What we know
Mark Ridley-Thomas was convicted and sentenced to 42 months in prison, but his appeal was still pending after arguments in the Ninth Circuit in November 2024.
Public corruptionAppeal pending
Last updated November 21, 2024
Mark Ridley-Thomas and the long appeal limbo
The veteran LA politician convicted in the USC benefits-for-favors corruption case.
Dateline
LA City Council / LA County / federal appeal in Pasadena - Los Angeles
Editorial note
Compiled by After the Headline from public reporting, court filings, official records, and the sources cited below.
Current status
Mark Ridley-Thomas was convicted and sentenced to 42 months in prison, but his appeal was still pending after arguments in the Ninth Circuit in November 2024.
What's still unclear
The public heard about the conviction and then mostly stopped hearing anything. That silence is part of what makes the case notable.
Deep dive
What happened next
The details most readers never saw once the original coverage cycle moved on.
This is one of those cases that feels over until you actually look at the docket.
Ridley-Thomas was convicted in 2023 in the corruption case involving benefits for his son and support for USC. He was sentenced later that year to 42 months in prison. For a lot of readers, that was the last meaningful headline.
But the appeal kept the story alive. In November 2024, the Ninth Circuit heard arguments on his effort to overturn the conviction. Coverage from that argument made clear there was no immediate ruling from the bench. The practical result is a strange kind of suspended ending: convicted, sentenced, but still in appellate limbo.
That limbo is part of what makes the case notable. Not every follow-up has to resolve the story. Sometimes the payoff is simply clarifying that a supposedly finished scandal is still moving through the system and has not reached its final legal endpoint.
Timeline
Key updates
The sequence of major developments, ordered from newest to oldest.
Update
His appeal was argued before the Ninth Circuit.
Update
He was sentenced to 42 months in prison.
Update
A jury convicted him on multiple corruption-related counts.
Update
Ridley-Thomas was indicted in federal court.
More to read
Related stories
Other follow-ups readers of this story are likely to want next.
Public corruption/Ongoing
John Noguez and the assessor scandal that still is not fully over
It is a near-perfect example of a case many people assume is over until they learn it is still alive.
Read storyPublic corruption/Convicted
Jose Huizar and the LA City Hall corruption case
People remember the raids and the headlines, but many never tracked the case to the guilty plea, sentencing, and prison reporting date.
Read storyPublic corruption/Partially resolved
Post Office Horizon Scandal: Exonerations, Redress, and the Long Search for Accountability
The public broadly knows Horizon was a miscarriage of justice. What many people miss is that redress remains incomplete, some eligible people still have not claimed, and the compensation architecture is still being rebuilt in 2026.
Read storySources
Reporting and records
2 links