Public confidence in the integrity of that system is essential to its long-term effectiveness. Attempting to bribe a judge in search of a favorable judicial outcome is about as ethically reprehensible as it gets.
The federal indictment lays out in excruciating detail, complete with seemingly damning conversational tidbits, a scheme to get Circuit Judge Henry Lackey to rule in the Scruggs’ firm’s favor in a lawsuit filed by a Jackson law firm saying they were stiffed by Scruggs on fees due them for work on Hurricane Katrina cases. All the defendants say they are innocent, but the evidence in the indictment -if it stands – gives the government a strong place to start in its prosecution.
If true, the charges reflect an unconscionable cynicism and abuse of the legal system for personal advantage and financial gain. The allegations outlined in the indictment are not simply personal and individual criminality; they are direct attacks on the integrity and viability of a system that all citizens yearn to believe operates with honesty, fairness and objectivity.
NE Miss Daily Journal Editorial
12/3/7
Magnolia Tribune
