The Alaska Bar Association went to the state Supreme Court on Thursday seeking to suspend Sen. Ted Stevens' law license on an interim basis, pending completion of his appeals.

But he will be allowed to continue receiving Permanent Fund dividends, a state official said.

Under state bar association rules, a felony conviction is effective as soon as the jury rules, said association counsel Steve Van Goor. On voting rights, in contrast, the state says a conviction is effective only on sentencing.

There's no deadline by which the Supreme Court has to decide such a license challenge, said chief deputy court clerk Lori Wade. Stevens has a right to file legal memoranda in his defense.

Any final decision on Stevens' license would wait until his appeals have been finished.

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