The Clarion-Ledger Editorial, 12/18/8
With the sentencing of disbarred Booneville lawyer Joey Langston on Tuesday, the public would probably wish this was the end of the year-long legal scandal.
But the wheels of justice – that lurched into motion on Nov. 29, 2007, when a federal grand jury indicted one of the nation’s most successful trial lawyers, Richard “Dickie” Scruggs – grind slow.
The continuing scandal may yet spit out more surprises, and careers.
Langston’s three-year prison sentence begins Jan. 15. U.S. District Judge Michael Mills also ordered a $250,000 fine for Langston, who pleaded guilty nearly a year ago to scheming to influence Hinds County Circuit Judge Bobby DeLaughter in another legal fee dispute case involving Scruggs. DeLaughter has maintained his innocence.
Scruggs is serving five years in federal prison for the unrelated judicial bribery case – that started it all – in Lafayette County.
Magnolia Tribune
