DETROIT – Wayne County Judge Leonard Townsend shocked much of his courtroom at Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's arraignment hearing on criminal perjury and obstruction charges Thursday morning by reversing an earlier judge's decision to keep Kilpatrick from attending the upcoming Democratic National Convention.

Saying that Judge Ronald Giles' earlier decision to revoke Kilpatrick's travel privileges and order the mayor to wear an electronic tether was "silly," Townsend angered prosecutors, who demanded a hearing. Kilpatrick spent a night in jail last week after his admission that he traveled to Canada on city business without the court's permission.

He and his ex-chief of staff, Christine Beatty, have both been charged with felonies for allegedly lying under oath last year when they denied having an extra-marital affair and disciplining former cops whose internal investigation may have exposed the romance.
Both Kilpatrick and Beatty pleaded not guilty to all the criminal charges Thursday morning before Townsend unexpectedly raised the topic of the Convention.

Leonard said that Kilpatrick’s attendance at the Convention would not make him a flight risk. "I think the people already know when the Democratic Convention is," the judge said, over Assistant Wayne County Prosecutor Lisa Lindsey's objections. "I don't see what in the world anybody is worried about."

The prosecution argued that Kilpatrick's lawyers discussed no plans of appealing the travel restrictions at the plea hearing and that a separate hearing was necessary. "Two judges already have found that he violated the conditions of his bond," Lindsey said. "... As it relates to any other defendant who violates their bond repeatedly ... you don't say 'You're an important person. ...'"

A spokesman for the prosecutor's office said the office will file an emergency appeal against Townsend's decision today. "We have also contacted the attorney general's office to notify them," said Maria Miller, adding that Townsend's ruling affects separate felony charges of an alleged assault by the mayor on a sheriff's deputy last month.

If the judge's decision sticks, Kilpatrick may not even be welcomed by many Democrats at the Colorado gathering. Some are concerned that any association with Kilpatrick could hurt presidential candidate Barack Obama's chances at winning Michigan in the November general election.