Guess we know why this US Attorney still has a job...

In a stunning reversal, a federal court of appeals struck down a state worker's fraud conviction that Wisconsin Republicans used in efforts to paint Gov. Jim Doyle's administration as corrupt.

Attorneys on both sides of the case said the three-judge panel likely overruled the trial jury's conviction of former state purchasing officer Georgia Thompson within hours of oral arguments due to a simple lack of evidence....

Michelle Jacobs, a spokesman for U.S. Attorney Steven Biskupic in Milwaukee, said it was difficult to comment without seeing the written decision.

But she agreed it would be difficult to ask the court to rehear the case - the next step for any appeal by prosecutors. That's because the decision appeared to hinge on the facts presented at trial, which wouldn't change, she said.

"We convinced a . . . jury, and we convinced (U.S. District Court Judge Rudolph T.) Randa but I think we're going to see that we didn't convince the three-judge court of appeals," Jacobs said. "I think it's very unlikely that we'll petition for a rehearing."

In a statement, Biskupic himself said simply: "We commend the work of Thompson's lawyers."

Tammy Jones, spokeswoman for the federal prison in Pekin, about 230 miles south of Madison, said Thursday afternoon that Thompson "will be released shortly."

Michael O'Hear, a law professor at Marquette University, said the Court of Appeals decision is unusual.

First, he said appeals court judges typically issue decisions weeks or months after hearing oral arguments, rather than on the same day. Second, instead of ordering a new trial - typically how appeals panels rule in favor of defendants - the judges acquitted Thompson.