Bulger Girlfriend Greig Files Claim Of Appeal

On Tuesday, Catherine Greig was sentenced to eight years in prison for helping mobster James "Whitey" Bulger elude authorities for 16 years. On Wednesday, her lawyer filed a claim of appeal.

In March, Greig, who's 61 years old, pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to harbor a fugitive, identity fraud and conspiracy to commit identity fraud.

On Wednesday, Greig's attorney, Kevin Reddington, filed this brief claim of appeal:

Now comes the defendant, Catherine Greig, in the above numbered indictment and does hereby claim an appeal of the above captioned conviction to the United States District Court of Appeals.

Reddington could ask the appeals court to review the entire case, and Greig's guilty plea.

However, David Frank, of Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, writes that Greig is unlikely to appeal and "[m]any lawyers, particularly experienced ones like Reddington, will file such a request simply to preserve a defendant’s rights."

He adds:

An appeal here would likely be limited to the question of whether U.S. District Court Judge Douglas Woodlock committed any errors of law in calculating the sentencing guidelines.

As we reported Tuesday, Woodlock calculated the sentence to be between 87 and 108 months, under federal guidelines, before deciding on the eight-year (96-month) sentence.