OE – Langston pleads guilty in judge bribery attempt

Langston pleads guilty in judge bribery attempt

The lawsuit filed by the Jones firm claims Scruggs is withholding money it claims it was owed for working on Hurricane Katrina insurance-related litigation.

The Jones firm claims it is entitled to 20 percent of the all past attorney fees collected by the Scruggs Katrina Group it was once a part of, before being “frozen out” by Scruggs and the other attorneys in the group who are also listen in suit — the Barrett Law Office, Nutt & McAlister and Lovelace law firms.

Attorney Cal Mayo of Mayo and Mallette Law Firm, representing the Scruggses, argued this morning that allowing Scruggs and Backstrom to testify today would cause an “undue burden” on his clients.

“In six weeks, these defendants are scheduled to go to trial on the exact same allegations that Mr. Tollison wants to put on the table today,” Mayo said.

Mayo claimed that hearing their testimonies today in an open court could prejudice future possible jurors in the criminal case against the Scruggses and Backstrom.

Dickie Scruggs, along with his son, Backstrom, Steven Patterson and Timothy Balducci, were indicted in November on charges of trying to bribe Circuit Court Judge Henry Lackey to get a favorable ruling in the Jones’ law suit. Balducci has pleaded guilty and is cooperating with the government.

Mayo will be asking the court to consider sending the lawsuit to arbitration before being settled in open court.

Oxford Eagle
1/15/8