Atlanta, GA (WIAT)- The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments this morning in the appeal of former Birmingham Mayor Larry Langford. The hearing lasted about forty minutes in Atlanta. Langford is serving a 15 year sentence on a bribery conviction and was not at the hearing. Langford's attorney Mike Rasmussen is asking the appeals court to throw out the mail fraud counts and grant a new trial on the remaining counts.

Rasmussen contends the trial court judge misapplied or misunderstood certain rules. He says there is no direct evidence of intent by Langford to break the law. Rasmussen also argued that certain parts of Langford's tax returns should have been redacted that dealt with his gambling winnings. He claims the returns were "prejudicial." In addition, Rasmussen told the appeals judges he should have been able to put evidence forth that would have impeached the credibility of one of the government's witnesses.

Throughout the hearing, the appeals judges asked questions about the case. One area the judges focused on was whether Langford sought to conceal fees paid to Bill Blount in county bond deals. Blount plead guilty to the bribery scheme and testified against Langford.

A ruling from the panel of three judges could take weeks or months. CBS 42's Cynthia Gould was in the courtroom for today's hearing. She will have more from Atlanta tonight on the news at 5 & 6pm.