Ex-media mogul Conrad Black may get early parole

The 7th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Monday granted Black's motion for bail as he appeals his 2007 conviction for fraud and obstruction of justice. The decision came just weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court weakened the "honest services" law that was central to Black's conviction.

"In most criminal cases, courts don't grant bail pending appeal unless there's a likelihood that the conviction will be overturned on all the counts," said Marc Rothenberg, a former federal prosecutor who's now a white collar criminal defense attorney. The same appeals court rejected Black's appeal two years ago.

The Case

Black and three former Hollinger International executives were convicted in 2007 of defrauding shareholders out of $6.1 million. One of the prosecutors' arguments was that Black deprived the company of his faithful services as a corporate officer, breaking the so-called "honest services" law.

Black also was convicted of obstruction of justice after jurors saw a video of him carrying boxes of documents out of his offices, loading them into his car and driving off with them. 

Hollinger International once owned the Chicago Sun-Times, The Daily Telegraph of London, The Jerusalem Post and hundreds of community papers in the U.S. and Canada.