Conrad Black, who at the start of his fraud trial faced the possibility of close to a century behind bars, could be free in just a few weeks if the U.S. Supreme Court grants his application for bail pending a review of his case by the top court.

Black, 64, was convicted of fraud and obstruction of justice by a jury in 2007 and sentenced to a 6 1/2-year prison.

He has been in a Florida jail since March of last year, and his lawyers say he's entitled to his freedom until the top court rules on whether a jury was right to convict him defrauding shareholders.

"By the time this court decides his appeal, Mr. Black will be nearly 66 years old and -- without the appeal bail that he requests -- will have been imprisoned for more than two years," Black's lawyer Miguel Estrada wrote in a submission to the court.

"He understands that if he is released on bail and does not prevail in his appeal the completion of his sentence will have been delayed by several months. He is willing to take the chance of prolonging his punishment, though, because if he does prevail then the time he will have spent in prison between now and such a ruling can never be returned to him."

The trial court in Chicago agreed to bail for former chief financial officer and chartered accountant John Boultbee earlier Thursday on a US$500,000 bond secured by his nephew until the Supreme Court makes a decision.

Since U.S. prosecutors agreed to Boultbee's bail, Estrada said, they should also agree to Black's release.

"The only difference between the two petitioners -- Mr. Black's conviction of a single count of obstruction of justice -- is no reason for a different result," he writes.

"A sentence on the obstruction count, without more, likely would be only 15 months, and with statutory credit for `good time' Mr. Black has already served a sentence of nearly 18 months. He is entitled to bail pending appeal."

No filings can be made for co-defendant Peter Atkinson, who did not take part in the appeal. Mark Kipnis, a former in-house lawyer for Hollinger International Inc., had been sentenced to house arrest and has no need to apply for bail, although he too joined the petition to have the conviction overturned.

Prosecutors confirmed Boultbee's bail, but declined to comment on Black's case until their own submission is filed with the court.

Jacob Frenkel, a former U.S. federal prosecutor who has followed the Black case, said he was not surprised by Black's attempt at bail, but didn't think the bid had much of a chance.

"As rare as a decision by the Supreme Court may be to grant review, the granting of bail is a far more remote possibility," Frenkel said.

"The fact is, he is in a situation where any option he has is worth trying, but this is one that is almost certain to be rejected."

"You cannot fault Conrad Black for taking a shot," Frenkel said.

The Supreme Court agreed to review the case last week and can now either leave the conviction in place, rule that one aspect of the case was flawed, or overturn it entirely.

At issue is the reach of a federal fraud statute that was originally aimed at prosecuting public officials.

The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago upheld the convictions, but the county's appeals courts are divided on the central issue undergirding those convictions.

The defendants aren't expected to make their oral submission until November or December, and a decision won't come until June 2010 -- around the same time Boultbee is scheduled to be released.

"I'm grateful for the courts and the governments co-operating in releasing Mr. Boultbee because, in the event he wins in the Supreme Court, he would have served his sentence otherwise and the victory would have been Pyrrhic," said his lawyer Richard Greenberg.

Black has already served 15 months of his prison sentence at a federal facility in Coleman, Fla.