Attorneys are discussing what changes are needed to restore confidence in Mississippi’s legal system after five of their own pleaded guilty in a judicial bribery case and a federal judge on the Coast cited several law firms for breaching legal ethics in Katrina insurance cases.
“I can’t imagine anything worse than attempting to bribe a judge,” said Gulfport attorney Donald Dornan, who spoke as a private attorney and serves on a task force the Mississippi Bar recently appointed to improve public confidence in the legal system. “It’s as bad as it gets. We should not sugarcoat it. We should not try to rationalize it or justify it. It is bad.”
He added, “I think when the public sees that we’re cleaning up our own house, that will restore some measure of public confidence.”
The task force members have agreed to speak publicly about their findings through the report they hope to issue by early fall.
Magnolia Tribune
