was never authorized to draft such letters for Payne, according to court documents. According to the attorney's office, Eyong graduated last month from William Mitchell College of Law, where he served last year as president of the Student Bar Association. Allen Easley, president and dean of William Mitchell, said allowing Eyong to remain a student until his guilt was admitted or proved was simply a matter of principle.
"When someone is charged with a crime, be it state or federal, there is a presumption of innocence until proven guilty," Easley said, adding that charges alone are not enough to subject a student to disciplinary measures. It would be a different matter, Easley said, if Eyong had been convicted while in school or had not disclosed pending charges during his application process. Also, because Eyong likely will be deported before he has a chance to pass the bar exam, "the question of his becoming a lawyer anywhere in the U.
S. is moot," Easley said. According to court documents filed by the government, Eyong arrived at New York's John F.
Kennedy International Airport on a flight from Madrid, Spain, in 1999, and soon after requested asylum in the United States. Eyong and his attorney, a Washington-based public defender, could not be reached for comment Tuesday evening. Officials from the federal prosecutor's office said Eyong had been freed on his own recognizance until his sentencing, which is set for Friday.
The matter will then be turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement for deportation proceedings. Tad Vezner can be reached at tvezner@pioneerpress.com or 651-228-5461.
Return to Top The Pioneer Press is pleased to let readers post comments about an article at the end of the article. Please increase the credibility of your post by including your full name and city when commenting. Please note: It may take several minutes before your comment appears.
was never authorized to draft such letters for Payne, according to court documents.
News RSS