Judge to allow testimony of witnesses in Zach Scruggs hearing
OXFORD, MS (AP) – A federal judge says Zach Scruggs can call all the witnesses he wants during an April 25 hearing on Scruggs’ motion to overturn his conviction in a judicial bribery case.
The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal reports U.S. District Judge Neal Biggers issued the order Wednesday.
Zach Scruggs pleaded guilty in 2008 to knowing about a felony and not reporting it. He now claims the U.S. Supreme Court has limited the scope of the honest services fraud statute that was the underlying crime.
Scruggs claims he was convicted of knowing about “earwhigging,” or attempting to influence a judge behind the scenes, not bribery. He says the Supreme Court has limited honest services fraud to bribery and kickback schemes.
AP
3/17/11
Magnolia Tribune
