Lawyer scandal: State’s system begs reform

The Clarion-Ledger, 1/15/8

Booneville lawyer Joey Langston’s guilty plea and former State Auditor Steve Patterson agreeing to plead guilty to corruption charges is hammering home a theme begun last year with a judicial bribery scandal that Mississippi’s legal system is in serious need of reform.

In federal court documents, Langston admitted he tried to influence a state judge; Patterson, in a document unsealed Monday, has agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery of an elected official.

Perhaps as shocking as the charges are the tangled relationships and innuendo among lawyers and judges that point to a too-cozy system.