By John Gregory/Illinois Radio Network

CHICAGO – The question of whether political horse trading is the same as a bribe is important enough for the U.S. Supreme Court to decide, according to the attorney for former Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

Typically, the Supreme Court addresses cases where there is a national interest or a lack of consensus among federal courts . Blagojevich attorney Len Goodman believes since this case deals with the definition of public corruption, it meets the Court’s standards.

“There is an ambiguity as to the difference between a request for a campaign contribution, which is generally lawful, and a request for a bribe, which is almost always unlawful,” Goodman said.

Goodman argues that ambiguity allows prosecutors to focus on “people rather than the crimes,” and suggests Blagojevich may have been a target because of his politics.

“He didn’t focus his efforts on the interests on the wealthy and the powerful,” Goodman said.

This would be the last chance for Blagojevich to get more of his convictions dismissed. Five of the counts against him were overturned by the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in July, though the ruling indicated his original 14-year sentence was still justifiable based on the remaining convictions.