RENO, Nev. – A federal judge in Reno has rejected a motion by "Girls Gone Wild" founder Joe Francis that would have allowed his release from a Nevada jail without fear of being sent to Florida, where he faces charges on filming underage girls during spring break.
U.S. District Judge Brian Sandoval, in a ruling filed late Wednesday, denied arguments by Francis' lawyers, who said a previous ruling by a federal judge in Florida gave the Nevada court jurisdiction over him until after his trial here on tax evasion charges.
Francis, 34, has been jailed for nearly year, caught in a tug-of-war between federal prosecutors in Nevada and state attorneys in Florida, who have a no-bail warrant for his arrest related to the filming of underage girls during spring break in 2003.
In a hearing last week, defense lawyer Fred Atcheson said Francis can meet all but one bail condition set earlier by another judge -- resolving the no-bail warrant out of Panama City, Fla.
Atcheson argued that a ruling last year from a federal judge in Florida essentially gave Nevada preference, and that Sandoval could ensure his continued jurisdiction by limiting Francis' travels to within Nevada.
Sandoval, however, disagreed, saying those arguments were "misplaced."
Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox