TALLAHASSEE -- A Florida House committee investigating state Rep. Ray Sansom's conduct voted Thursday to move forward, dismissing requests by Sansom's lawyers for a delay until after his criminal trial.

The five-member Select Committee on Standards of Official Conduct took the advice of its independent counsel, who said it was in the public interest that the investigation go forward. Counsel Melanie Hines also said Sansom's lawyers failed to show that the House inquiry would harm Sansom's right to a fair trial.

Sansom did not attend Thursday's hearing. The former House speaker from Destin is awaiting trial on a charge of perjury stemming from a state grand jury inquiry into his efforts to secure legislative funds for a building at Northwest Florida State College.

A private citizen -- Susan Smith, 59, of Odessa -- filed the complaint against Sansom, accusing him of violating House rules designed to maintain public confidence in the integrity and independence of the legislative process. She alleged Sansom violated a House rule that states that a legislative office ``is a trust to be performed with integrity in the public interest.''

An investigator hired by the House found probable cause in June that Sansom violated House rules by steering $6 million in taxpayer funds for construction of an airport building on the college's Niceville campus.

Sansom's attorney, Stephen Dobson III, urged the committee to delay its work until after Sansom's trial, saying the high level of media coverage of the House investigation could make it difficult to impanel an impartial jury.

The committee, acting on Hines' advice, rejected that idea, saying Sansom's attorneys suggested only the ``potential'' for the House hearing to jeopardize the criminal case.

A state judge has dismissed two of the three criminal charges against Sansom, and State Attorney Willie Meggs is appealing that order. Sansom's attorneys have asked the First District Court of Appeal to dismiss Meggs' appeal, citing a lack of jurisdiction.

The five-member select committee, chaired by Rep. Bill Galvano, R-Bradenton, also approved an expedited timetable for investigating Sansom's conduct. Sansom is required to file a formal answer to the charges by Nov. 15, and both sides will exchange preliminary witness lists by Nov. 20.

All pretrial discovery, such as depositions and document collection, must be completed by Dec. 24. The two sides must file a stipulation on agreed-on facts by Jan. 15, 2010, and the week of Jan. 25-29 has been reserved to hear the case.

The committee's decision could result in exoneration, reprimand or expulsion from the House.

``Being very candid, this is not a pleasant job for any of the members of this panel. It's not why we ran for office. But we have a job to do, and we will do it,'' Galvano said. ``He is entitled to defend himself before this panel, and they are entitled to present witnesses, so we'll see.''

Steve Bousquet can be reached at bousquet@sptimes.com.

Join the discussion

The Miami Herald is pleased to provide this opportunity to share information, experiences and observations about what's in the news. Some of the comments may be reprinted elsewhere in the site or in the newspaper. We encourage lively, open debate on the issues of the day, and ask that you refrain from profanity, hate speech, personal comments and remarks that are off point. In order to post comments, you must be a registered user of MiamiHerald.com. Your username will show along with the comments you post. Thank you for taking the time to offer your thoughts.

     Showing: Oldest first Newest first Most-recommended first Least-recommended first

@Nyx.AuthorDisplayName@ wrote on @Nyx.PostedAtTime@:

@Nyx.repliedToText@

@Nyx.replyAnswerText@

Reply to this Comment @Nyx.Recommender@ @Nyx.AbuseReporter@