Web Posted: 09/10/2008 12:00 CDT

Guillermo Contreras
San Antonio Express-News

Ted H. Roberts is shielded by the same state law he used to threaten his wife's lovers with legal action if they didn't pay him tens of thousands of dollars, his appellate lawyer argued Tuesday.

But a state prosecutor countered that the civil attorney, convicted by a jury in March 2007 of two theft charges and sentenced to five years in prison, crossed the line by coercing and deceiving two of the four men in claiming that the money would go to a children's charity.

Those are the arguments a judicial panel of the 4th Court of Appeals in San Antonio heard as it mulls whether Roberts' conviction should stand. A ruling is not expected for months. In the meantime, Roberts' law license has been suspended and he remains free on bond.

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