Kwame Kilpatrick enlivened the streets of downtown Detroit Wednesday as she showed up for the first day of jury selection in his federal corruption trial.
Detroit’s former mayor was greeted as a celebrity outside the U.S. courthouse.
Immediately there are new concerns about a potential conflict with the former mayor and his attorney.
Kilpatrick raised a conflict of interest issue involving his lawyer, Jim Thomas.
7 Action News reported that Thomas once represented someone who could be called as a witness.
Judge Nancy Edmunds said Kilpatrick had raised the conflict as a problem that could keep the case from going forward with his current legal team.
Thomas isn’t talking about the conflict – other than to say this case will proceed -- with him.
“I’m not withdrawing at this time, and I have no intention of withdrawing,” Thomas told reporters.
The Free Press reported Thomas' Sterling Heights law firm, O'Reilly Rancilio, represents a plaintiff in a $25.5-million lawsuit against Kilpatrick, Ferguson Enterprises and Mercado for sinkhole repair work on 15 Mile Road in Sterling Heights.
Kilpatrick had another surprise: Pieces of masking tape behind his ears.
Thomas told the media -- he didn't want Kilpatrick talking -- the tape holds metal bearings that apply pressure to points behind his ears.
"He's lost 16 pounds," Thomas said.
