Bloglander

A federal judge delayed sentencing for Kevin Harpham in a hearing on Wednesday.

Federal judge Justin Quackenbush granted a motion by federal public defender Roger Peven to move the sentencing to Dec. 20. Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Harrington did not contest the motion.

Harpham was supposed to have been sentenced to between 27 and 32 years in prison for planting a pipe bomb along the route of Spokane's annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day parade.

The 37-year-old Addy resident pled guilty in December to attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction and to targeting parade marchers because of their race.

Quackenbush says that the delay was to allow for research into the meaning of "explosive device," which defense attorneys have argued is not spelled out in U.S. Code.

Peven declined to comment after the hearing.