Jennifer Granholm to remove him, the News said.