Lawyers want mayor's charges dropped

BALTIMORE, April 21 (UPI) -- Defense attorneys say criminal charges against Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon are based on a misreading of the city's ethics code.

Dixon is accused of four counts of perjury for failing to report gifts, three counts of theft for taking gift cards intended for the needy, three counts of misappropriation and two counts of misconduct in office, The Baltimore Sun reported Tuesday.

The newspaper said court filings show Dixon's lawyers are asking to have the four perjury counts dropped because they're based on a "a fundamental misreading" of the ethics code.

Her legal team said the mayor was not required to report gifts from a prominent developer because the developer was not technically doing business with the city at the time.

The attorneys said Dixon may have violated ethics rules prohibiting a public official from accepting gifts from anyone doing business with the city but that the violation should fall under civil penalty rather than criminal charges.