Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood’s political and business ties to attorneys and a former state auditor charged with judicial bribery merit scrutiny, State Farm insurance companies argue in a federal lawsuit.
A hearing in State Farm v. Hood will reconvene Feb. 6 in Natchez before U.S. District Judge David Bramlette. State Farm sued Hood in September, claiming he has no right to pursue a criminal investigation into the company’s handling of Katrina claims. Hood is asking Bramlette to decline federal jurisdiction, arguing issues involving the state grand jury investigation should be resolved in state court.
State Farm has introduced recent plea agreements in two judicial bribery cases as evidence. Four attorneys and a former state auditor associated with Hood were recently accused of bribing state court judges on behalf of nationally prominent attorney Richard “Dickie” Scruggs.
