The Daytona Beach News-Journal by Frank Fernandez
May 18, 2018
Weeks released on $25K bond pending an appeal
BUNNELL — Former Flagler County elections supervisor Kimberle Weeks was sentenced Friday to 18 months of probation, with the first 30 days to be spent in jail.
But Weeks spent little more than an hour at the Flagler County jail from where she was released at 4:12 p.m. Friday.
Her attorney, Kevin Kulik, convinced the judge to allow Weeks to remain free on $25,000 bail pending appeal of her seven felony convictions for illegally recording conversations, including a telephone conversation with the Florida Secretary of State, who asked for jail time.
Before handing down her sentence, Circuit Judge Margaret Hudson asked Weeks if she wanted to say anything.
“No ma’am,” Weeks said.
Those were the only words she spoke during Friday’s hearing other than talking to her attorney.
In allowing Weeks to remain free while she appeals, Hudson noted that there are legitimate issues to appeal. The case involves crimes committed in a digital age prosecuted with laws from an analog era.
A jury deliberated just less than 2½ hours on April 5 to convict Weeks of seven felonies: six counts of interception of wire communication and one of disclosure of wire communication.
Hudson also ordered Weeks to pay $2,871 for the costs of the investigation, far less than the $33,000 that Assistant State Attorney Jason Lewis had requested, which would have included the wages of employees involved in the investigation.
Weeks’ attorney, Kevin Kulik, argued that it was rare to charge such hourly wages in a criminal case and in the end the judge did not.
Based on state sentencing guidelines, Hudson could only sentence Weeks to prison after making a special written finding that Weeks would present a danger to the public otherwise, Kulik argued in court and in a motion filed Thursday.