Lawyer scandal: State’s system begs reform
Perhaps as shocking as the charges are the tangled relationships and innuendo among lawyers and judges that point to a too-cozy system.
Leading speculation that there could be more shoes to drop is Balducci recorded on tape as saying, “Over the last five or six years there … are bodies buried that … (Scruggs) and I know where … (they) are.”
Names mentioned as involved are among the highest of current and former legal officers, causing widespread concern, cynicism and lack of trust in the legal system.
Some might argue that the indictments prove that the legal system is working.
But so far, the pleas seem more an indictment of Mississippi’s judicial system itself.
The scandal reminds of the FBI’s Operation Pretense sting in the 1980s that saw dozens of county supervisors plead guilty to corruption, leading to county government reform statewide.
Clarion Ledger Editorial
1/15/8
Magnolia Tribune
