Pollard Wins Appeal to Appeal

JTA Breaking News - June 11, 2004

A federal appeals court is giving Jonathan Pollard a chance to appeal his life sentence.

An American Jew convicted for passing U.S. intelligence secrets to Israel, Pollard will be allowed to present his case to a three-judge panel later this year.

"This is a significant development for Jonathan Pollard, and the effort that we have made to get justice for him," his attorney, Jacques Semmelman, said Thursday. The panel will not decide whether Pollard's sentence was too harsh, but only if Pollard can take the next step in his legal fight.

It also could grant a request from Pollard's lawyers to see partly classified documents used in his 1987 sentencing, which they say they need to rebut government arguments.