Lawyer Who Offered 'Emoji Defense' Wants Insider Trading Conviction Reversed

David Sargent, an attorney and former faculty member at Loyola University Chicago's School of Environmental Sustainability, was indicted on insider trading charges. Prosecutors said Sargent received and used nonpublic information from college friend and Chegg Inc. manager, Christopher Klundt, to earn $110,000 in profit on Chegg stock trades. If you recall, Sargent used an "emoji defense" to claim his innocence, but that didn't seem to work, because he was convicted by a federal jury in mid-January.

Now, about two months later, Sargent is back, pleading with a judge to turn his conviction into an acquittal because Klundt, his co-conspirator, was found innocent of the same crime. Reuters has the details:

[T]he same jury acquitted ... Klundt ... on "the exact same evidence, the exact same charges, and jury instructions that applied the elements of the offenses charged equally to both defendants," Sargent said in a Thursday filing.

Sargent argued that the jury's "inconsistent" verdict merits his own acquittal or at least a new trial, especially because he claims the government's only evidence was circumstantial.

Hmm... we wonder what the emoji-based legal reasoning is for this pleading. Perhaps something like this? ??? Best of luck.

Chicago environmental lawyer seeks to undo insider trading conviction [Reuters]

Earlier: Attorney Indicted On Insider Trading Offers Emoji Defense

Staci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she's worked since 2011. She'd love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.