Veteran Los Angeles politician Mark Ridley-Thomas, who was found guilty of fraud and bribery in a corruption scheme involving a USC dean, was granted his plea Thursday to stay out of prison while he appeals his conviction.

Ridley-Thomas was expected to surrender to U.S. Marshals next month and receive a three-year prison sentence. Prior to that, his lawyers had asked the judge this week to release him on bail as he pushes to overturn the verdict before the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.

Prosecutors were expected to fight the motion, but instead the U.S. attorney’s office in LA has struck a deal with the defense, allowing Ridley-Thomas to avoid jail while his appeal to the higher court is pending. In a stipulation filed Thursday, prosecutors wrote that the agreement was made “to expedite the appeals process and obtain final resolution of this matter in a timely manner.”

U.S. District Judge Dale S. Fischer, who presided over Ridley-Thomas’ trial and sentenced him to prison, approved the agreement late Thursday.

According to the timeline, attorneys promised to file their appeals by Jan. 24, according to the stipulation. If the 9th Circuit rules unfavorably, Ridley-Thomas has promised to begin his prison sentence then and not seek any further delay, even if he takes his case to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Defense team member Alyssa D. Bell called prosecutors’ move “a positive step forward,” adding, “It’s a good day for Dr. Ridley Thomas.”

Paul J. Watford, a former 9th Circuit judge who left the court after 11 years and now also represents Ridley-Thomas, said: “Bail pending appeal is not the norm, and so the government’s agreement in this case, in my opinion, the right thing to do.

Some attorneys not involved in the case disputed that prosecutors’ move was unusual since Ridley-Thomas was convicted of white-collar crime, has no criminal history and is not considered a danger to the community or a flight risk.

“There’s nothing particularly alarming, unusual or unethical,” said Stanley Greenberg, a veteran attorney. “The government has an interest in moving the case forward one way or another,” he said, explaining that if an appeals court were to order a new trial, prosecutors would want to limit the delay. “As time passes, witnesses’ memories fade. They would have an interest in getting the case back on track as quickly as possible.”

Lou Shapiro, a criminal defense attorney, said he found the prosecutors’ move unusual but did not see it as a signal from the U.S. attorney’s office that Ridley-Thomas’ arguments were valid.

“I don’t think prosecutors really believe Ridley-Thomas has a chance to appeal,” Shapiro said. “I think they want to make a good gesture to someone who gave his life to the community.”

In their bail request, attorneys had outlined more than a dozen legal issues that they said would be at the center of Ridley-Thomas’ appeal, including that two black women were wrongly accused during the jury selection process.

Prosecutors said Thursday they disputed “the merits of the issues raised” but “did not dispute that the suspect meets the minimum legal threshold necessary” for bail pending the appeal.

Ridley-Thomas was convicted of one count of bribery, conspiracy and honest services fraud and four counts of honest services mail fraud for diverting $100,000 in campaign money through USC to a nonprofit run by his son.

During the trial, prosecutors argued that transferring $100,000 to his son’s nonprofit was part of a broader scheme by Ridley-Thomas to obtain favors from USC’s then-dean of social work on behalf of his son, Sebastian , a former member of the State Assembly. At the time, Sebastian Ridley-Thomas had resigned amid a then-confidential sexual harassment investigation, and prosecutors alleged that the elder Ridley-Thomas wanted USC to provide a “landing spot” that protected the family’s political image.

Defense attorneys disputed that their client wanted to cover up his son’s sexual harassment investigation, saying instead that Sebastian Ridley-Thomas resigned due to medical problems.

The alleged co-conspirator, former USC social work dean Marilyn Flynn, pleaded guilty to one count of bribery. She said in court that she funneled $100,000 through the university because I implicitly understood that Ridley-Thomas would help her set up a meeting with an LA County official who was crucial to securing the renewal of a government contract.

Flynn was sentenced to 18 months of house arrest. Sebastian Ridley-Thomas was never charged in the case.