BANGOR – James Tobin will remain free while his appeal is pending before the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston, a three-judge panel ruled Thursday.

Tobin, 45, of Bangor was scheduled to begin serving a federal prison term on June 23 for his part in a phone-jamming scheme more than three years ago in New Hampshire.

In a brief order, appellate Judges Michael Boudin of Boston, Juan R. Torruella of San Juan, Puerto Rico, and Jeffrey R. Howard of Concord, N.H., granted the defense team’s motion that Tobin remain free on bail pending the outcome of his appeal.

“Naturally, our ruling should not be taken as a prediction that the district court is likely to be reversed,” the order said.

The appeal itself is not expected to be heard until next year.

Tobin, his Washington, D.C., legal team and prosecutors declined Friday to comment on the stay.

The longtime Republican strategist was sentenced in April in U.S. District Court in Concord, N.H., to 10 months in federal prison and fined $10,000 after being convicted in December following an eight-day jury trial.

Tobin was found guilty of conspiring to make more than 800 repeated hang-up calls and of aiding and abetting the making of those calls. He was acquitted of the more serious charge of conspiring to deprive New Hampshire residents of their right to vote.

U.S. District Judge Steven J. McAuliffe denied Tobin’s request at sentencing to remain free on bail pending his appeal, saying he did not believe the appeal presented a “substantial question of law or fact.” The appellate court reversed McAuliffe’s decision but did not explain why.

McAuliffe also recommended that Tobin be incarcerated at the federal prison camp in Devens, Mass., but the Bureau of Prisons will decide where Tobin serves his sentence.

Although Tobin was notified of where he was to report, a spokesman for the bureau Friday said the location of the facility would not be public information until Tobin begins serving his sentence.

In the motion for the stay, attorney Tobin J. Romero argued that his client met the requirements to remain free while his appeal is pending. Those requirements are that James Tobin is:

. Not likely to flee.

. Not likely to pose a danger to the safety of others.

. Not appealing to delay the imposition of sentence.

. Raising a substantial question of law or fact in his appeal.

The attorney also argued that if Tobin were required to go to prison next week, he most likely would have completed his sentence by the time the appeal is decided. Most appeals take 12 to 18 months to be ruled on by the appellate court.

Romero works for Williams & Connolly, the Washington, D.C., law firm hired by the Republican National Committee to defend Tobin, who worked for the RNC in 2002 when the phones were jammed. Democrats have criticized Republicans for reportedly paying the law firm $2.8 million for Tobin’s defense.

The RNC has said it stopped paying for Tobin’s defense after his conviction, but the law firm is continuing to represent Tobin in the appeals process.

Tobin, along with the two others convicted in the phone-jamming scheme, also is a defendant in a lawsuit filed by New Hampshire Democrats against the state Republican Party. The civil trial in the case is scheduled to be held in November in Hillsborough County Superior Court in Manchester, N.H.

Charles “Chuck” McGee, 36, of Manchester, N.H., served seven months in federal prison last year. Raymond, 39, of Maryland originally was sentenced to five months in prison. His sentence was reduced to three months after Tobin’s conviction. He was recently released from the Federal Correctional Institute at Loretto, Pa.

Both men testified against Tobin in December.