Confusion, Thy Name Is Non-Compete

We’re back to a full court press on the Black case, and once again, the confusing matter of non-competes reigns. The headline on Paul Waldie’s piece in the Globe reads “Black Trial Zeroes in on ‘Unusual’ Request for Funds,” while the Post’s main news story by Peter Brieger reads “Non-Compete Fees ‘Clever But Not Illegal.’” Meanwhile, the Guardian’s Andrew Clark tried to cut through the fog by pointing out that the prosecution’s slide show helped clarify things:

“A cheque for $2.6m made out to Conrad Black was shown to jurors in the fallen media mogul’s racketeering trial yesterday, in the first physical evidence of the millions allegedly looted by the former Telegraph owner.

Prosecutors projected a giant image of the cheque on to a screen pulled down from the courtroom ceiling as they sought to illustrate that money funneled through a series of complex corporate entities ended up in Lord Black’s hands. Spelt out in long-hand, the amount read ‘two million, six hundred and twelve thousand, five hundred dollars’ and was made out simply to ‘Conrad Black.’”

Ah, that’s better—a giant cheque with Conrad Black’s name on it.

In other news: the Star’s Rick Westhead reports that David Radler was spotted in Chicago, leading to speculation that Radler might go on the stand earlier than expected. Maybe even this week. Maclean’s blogger Mark Steyn and Black biographer Tom Bower get in a pissing match reported on Steyn’s Web site (more on that later). And finally, Ronald Safer, defendant Mark Kipnis’s lawyer, writes a glowing tribute to his adversary and one-time colleague Patrick Fitzgerald in this morning’s Chicago Tribune. Safer’s a former federal prosecutor, and he’s concerned that the Bush administration is politicizing the prosecutorial class in America. Politicizing justice in America? Ce n’est pas vrai.

Non-compete fees ‘clever, but not illegal’: witness [National Post]Radler may testify early [Toronto Star]Witness tells Black trial of instruction to send $2m to peer [Guardian]Prosecutors without politics [Chicago Tribune]Tom Bower Correction Of The Day [Maclean’s]

Image credit: Richard Lam/Canadian Press File Photo