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Penn State Former President's Case In U.S. Court As Jail Term Looms

SCRANTON, Pa. (AP) -- Former Penn State President Graham Spanier is asking a federal magistrate judge to overturn his conviction, less than a week before he is scheduled to start serving two months in jail.

Spanier was in a Scranton, Pennsylvania, courthouse Thursday as his lawyers argued it violated the U.S. Constitution to convict him under a 2007 law for mishandling a complaint about former assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky showering with a boy in 2001.

Ohio State v Penn State
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA - OCTOBER 27: University President Graham Spanier of the Penn State Nittany Lions watches warmups before the game against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Beaver Stadium on October 27, 2007 in University Park, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Hunter Martin/Getty Images)

The attorney general's office wants U.S. Magistrate Judge Karoline Mehalchick to do what state courts have done and uphold Spanier's misdemeanor conviction for child endangerment.

Mehalchick didn't indicate when she will rule. It's unclear if she might order a new trial or take some other action.

The 70-year-old Spanier was forced out shortly after Sandusky was arrested in 2011 for child molestation.

(© Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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