By Alabama Public Radio
Montgomery, AL – Lawyers for Siegelman and the other defendants had asked U-S Magistrate Charles Coody to step aside. The request came after Coody disclosed that his wife had taught the children of Forrest ``Mac'' Marcato. Marcato was a developer of a highway striping product used by the state Department of Transportation when Siegelman was governor. Prosecutors have accused Siegelman of demanding 250 thousand dollars from Marcato in exchange for state transportation contracts. Coody also told lawyers that his son-in-law, David Brandt, works at HealthSouth. Former HealthSouth C-E-0 Richard Scrushy is also a defendant in the case. Coody issued his order Thursday. He says he found no reason why he could not be impartial. A federal magistrate handles pretrial matters in a case. Siegelman's attorney, Doug Jones, says he expects to appeal Coody's order to U-S District Judge Mark Fuller.