White Collar Crime Prof Blog - Recommended Reading: Kings of Tort
The book gives a fascinating look at the stragegy and tactics employed by Dawson, his colleagues at the U.S. Attorney’s Office, and the FBI. Dawson had to keep the entire investigation secret in a very small legal community where everybody’s business is typically well known. Good luck, good planning, and tough professionalism kept the undercover operation running smoothly, while co-conspirators were confronted and turned one by one. Make no mistake about it, this is an account written from the federal government’s perspective. Yet it offers a unique contemporary glimpse into how a federal public corruption case is built. The subtitle is somewhat misleading, as there is far more about the Scruggs case than the Minor case in the book. I recommend it highly. - White Collar Crime Prof Blog 8/25/2010
Sunrise Rotary Club - Baton Rouge, MS
December 9, 7:20 a.m.
Bocage Racquet Club - Baton Rouge, LA. Both authors will be in attendance.
Vicksburg Rotary Club - Vicksburg, MS
December 2, Noon
Roca Restaurant @ Vicksburg Country Club - Vicksburg, MS. Both authors will be in attendance.
Oxford Rotary Club - Oxford, MS
August 24, Noon
Oxford Univsersity Club - Oxford, MS. Both authors will be in attendance.
Civil Justice Association of California - San Francisco, CA
It Can Happen Here
May 10, 2010
By
John Frith
Categories:
Courts
The California Supreme Court last week heard oral arguments in a case that could lead the state down the wrong path.
The case, County of Santa Clara v. Superior Court, would allow state and county prosecutors to hire private contingency fee lawyers and in all or in part overturn People ex rel. Clancy v. Superior Court, a unanimous ruling from the 1980s that banned such actions due to the unavoidable conflict of interest that arises in such a partnership.
Allowing trial lawyers to prosecute civil cases on the government’s behalf could well open the door to corruption. That’s exactly what occurred in Mississippi in the well-publicized case of trial lawyer Dickie Scruggs.
In today’s Daily Journal, the authors of the authoritative book examining the whole sordid tale, including bribing judges, tell about the rise and fall of Dickie Scruggs. The op-ed by Alan Lange and Tom Dawson - the latter the lead U.S. prosecutor in the Scruggs cases - is available to subscribers only here. In addition, the paper ran a book excerpt that subscribers can find here
For non-subscribers, here’s the opening from the op-ed.
An Unavoidable Conflict of Interest
By Alan Lange and Tom Dawson
“What I call the “magic jurisdiction,” [is] where the judiciary is elected with verdict money. The trial lawyers have established relationships with the judges that are elected; they’re State Court judges; they’re popul[ists]. They’ve got large populations of voters who are in on the deal, they’re getting their [piece] in many cases. And so, it’s a political force in their jurisdiction, and it’s almost impossible to get a fair trial if you’re a defendant in some of these places… These cases are not won in the courtroom. They’re won on the back roads long before the case goes to trial. Any lawyer fresh out of law school can walk in there and win the case, so it doesn’t matter what the evidence or law is.” - Richard F. “Dickie” Scruggs - 2002 Prudential Securities Seminar
What famed plaintiffs’ lawyer Dickie Scruggs didn’t mention at that securities seminar in New York is how he laid the groundwork for these “magic jurisdictions” by getting language slipped into legislation to clear the way for the state of Mississippi to hire him on a contingency fee basis to work on, and profit handsomely from, civil cases filed by the state’s attorney general. This summer, California’s Supreme Court will rule on just such a hiring scheme, presented in County of Santa Clara v. Superior Court, a lawsuit in which the county’s counsel partnered with Bay Area plaintiffs’ lawyers in lead paint litigation.
For more than two decades, California public prosecutors have shunned such private lawyer contracts. Their compass has been the California Supreme Court’s unanimous ruling in People ex rel. Clancy v. Superior Court, a decision based on the unavoidable conflict of interest that arises in such partnering.
Private lawyers exercising the power of the state under contingency fee contracts cannot be expected to act with the same sense of impartiality and always in the public’s interest when their own interests are at stake. This conflict becomes more acute after the initial pursuit decision has been made and issues of settlement versus protracted litigation come into focus. When we allow these inherent self-interest conflicts backed by the power and majesty of the sovereign, we as a society enter very dangerous territory.
These dangers are well-stated in a California District Attorneys Association amicus brief in the Santa Clara case, a brief urging California’s top court to protect the current prohibition despite financing hardships currently facing public prosecutors. Attorneys General around the country are dealing with limited resources, and California’s financial situation poses an obvious temptation to pursue expedient remedies to increase revenues and reduce workload. However, the experience in other states is clear - placing the power of the state in the hands of a few politically-connected lawyers looking for profit is bad policy with potentially disastrous results. Those lawsuits inevitably become political footballs worth tens and sometimes hundreds of millions of dollars in legal fees. That kind of verdict money and the attorney’s fees associated with it invariably become politicized, which in other states has led to corruption.
If California decides to change course and allow these fee agreements, corruption may not immediately ensue. However, it is foreseeable that it could put in motion the law of unintended consequences, which has played out with disastrous results in other states.
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This page contains a single entry by John Frith published on May 10, 2010 12:54 PM.
MS Digital Daily.com - ‘Kings of Tort’ an essential read
http://www.msdigitaldaily.com/3/Lifestyles/CAT5/Kings%20of%20Tort%20Review/1164/default.aspx
‘Kings of Tort’ an essential read
By STAFF REPORTS Joe Lee
Even if you’ve hardly followed Mississippi news and politics over the years, you’ll recognize most of the players in Kings of Tort (Pediment Publishing, 2009). Who hasn’t heard of Pascagoula native Richard F. “Dickie” Scruggs?
For people who describe themselves as “news junkies,” there aren’t that many surprises in this book. But you’ll remember where you were when the events within took place—you’ll at least remember marveling at the newspaper headlines over the years—as name after infamous name pops up and ties together a web of corruption that was decades in the making.
Jackson businessman and blogger Alan Lange (http://www.yallpolitics.com) and former federal prosecutor Tom Dawson have assembled, in chronological order, the events and background which led to the downfall of not only Scruggs and his son, Zack, but fellow attorneys Paul Minor, Tim Balducci, Joey Langston, former State auditor Steve Patterson, former Hinds County District Attorney Ed Peters and former Hinds County Circuit Judge Bobby DeLaughter, who successfully prosecuted Byron De La Beckwith for the murder of Medgar Evers.
Kings of Tort is a story that will make you sad, and mad. Mississippi, despite being last in many things, always leads or is among the states with the most charitable giving per capita. Those numbers are an indication that there are some very generous people in our midst.
There are also some very greedy ones, apparently. Kings of Tort will leave you a bit cynical when you hear trial attorneys talk of helping “the little guy.” It will make you wonder just how many judges out there can be bought off if the price is right.
Was Scruggs, who made untold millions suing the asbestos and tobacco industries, driven more by power than greed in the end? The sum of money that brought him down was a drop in the bucket, one might think. Or was it about absolute control of the judicial process, where he (and other like-minded attorneys) selected industries to filet, created outrage toward those industries, filed lawsuits, bought off judges, handpicked juries, and walked away with incredible sums of money after destroying large companies?
Not surprisingly, Scruggs and his early legal partners fought bitterly in the end over the terms in which they went into business. You might ask yourself why he didn’t settle with them—if so intent on continuing to amass his fortune—and get them out of his life. A few million dollars to Scruggs, at that point, would appear to have been chump change.
But to settle up with his estranged partners, perhaps, would have signaled surrender. It would have meant admitting defeat. That, based on the early picture one might get of Scruggs when reading Kings of Tort, just wasn’t part of the man’s vocabulary.
Kings of Tort is essential reading for those who follow our state’s legal system and have an interest in the way justice is administered. It not only brings together all of the major players in an easy-to-follow chronology, Lange and Dawson make it abundantly clear that the network of legal and judicial corruption in Mississippi ran very deep, like a huge oak with roots that spread far and wide beneath the surface.
Despite the prison sentences, revoked law licenses, and public disgrace for many of the men featured in Kings of Tort, it makes one wonder at what level this type of corruption continues in our state today…and if more high-profile indictments are to follow.
The authors will sign Kings of Tort at Lemuria in Jackson’s Banner Hall on Thursday, March 25 at 5 p.m.
Wyatt Emmerich in the Northside Sun about Judge Henry Lackey and Kings of Tort
In the end, it comes down to the individual
I wrote dozens of editorials, appeared on “60 Minutes,” and was sued for billions by big-time plaintiffs attorneys trying to intimidate me. It was not an easy time. In the end, the Mississippi Legislature passed the fairest tort reform laws in the nation.
As I talked with Mississippi Judge Henry Lackey at the Kings of Tort book signing, I realized a truism about our great country. In the end, it comes down to good people doing the right thing in tough situations. Judge Lackey is one of those people.
I asked Judge Lackey if there was any doubt about what to do. He answered without hesitation. No doubt whatsoever. The minute he realized what was happening, he knew what he had to do.
At first, Lackey didn’t realize he was being bribed. He kept wondering about strange turns of phrases coming from Tim Balducci, the young attorney who was instructed by Dickie Scruggs to bribe the judge.
Then one day, he made the realization. He was being solicited for a bribe. As the solicitations became more direct, there was no more doubt.
Kings of Tort Book Trailer
Greater Jackson Business interview with Alan Lange
GJB interview with Alan Lange, co-author of “Kings Of Tort”
GJB: Your first book, “Kings Of Tort,” was released just a few months ago. What was the first real surprise or shock for you? Holding the actual copy for the first time, reading your first review or watching someone purchase it?
Lange: The biggest surprise for me was the reactions that we got at our signings. I have had literally dozens of people at signings come up and express how much this narrative was needed to bring some closure and perspective to a very complicated series of events. People at these signings regularly relayed to me their experiences that they’ve had with people mentioned in the book that will likely never see the light of day. That confirmed to us that these weren’t just isolated series of events. It’s even more clear to me now that these people featured in the book cut a pretty wide swath across the business, political and legal landscape of Mississippi and have left a lot of damage in their wake.
GJB: Did you tone down any of your personal political convictions to make the book more objective?
Lange: This was not a political work to begin with. We reached out to every single person of any importance in this book and asked them to participate with an interview without any preconditions. With over 200 factual assertions and over a 30 page reference section, my co-author and I made every attempt to lay out what happened as factually as possible. When you do that, you really don’t leave much room to play it any other way than straight down the middle. In the last chapter of the book, we did make an attempt to connect the dots and explain what we thought the narrative actually means, but ultimately, we left it to the readers to decide.
GJB: Most people in Mississippi claim to know the story of Dickie Scruggs, his accomplices and their downfall—why, then, did you deem the book necessary to write in the first place?
Lange: My co-author and I were shocked at the amount of misinformation that was in the public domain throughout the reporting of the story as it happened. The story was simply to complicated to tell in a 90 second TV package or a few column inches of newsprint. A long narrative form was the only way the story could be adequately told. There will be other attempts to tell this story, but we were both convinced that no one would tell the story in a factual way. My only hope is that they follow our example of putting all the information in the public domain and letting the chips fall where they may.
Greater Jackson Business Review - “Kings Of Tort” paints sobering picture, presents riveting rea
The authors, utilizing meticulous research and chronological dilligence, document the events which led to the ultimate undoing of Scruggs and his co-horts. Far from being a monotonous recitation, however, “King of Torts” reads almost like a novel, keeping the reader in suspense in spite of the fact that most are probably very aware of the outcome. Easily read in one sitting, “Kings Of Tort” will elicit anger regardless of your political allegiance. The book’s goal (and it is reached successfully) is to present this tragic situation in an objective light sans political partisanship. All readers will learn a lot from this book; hopefully, it’s popularity will prevent any such travesties from taking place in the future by awakening readers to the depths some men will go to for the promise of fame and fortune in the name of the “public good.”
For their first book, “Kings Of Tort” must be judged a triumph for Lange and Dawson and its rise on the bestseller lists confirms that assesment. Locally, the book has flown off the shelves and Greater Jackson Business predicts national coverage for the book, as well. Surely this book is the best of the season thus far and is mandatory reading—get your copy today.
Former MS GOP Chairman Jim Herring reviews Kings of Tort
When I first heard that “Kings of Tort” was to be published, my initial thought was that the book would simply be bringing up old, painful news that most Mississippians would like to leave in the past, particularly since it dealt with public officials and public figures (and their families) that had been friends and colleagues of many of us. However, after reading the first gripping pages which recounted the actual FBI-wired conversations between attorney Tim Balducci and Dickie Scruggs; and the conversations between Balducci and Dickie’s two young associates (Zach Scruggs and Sidney Backstrum); as well as the account of how the attempted bribery of Judge Henry Lackey actually took place, I knew that “Kings of Tort” was an important work
Lange, who operates one of the largest political websites in the southeast, and Dawson, a 36-year veteran federal prosecutor who served as lead counsel in the investigation and prosecution of the Scruggs cases, have presented us with an important work because their book chronicles several serious attempts to corrupt the judicial system of one of America’s fifty states, and all of these attempts (some of which were successful) were full scale attacks on the rule of law – the glue that holds together our ability to function as a nation.
I strongly recommend “Kings of Tort” as a “must read” for all Americans who are interested in maintaining the rule of law in our great country and do not subscribe to the theory that “the ends justify the means” when attempting to bring about social change or accomplish some otherwise noble goal.
Alan Lange recognized as “Restore Integrity Award” winner
POPULAR’s 2009 year-end “Restore Integrity Award” recipients are as follows:
Public Sector Category:
- Judge Henry L. Lackey for reporting the bribery overture to federal authorities that derailed a seemingly invincible, corrupt segment of the Mississippi legal system led by various “Kings of Torts,” certain powerful lawyers who sullied the noble mission of the plaintiffs’ bar for personal gain.
- Judge Arthur M. Schack for his appropriately strict scrutiny of foreclosure cases before him and corresponding mantra, “(i)f you are going to take away someone’s house, everything should be legal and correct.”
- Judge Arlen Spinner for his bold step of preempting $525,000 in mortgage payments demanded by a California bank “so as to deter it from imposing further mortifying abuse” on a Long Island couple appearing before him in the underlying foreclosure dispute.
Private Sector Category:
- Retired U.S. Chief Deputy Marshal Matthew Fogg for his unique insights and public speaking on America’s failed War On Drugs, contending “(d)rug prohibition helps the U.S. maintain a racial apartheid prison industrial complex.”
- Mr. Alan Lange for his balanced expose´ on the Mississippi judicial bribery and racketeering cases of Paul Minor and Dickie Scruggs, now chronicled and published with Lange’s coauthor as the book “Kings of Tort.”
Grassroots Advocacy Category:
- Captain Dan Hanley of the “Whistleblowing Airline Employees Association” for his relentless advocacy to ultimately keep the skies safe for millions of air travelers, culminating with a recent commitment by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to consider alleged improprieties attendant to the United Airlines Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
Syndicated columnist Sid Salter reviews Kings of Tort
Perhaps no single legal or political scandal in Mississippi history has caused more consistent debate than the almost Shakespearean rise and downfall of trial lawyer Richard “Dickie” Scruggs.
For the better part of two decades, Scruggs was - depending on one’s profession and political predisposition - one of the most respected and reviled trial lawyers in America. Scruggs was the architect of the nation’s tobacco litigation and he and lawyers associated with him amassed a fortune from that and other mass tort litigation.
. . .
In Kings of Tort (Pediment, $27.95), authors Alan Lange and Tom Dawson give readers a chance to see the tape transcripts and documents that led to Scrugg’s downfall and judge for themselves how well the feds made their case.
Dawson, now retired, was the lead federal prosecutor in the Scruggs case. Lange owns the yallpolitics.com blog that served as Ground Zero for new about the Scruggs probe.
Kings of Tort is a must-read for anyone building a serious personal library on Mississippi politics. It is also a cautionary tale about greed, hubris and how money greases the wheels of state politics.
Greenwood Commonwealth - Lawyers’ downfall chronicled in book
Lawyers’ downfall chronicled in book
Alan Lange and Tom Dawson put a lot of work into their new book about the downfall of prominent attorneys Richard “Dickie” Scruggs and Paul Minor, and they encourage readers to draw their own conclusions.
“Here’s what happened. This is what we think about it. Now you make up your own mind,” Lange said Friday at a book signing at Turnrow Book Co. for “Kings of Tort: The True Story of Dickie Scruggs, Paul Minor and Two Decades of Political and Legal Manipulation in Mississippi.”
The Mississippi Press on Gulf Coast book signings
Book delves into Scruggs bribery case and beyond
A new book chronicling one of the largest judicial bribery scandals in U.S. history is out, and its authors will be in Ocean Springs and Pascagoula today to sign and promote it.
“Kings of Tort” is a nonfiction collaboration between Tom Dawson and Alan Lange, focusing on the fall of former Pascagoula attorney Richard “Dickie” Scruggs and his partner in tobacco litigation, Paul Minor.
Scruggs and Minor made millions in defense of clients targeting “big tobacco” companies and others, and both are currently serving prison terms for improperly influencing judges.
Their rise and eventual fall was watched closely by Mississippians and people throughout the nation alike, and “Kings of Tort” serves as the crossroads of pertinent information regarding their cases, and others, according to Lange.
“There’s not a lot of new information, but the larger effort was to connect the dots to information that had only been told in bits and pieces,” said Lange, a Jackson native who founded and operates the Web site Yallpolitics.com.
“You cannot tell this story a few column inches at a time. It’s too complicated.”
Tom Dawson and Bob Norman recieve Director’s Award for Scruggs prosecution
The Department of Justice held its 26th annual Executive Office for United States Attorneys (EOUSA) Director’s Awards Ceremony today, during which 146 award recipients from more than 30 districts were recognized for their dedication to carrying out the Department of Justice’s mission. Among the award recipients, from the Northern District of Mississippi, were Assistant United States Attorney Robert H. Norman and retired First Assistant United States Attorney Thomas W. Dawson who were recognized for their superior performance. Recipients included Assistant United States Attorneys, law enforcement agents, litigation teams and others who have made outstanding contributions in federal, state and local law enforcement.
“These award recipients have been honored for their service and commitment to our country, as well as to their local communities,” said Attorney General Eric Holder. “Each of these dedicated servants has carried out the important mission of the Department of Justice. Their accomplishments have advanced the interests of justice on behalf of the American people.”
Jim M. Greenlee, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Mississippi, reiterating the reasons for the award found in the Awards Program, stated “The Department of Justice recognized ‘Thomas W. Dawson and Bob Norman for their outstanding work on the investigation and prosecution of United States v. Richard “Dickie” Scruggs, et al. Their unparalleled dedication, skill and judgment in this highly sensitive case with national attention resulted in convictions of all defendants. The team performed flawlessly, exhibiting extraordinary performance under pressure while executing tactical and strategic decisions in the successful prosecution that exposed a pattern of attempts to influence the judiciary. Their work has made a lasting positive impact on the Mississippi courts, attorneys and our system of justice.’”
Robert H. Norman is a senior Assistant United States Attorney in the Criminal Division of the Northern District of Mississippi. Norman specializes in difficult criminal litigation including civil rights, capital crimes and sensitive public corruption litigation. He is a career prosecutor, having served for 20 years as an AUSA and before that as an Assistant District Attorney.
Thomas W. Dawson, a seasoned, career prosecutor having served in the Department of Justice for 36 years, retired on January 2, 2009. From 2004 to his retirement, Dawson served as the First Assistant United States Attorney in the Northern District of Mississippi, where his primary duties were to manage the office and its litigation and to handle sensitive and difficult public corruption cases assigned to him by the United States Attorney. Over the course of his career, he has served as trial attorney in the Criminal Division at Main Justice, line AUSA, OCDETF Chief, Senior Litigation Counsel, First Assistant United States Attorney and Associate Independent Counsel. He has prosecuted significant drug, white collar, and public corruption cases among many other types of federal prosecutions.
The extraordinary work of Norman and Dawson was critical to the Department of Justice’s continuing mission to enforce all of our nation’s laws, including prosecuting civil rights violations, gang violence, drug crimes, and especially those laws that protect our vital institutions, such as our system of justice.
Tom Dawson, now retired from the Department of Justice, is the co-author of the recently released book called Kings of Tort documenting the 20 year saga of judicial bribery in Mississippi.
NORTHSIDE SUN - ‘Kings of Tort’ chronicles a sordid chapter
‘Kings of Tort’ chronicles a sordid chapter
In late November of 2007 Alan Lange was running his business in Jackson and, on the side, operating a “blog” – short for weblog, an online journal or an interactive site where readers can post comments – called YallPolitics, which followed political stories in Mississippi. When personnel of the U.S. Attorney’s office and the FBI executed a search warrant on Scruggs’ law office on the Square in Oxford on the morning of November 27, and later that afternoon obtained grand jury indictments of Scruggs, his son, Zach, his law partner, Sidney Backstrom, Tim Balducci, and former State Auditor Steve Patterson, a new – albeit small— cottage industry sprang into existence: blogs devoted to following developments in “the Scruggs case.” On the West Coast, David Rossmiller was operating Insurance Coverage Blog, a site concerning itself with arcane matters of insurance law. When the Scruggs indictment broke, Rossmiller began blogging all Scruggs all the time. In Florida, a leftish lawyer with Mississippi connections, Jan Goodrich, switched her homey blog, which had featured recipes and gardening advice, to mostly covering the Scruggs case. But YallPolitics, being in Mississippi and at the center of the action, became the go-to site for breaking news in the Scruggs case.
Now, after most of the shoes presumably have dropped, Lange and Dawson have come together to produce an authoritative account of the takedown of the King of Torts, appropriately titled Kings of Tort.
Read more . . .
Mississippi Business Journal reviews Kings of Tort
From 2007 to early 2009, dozens of reporters from the newsrooms of the Wall Street Journal, Fortune, the New York Times and many other print and TV organizations traveled to Mississippi for a front-row look at the squalid underbelly of the state’s legal system. Once again, the Magnolia State was dragged into another headline grabbing scandal that was kicked off in its own backyard.
“Kings of Tort,” which hit bookstore shelves Dec. 2, recounts the fast and furious rise and fall of high-profile trial lawyers Richard “Dickie” Scruggs and Paul Minor including the judicial bribery conspiracy that sent both men to federal prison. The 255-page book, penned by Y’allPolitics.com editor Alan Lange and recently retired assistant U.S. attorney Tom Dawson, is billed as “the first and definitive work” that documents the investigations and trials that brought these courtroom giants and many of their cronies to humiliating downfalls.
Lange said that his interest in writing a book about the conspiracy was born out of a desire to break down every intricate detail and offer up a fresh play-by-play account of the events for both the reader and for the historical record. “A lot of what you read about Scruggs or Minor was in a few column inches or TV packages at a time,” Lange said. “No one else would put the history of this together.”
Read more . . . (Subscription Required)
Meridian Star - Definitive book of Dickie Scruggs out soon
Definitive book of Dickie Scruggs out soon
by Brian Livingston
Lange and Dawson conducted extensive research with more than 200 external reference citations to more than 100 different sources documenting the story. Lead author Lange stated, “So much of this story has been reported on in bits and pieces in the media. By putting all of the sources in one place for public review along with the narrative, we allow the readers to decide the truth on this complex story for themselves.”
Lange and Dawson’s research and the vast majority of the book itself is gleaned from published media reports, court documents and interviews from many of the key players. Lange is a businessman from Jackson, and runs the widely acclaimed political Web site, http://www.yallpolitics.com, which focuses on politics and law in Mississippi. Dawson, from Oxford, is a former Assistant U.S. Attorney who retired from his position in early January 2009. His highly decorated career as an Assistant U.S. Attorney and Associate Independent Counsel with the Department of Justice spanned more than three decades and he served under seven presidents. As lead prosecutor on the Scruggs case, Dawson had a bird’s eye view of the largest judicial bribery scandal in Mississippi history.
The book also chronicles the legal bribery story of Scruggs confidante and tobacco lawsuit partner Paul Minor, son of Mississippi political columnist Bill Minor. He was convicted, along with the two judges he improperly influenced, and is currently serving an 11-year prison sentence. Minor is currently fighting his conviction on appeal from prison through his attorney Abbe Lowell, who defended former President Bill Clinton during his impeachment trial.
If you thought back road deals were a thing of the long ago past then “Kings of Tort” will show you how only recently there was a group of attorneys and judges who were spinning vast webs of under-the-table agreements for their financial gains.
John Evans of Lemuria Books reviews Kings of Tort
Kings of Tort: The True Story of Dickie Scruggs
Kings starts in the late 80s and traces Scruggs’ rise and fall path, along the way culprits come and go. Lange and Dawson weave together this story in a compelling fashion to give the reader insight and a clear time line.
Kings reads with all the characteristics of a novel, yet it is not. It seems truthful without too much author grandstanding and personal agenda. Leanly written, without too much flowery embellishment, reading takes on the fast pace of a thriller.
For me, Kings is a cross of Jack Nelson’s fine Terror in the Night and an early Grisham legal thriller.
This is a must-read for inquiring Mississippians.
Review from Madison County Journal
Kings of Tort documents fall
by Brian Perry
. . . Left-wing conspiracies suggest Minor is a political prisoner, prosecuted through a Karl Rove conspiracy in the Bush Justice Department. But this book proves a convincing case for Minor’s guilt (already determined by jury of his peers) and shares the evidence of his attempts to cover-up his misdeeds.
Chapter by chapter the book describes legal intrigue: Joey Langston’s $17 million in fees from the MCI-WorldCom litigation; Scruggs’ push against HMOs; Judge Bobby DeLaughter, Langston and former Hinds District Attorney Ed Peters; the personal and political friendships of these players with Attorney General Jim Hood; and the Hurricane Katrina State Farm litigation that led to yet another fee dispute between Scruggs and a former partner, Johnny Jones of Jackson.
The book describes Jones v Scruggs as the lynchpin case in the mind of Scruggs to protect his financial empire. If he settled or lost Jones, it might weaken his defense in Wilson or Luckey. A loss on those cases would threaten his tobacco fees. He needed a victory when Jones appeared before Judge Henry Lackey and dispatched Balducci to create advantage.
The remainder of the book tells of the investigation, prosecution, and negotiations of Operation Benchmark and the cases generally referred to as Scruggs I and Scruggs II. The book also discloses the questioning of then U.S. Senator Trent Lott by phone and later in person regarding his call to DeLaughter on behalf of Scruggs (Lott’s wife’s brother-in-law), and reveals the thoughts inside the U.S. Attorney’s Office at the announcement of Lott’s retirement - the day before the FBI raided the Scruggs Law Firm’s offices on the square in Oxford.
Legal Newsline - Scruggs book coming Dec. 2
“We were both convinced that there would likely not be a narrative that would put the scandal in the correct historical context,” said Lange, who also runs a legal staffing company.
“Small businesspeople like myself have long suspected that Scruggs was, in fact, telling the truth when he bragged about ‘magic jurisdictions’ that fundamentally lacked fairness for civil defendants.
“I thought it was critical to get the facts out there in context so that everyone could recognize the signs of this corruption and be on guard so it will never happen again.”
Lange and Dawson compiled more than 100 sources like news reports and court documents, and used Dawson’s experience on the case to provide insight into the behind-the-scenes elements of the investigation.
Phoenicia Restaurant - Ocean Springs
December 9, 11 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Phoenicia Restaurant - Ocean Springs, MS. Both authors will be in attendance.
Sun Herald’s Geoff Pender reviews Kings of Tort
Book: ‘I’ll take care of it’ sinks Scruggs
Geoff Pender - Sun Herald
With five words, “I’ll take care of it,” famed asbestos- and tobacco-suing billionaire Mississippi lawyer Dickie Scruggs was “transformed into a felon,” say authors Alan Lange and Tom Dawson in “Kings of Tort,” a nonfiction book set for release on Dec. 2.
The book’s subtitle is ambitious: “The true story of Dickie Scruggs, Paul Minor, and two decades of political and legal manipulation in Mississippi.”
And it is among several — both published and planned, fiction and nonfiction — that attempt to explain the phenomenon that began in the Magnolia State with rural juries and sometimes-questionable judges awarding huge settlements to what would become the state’s mega-wealthy, jet-setting trial lawyer elite. It ended, it would appear, with Scruggs, fellow lawyers including Minor and three judges being sentenced to prison for bribery.
“Kings of Tort” isn’t sensationalized, doesn’t contain any real bombshells and Lange and Dawson don’t claim to have broken much new ground in the “sordid tale of judicial bribery and political intrigue” that has been covered extensively by state and national media for years. But the book is concise, easy to read and explains complex legal and political maneuvers in a way that laypeople can easily follow.
The book, and an accompanying Web site that provides access to all the legal and media sources used, also marks perhaps the best compendium of fact to date on the sordid tale.
Madison County Journal - Grisham’s newest thriller
by Brian Perry
Madison County Journal
The FBI raids the office of a billionaire trial lawyer who brought down Big Tobacco after flipping a cohort in a judicial bribery scheme. His own defense lawyer turns against him when a former district attorney reveals another scheme involving yet another judge. A judge and several attorneys go to prison. That billionaire had previously been a witness in another government investigation that resulted in the jailing of a trial lawyer known as “the judge maker” and two state court judges.
After reading that actual news in Mississippi over the past few years, it is a relief to enjoy the fiction of legal thriller novelist John Grisham. The international best seller and former Mississippi legislator recently released his first collection of short stories, “Ford County,” where he takes us back to the imaginary county in northeast Mississippi that was the setting for “A Time to Kill” for seven tales of Mississippi antics. (In the movie, the setting was Madison County and Canton.)
...
Meanwhile, if you’d rather read about the fall of the billionaire trial lawyer and the judge maker, that true story comes out next month with the release of “Kings of Tort: The true story of Dickie Scruggs, Paul Minor, and two decades of political and legal manipulation in Mississippi” by Y’all Politics blogger Alan Lange and former assistant U.S. Attorney Tom Dawson.
The launch party sponsored by Jackson’s Lemuria Books will be held at the Pinnacle Building in downtown Jackson on Dec. 2, with subsequent signings in Oxford, Hattiesburg, Gulfport, Meridian, Greenwood, and Pass Christian.
LAWANDMORE’s Jane Genova - A book review on Kings of Tort
Greek Chorus on Dickie Scruggs’s Rise/Fall: “Kings of Torts” by Lange, Dawson
Over bourbon and chablis this holiday season, there will be a greek chorus of warnings about how gifted men fall so far. That will be put in play by the new book “Kings of Tort,” a deconstruction of the ascent and crash of good ole boy and plaintiff attorney Dickie Scruggs. Its unique insights come from two authors - Alan Lange and Tom Dawson - also based in Mississippi, where Scruggs ruled.
This account counterbalances the history of the activist law published by conservatives such as Walter Olson of the Manhattan Institute. In books such as “The Rule of Lawyers” and “The Litigation Explosion,” Olson seems to ignore the contributions of plaintiff lawyers to the legal system. Scruggs, as Lange and Dawson point out, pioneered breakthroughs. For example, he brought the class action lawsuit mainstream, made it possible to file suits in state rather than primarily federal jurisdiction, nurtured the care and protection of whistleblowers, and made workplace safety a legal matter.
Of course, all that, just like every other human entity, can be abused. They were. And that happened also as a result of the dark side of Scruggs which emerged. Lange and Dawson point to the downfall as the result of inherent evil. Ironically, according to them, Scruggs and his merry band let loose their evil because they “convinced themselves that the opponent was evil incarnate and the ends justified the means.”
The value this overview of Scruggs and his era adds to the history of litigation in America is that it can be used by current reformers to hedge their arrogance and earnestness with respect for their own possible myopia. There’s a paradigm shift in progress in the business and profession of law, the limits of populism, and how to define success. Every law student, lawyer, policy maker, and parent should have a copy of “Kings of Tort.”
Oxford Enterprise talks about Kings of Tort as first book on scandal to hit bookstores
Two books to cover Dickie Scruggs case
Tom Dawson, one of three federal prosecutors who sat on the other side of the bar in the same Oxford courtroom, teamed up this past June with Alan Lange, a conservative Mississippi legal blogger, to write “Kings of Tort: The True Story of Dickie Scruggs, Paul Minor, and Two Decades of Political and Legal Manipulation in Mississippi,” due out Dec. 2 by Pediment Publishing. Pediment specializes in commemorative publications for newspapers.
Dawson, who has lived and worked in Oxford since 1975, retired from his assistant U.S. attorney position for the Northern District of Mississippi in January. He and Lange hooked up this summer to write the book, the first for both men, and turned in the final copy to Pediment a few weeks ago.
The process moved from start to finish pretty quickly, Dawson said. “You can’t discount the fact that I lived it. It was not something being written by a third party, so it was fresh on my mind.”
Dawson combined his inside perspective with Lange’s compilation of media reports to create a cohesive narrative of the investigation and prosecution.
The timing of the two releases created a bit of a stir in Oxford.
Jerry Mitchell - Upcoming books take look at Scruggs bribery scandal
Upcoming books take look at Scruggs bribery scandal
Jerry Mitchell
The federal investigation into the biggest judicial bribery scandal in Mississippi history is continuing, and an insider’s take on that scandal soon will hit the shelves.
“Kings of Tort: The True Story of Dickie Scruggs, Paul Minor, and Two Decades of Political and Legal Manipulation in Mississippi” by Alan Lange and Tom Dawson is slated for release next month by Pediment Publishing.
Dawson, who retired in January as first assistant U.S. attorney in Oxford, was involved in the undercover federal operation that led to the arrest and guilty pleas of Scruggs and others on corruption charges. Lange is a conservative political commentator for yallpolitics.com.
Patsy Brumfield - NE MS Daily Journal Review
BOOK REVIEW: Scruggs book writers present historic context for downfall
For the rest of the world, which hasn’t hung on every legal moan connected with the judicial scandals surrounding former Mississippi mega-lawyer Richard “Dickie” Scruggs, a new book will offer the history and details on his fall from grace.
“Kings of Tort,” set for release Dec. 2, comes from political blogger Alan Lange of Jackson and retired assistant U.S. Attorney Tom Dawson of Oxford.
Dawson was the lead prosecutor in the first indictment against Scruggs and others for the 2007 attempted bribery of Circuit Judge Henry Lackey of Calhoun City.
Kings of Tort to be released nationwide on December 2nd
The amazing story behind tort magnate Dickie Scruggs’s judicial bribery scandal is presented by Pediment Publishing. Kings of Tort is the authoritative work on documenting this nationally known story and the relatively unknown 25 year history behind it. The book will be made available in retail outlets throughout the country on December 2nd. More Information including advance ordering of the book is available at http://www.kingsoftort.com.
Kings of Tort chronicles the sordid tale of judicial bribery and political intrigue in Mississippi, birthplace of the tobacco litigation and long known as one of the most tort-friendly jurisdictions in the nation. It features the story of Dickie Scruggs, who was largely credited with bringing down Big Tobacco in the early 1990s. From his ascent to a net worth of nearly a billion dollars to his seemingly unfathomable downfall stemming from his role in attempting to corrupt two local judges by improperly influencing the outcome of cases, the book documents how those in Scruggs’s own trusted circle of tort barons turned on him and cooperated with federal authorities. It also shows the political influence he wielded with judges, attorneys general, and even his own brother-in-law, former US Senator Trent Lott.
The Dickie Scruggs judicial bribery case has been covered extensively by the Wall Street Journal, The New Yorker, New York Times, LA Times, The Clarion-Ledger, Sun Herald and dozens of other Mississippi and national media outlets. Scruggs’s story during his meteoric rise through the Big Tobacco litigation was documented on PBS Frontline, ABC’s 20/20, and CBS’s 60 Minutes. Eventually, the 60 Minutes story became the subject of a movie, “The Insider,” featuring Al Pacino and Russell Crowe.
The book also chronicles the legal bribery story of Scruggs confidante and tobacco lawsuit partner Paul Minor, son of Mississippi political columnist Bill Minor. He was convicted, along with the two judges he improperly influenced, and is currently serving an 11 year prison sentence. Minor is currently fighting his conviction on appeal from prison through his attorney Abbe Lowell, who defended former President Bill Clinton during his impeachment trial.
Kings of Tort is an engaging read that examines the power of these tort barons and the unmistakable pattern of how corporate defendants were trapped in what Scruggs called “magic jurisdictions” and subject to coordinated political, criminal and civil pressure to produce enormous settlements. It’s a must read for those interested in the legal profession, politics or just a fascinating human story of greed and hubris.
About the Book
Gleaned from published media reports, court documents and interviews from many of the key players, the book was written by Alan Lange and Tom Dawson. Lange is a businessman from Jackson, Mississippi, and runs the widely acclaimed political website YallPolitics, which focuses on politics and law in Mississippi. Dawson, from Oxford, Mississippi, is a former Assistant US Attorney who retired from his position in early January 2009. His highly decorated career as an Assistant US Attorney and Associate Independent Counsel with the Department of Justice spanned over three decades and he served under seven presidents. As lead prosecutor on the Scruggs case, Dawson had a bird’s eye view of the largest judicial bribery scandal in Mississippi history. (Important Note: Dawson has strictly complied with all state and federal ethics rules in participating in this book including federal rule 6(e) of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure governing the nondisclosure of matters occurring before a grand jury. He did no writing of the book nor had any agreement to write a book while still an employee of the Dept. of Justice.)
Lange and Dawson have conducted extensive research with over 200 external reference citations to over 100 different sources documenting the story. Lead author Alan Lange stated, “So much of this story has been reported on in bits and pieces in the media. By putting all of the sources in one place for public review along with the narrative, we allow the readers to decide the truth on this complex story for themselves.” The entire reference section in the back of the book has been made available for free at the KingsOfTort.com website. This online reference section is fully linkable and takes readers to all of the court records, media reports and book references that documented the various parts of this amazing story.
Books will be available at local bookstores and retailers throughout the Southeast and available nationally through online booksellers on December 2, 2009.
About the Publisher
Pediment publishing is based in Battle Ground, Washington and publishes a wide range of books often partnering with newspapers and other media organizations for non fiction, compilation publications of all types. In 2008, Pediment published “Boo: A Life In Baseball Well Lived” documenting the storied career of Mississippi-born, Boston Red Sox great Boo Ferris. That book was written by Clarion Ledger sports columnist Rick Cleveland with a foreword by best selling author John Grisham. More information about Pediment can be found at http://www.pediment.com.
LAW AND MORE - In Santa’s Bag - “Kings of Tort” by Alan Lange and Tom Dawson
Terrific timing. In bookstores and online by December 2nd, “Kings of Tort” captures the rise and fall of the kingpins of southern law and politics. It is published by Pediment.
Written by Mississippi-based Alan Lange and Tom Dawson, it’s the best-yet authoritative work on imprisoned plaintiff attorney Dick Scruggs and his merry band of other lawyers, judges, and political heavies. Remember it was Scruggs who brought down BigTobacco in the early 1990s. And that led directly to the almost-disaster of lead paint public nuisance litigation - which has moved into the more certain disaster of coal-emissions public nuisance litigation. Think TVA.
Scruggs is a compelling character. In covering how the feds were moving in on him, I asked lawyers: How could this have happened? How does a cunning mind and streetfighter cross the line from doing well by doing good to flamboyantly breaking the law? Plaintiff attorney Bill Marler of Marler Clark Law Firm answered in one word: Greed. Maybe that’s it. Maybe greed was the force which pulled Scruggs across that line that usually separates clever players from jailed ones.
Chapter 20
“Sun Herald roundup.” The Sun Herald, 28 June 2008. Web.
http://yallpolitics.com/index.php/yp/post/sun_herald_roundup/
Mitchell, Jerry, and Paul Quinn. “Younger Scruggs also going to jail.”
The Clarion-Ledger [Jackson, Miss.] 3 July 2008. Web.
http://yallpolitics.com/index.php/yp/post/cl_zach_scruggs_might_appeal/
Brumfield, Patsy. “Zach Scruggs’ stay in Lafayette jail indefinite.”
The Daily Journal [Tupelo]. 3 March 2009. Web.
http://yallpolitics.com/index.php/yp/post/dj_zach_scruggs_stay_in_lafayette_jail_indefinite/
Federal Bureau of Prisons. Federal Bureau of Prisons Web Site. Web.
http://www.bop.gov/iloc2/LocateInmate.jsp
Mitchell, Jerry, and Paul P. Quinn. “Langston sentenced to 3 years in
briberycase.” The Clarion-Ledger[Jackson, Miss.] 16 Dec. 2008. Web.
http://yallpolitics.com/index.php/yp/post/langston_sentenced_to_3_years_in_bribery_case/
Brumfield, Patsy. “Balducci, Patterson draw prison terms in Lackey bribery trial.”
The Daily Journal[Tupelo] 13 Feb. 2009. Web.
http://yallpolitics.com/index.php/yp/post/tim_balducci_and_steve_patterson_both_get_2_years_in_federal_prison_in_dick/
Ibid.
US vs. Wes Teel. Case 07-60748 – Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.
“Walter Teel’s supplemental brief.” YallPolitics. 8 June 2009. Web.
http://yallpolitics.com/index.php/yp/post/walter_teels_supplemental_brief/
US vs. John Whitfield. Case 07-60748 – Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.
“John Whitfield’s Motion for review.” YallPolitics. 8 June 2009. Web.
http://www.yallpolitics.com/images/Minor/WhitfieldMotion072209.pdf
“2 former Miss. judges to report to prison Thursday for bribery.” The
Clarion-Ledger [Jackson, Miss.] 26 Dec. 2007. Web.
http://yallpolitics.com/index.php/yp/post/5913/
Quinn, Paul P. “Scruggs and others sued by former partner.” The
Clarion-Ledger [Jackson, Miss.] 22 May 2009. YallPolitics. Web.
http://yallpolitics.com/index.php/yp/post/quinn_scruggs_and_others_sued_by_derak_wyatt_123_page_complaint_attachments/
Lange, Alan. “YP EXCLUSIVE - Dickie Scruggs former tobacco venture
partners file suit against him alleging fraud.” YallPolitics. 11 Sept. 2009. Web.
http://yallpolitics.com/index.php/yp/post/yp_exclusive_scruggs_former_partners_file_suit_
against_him_alleging_fraud
Olson, Walter. “Mississippi’s Tort King.” The Wall Street Journal 15 Dec.
2007. Manhattan Institute. Web.
http://www.manhattan-institute.org/html/miarticle.htm?id=3387#
Chapter 19
Lange, Alan. “Bobby DeLaughter Plea Agreement and Fact Basis.”
YallPolitics. 30 June 2009. Web.
http://yallpolitics.com/index.php/yp/post/bobby_delaughter_plea_agreement_and_fact_basis/
Freeland, Tom. “Ghosts who turn up at Bobby DeLaughter’s guilty
plea.” NMissCommentor. 30 July 2009. Web.
http://nmisscommentor.com/2009/07/30/ghosts-who-turn-up-at-bobby-delaughters-guilty-plea/
Chapter 18
Quinn, Paul P. “Here are ALL my notes on Langston letters.” Paul
Quinn Blog. 11 Dec. 2008. Web.
http://paulquinn.wordpress.com/2008/12/11/here-are-all-my-notes-on-langston-letters/
U.S. vs. $425,000 in U.S. currency. Case 3:08CV-137 - U.S. District
Court Northern District of Mississippi. 31 Dec. 2008. Verified Complaint for Forfeiture.
http://www.yallpolitics.com/images/Scruggs/PetersForfeiture.pdf
Roberts Wilson et. al. vs. Dickie Scruggs et. al. Case 3:09CV-006 -
U.S. District Court Northern District of Mississippi. 12 Jan. 2009. Complaint.
http://www.yallpolitics.com/images/Scruggs/WilsonvScruggs2.pdf
Quinn, Paul P. “YouTube - Langston Sentencing.mov.”
YouTube. 16 Dec. 2008. Web.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ecSiEdssPtU
Chapter 13
U.S. vs. Joey Langston. Case 3:07-Cr-192 - U.S. District Court Northern District of Mississippi.
7 Jan. 2008. Print. “Transcript of waiver of indictment and entry of plea hearing.”
http://s.wsj.net/public/resources/documents/WSJ_LangstonPleadings_080118.pdf
Freeland, Tom. “The whole Balducci transcript magically appears – and more about Patterson and Balducci’s adventures with Scruggs, Hood, and others.”
Folo. 4 Mar. 2008. Web.
http://www.folo.us/2008/03/04/the-whole-balducci-transcript-magically-appears-and-more-about-patterson-and-balduccis-adventures-with-scruggs-hood-and-others/
Chapter 14
Thomas C. and Pamela McIntosh vs. U.S. Case 1:06-CV-1080
District Court Southern District of Mississippi. 22 Jan. 2008. Print.
“Mike Moore Law Firm’s response to State Farm’s motion to disqualify The Barrett Law office, Nutt and McAlister, The Lovelace Law Firm and The Mike Moore Law Firm”. Folo. Web.
http://folo.files.wordpress.com/2008/01/moore-response-disqualify.pdf
State Farm vs. Hood. 2:07CV-188 US District Court Southern District of Mississippi. Exhibit
http://www.yallpolitics.com/images/SFvHood/KekerEmail012508.pdf
Hester, J. Lawson. State Farm vs. Hood. 2:07CV-188 US District Court Southern District of Mississippi.
Letter to Honorable Michael T. Parker United States District Magistrate Judge. 29 Jan. 2008. YallPolitics. Web.
http://www.yallpolitics.com/images/SFvHood/HesterLetter012908.pdf
State Farm vs. Hood. 2:07CV-188 US District Court Southern District of Mississippi. 30 Jan. 2008.
Plaintiff State Farm’s Bench Memorandum regarding Trial Deposition of Richard “Dickie” Scruggs. YallPolitics. Web.
http://www.yallpolitics.com/images/SFvHood/BenchMemo013008.pdf
State Farm vs. Hood. 2:07CV-188 US District Court Southern District of Mississippi.
6-7 Feb. 2008. Hearing transcript.
http://www.yallpolitics.com/images/SFvHood/HoodHearingTranscript020808.pdf
Salter, Sid. “Hood: Prosecuting Langston, et al, on state charges ‘would be like prosecuting a relative’.”
Clarion-Ledger, 18 Feb. 2008. Web.
http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?category=PluckPersona&U=771196c526a447e6a9ae22047cac674f&plckController=PersonaBlog&plckScript=personaScript&plckElementId=personaDest&plckPersonaPage=BlogViewPost&plckPostId=Blog%3a771196c526a447e6a9ae22047cac674fPost%3a5b2ddf4a-b614-4a4f-b68f-e88c128dd7c8&sid=sitelife.clarionledger.com
Chapter 16
Rossmiller, David. “(Zach) Scruggs Nation, March 4: Zach Scruggs files motion to dismiss charges for alleged government misconduct before grand jury.”
Insurance Coverage Law Blog. 4 Mar. 2008. Web.
http://www.insurancecoverageblog.com/archives/industry-developments-zach-scruggs-nation-march-4-zach-scruggs-files-motion-to-dismiss-charges-for-alleged-government-misconduct-before-grand-jury.html
Brumfield, Patsy. The Daily Journal [Tupelo] 18 Mar. 2008. Print.
Chapter 12
Rossmiller, David. “Scruggs Nation, Day 7: the Implosion.”
Insurance Coverage Law Blog. 2007. Web.
http://www.insurancecoverageblog.com/archives/industry-developmentsscruggs-nation-day-7-the-implosion.html
Rossmiller, David. “Scruggs Nation, Day 8: the scruggsing of Scruggs.”
Insurance Coverage Law Blog. 6 Dec. 2007. Web.
http://www.insurancecoverageblog.com/archives/industry-developments-scruggs-nation-day-8-the-scruggsing-of-scruggs.html
Wall Street Journal Opinion. “The Dickie Scruggs Tapes.”
The Wall Street Journal - WSJ.com. 5 Mar. 2005. Web.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120467794460411893.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
U.S. vs. Dickie Scruggs et. al. Case 3:07-Cr-192 - U.S. District Court Northern District of Mississippi.
11 Feb. 2008. “Scruggs motion and memorandum for a change of venue.”
http://www.yallpolitics.com/images/Scruggs/ScruggsVenueChange.pdf
Lange, Alan. “MSGOP to return Dickie Scruggs Cash.”
YallPolitics. 17 Mar. 2008. Web.
http://www.yallpolitics.com/index.php/yp/post/7169
Lattman, Peter. “Q&A: John Grisham on the Dickie Scruggs Case.”
Wall Street Journal Blogs. 3 Dec. 2007. Web.
http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2007/12/03/the-dickie-scruggs-case-a-qa/
O’Brien, John. “Balducci apparently no longer a SAAG.”
Legal Newsline. 12 Dec. 2007. Web.
http://legalnewsline.com/news/205175-balducci-apparently-no-longer-a-saag
Hor, Johnson. “Reminiscing with John Keker.”
Plaintiff Magazine. Apr. 2009. Web.
http://www.plaintiffmagazine.com/Apr09/Hor_reminiscing%20with%20John%20Keker_Plaintiff%20magazine.pdf
Memmott, A. James. “John Keker too pricey for Barry Bonds.”
Muckety.com. 9 Dec. 2007. Web.
http://news.muckety.com/2007/12/09/john-keker-toopricey-for-barry-bonds/240
Chapter 17
U.S. vs. Dickie Scruggs et. al. Case 3:07-Cr-192 - U.S. District Court
Northern District of Mississippi. “Transcript: Dickie Scruggs sentencing transcript (text version).”
The Sun Herald [Biloxi] 27 June 2008.
http://www.sunherald.com/newsupdates/story/653064.html
Lange, Alan. “reflections on Dickie Scruggs’ Sentencing.” YallPolitics.
29 June 2008. Web.
http://yallpolitics.com/index.php/yp/post/reflections_on_dickie_scruggs_sentencing/
Rizo, Chris. “Attorneys urge probation for Zach Scruggs”
LegalNewsline. 1 July 2008. Web.
http://www.legalnewsline.com/news/213923-attorneys-urgeprobation-for-zach-scruggs
U.S. vs. Dickie Scruggs et. al. Case 3:07-Cr-192 - U.S. District Court
Northern District of Mississippi.” The Zach Scruggs Sentencing Hearing
Transcript courtesy of our friends at FOLO.” YallPolitics. Jackson New
Media, 2 July 2008. Web.
http://yallpolitics.com/index.php/yp/post/text_of_zach_scruggs_sentencing_hearing/
Ibid. P9
Lange, Alan. “YP - Does Mike Moore insult Judge Bigger’s intelligence?”
YallPolitics. 2 July 2008. Web.
http://yallpolitics.com/index.php/yp/post/yp_does_mike_moore_insult_judge_biggers_intelligence/
Mitchell, Jerry, and Paul Quinn. “Younger Scruggs also going to jail.”
The Clarion-Ledger [Jackson, Miss.] 3 July 2008. Web.
http://yallpolitics.com/index.php/yp/post/mike_moore_quote_of_the_year/
Mitchell, Jerry, and Paul Quinn. “Younger Scruggs also going to jail.”
The Clarion-Ledger [Jackson, Miss.] 3 July 2008. Web.
http://yallpolitics.com/index.php/yp/post/cl_zach_scruggs_might_appeal/
Chapter 15
Freeland, Tom. “Weirdest moment at the hearing.”
Folo. 20 Feb. 2008. Web.
http://www.folo.us/2008/02/20/weirdest-moment-at-the-hearing/
U.S. vs. Dickie Scruggs et. al. Case 3:07-CR-192 - U.S. District Court
Northern District of Mississippi. 25 Feb. 2008. Folo. Web
http://www.folo.us/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/us-v-scruggs-motions-balducci-testimony.pdf
Chapter 7
John and Lois Thorton vs. State Farm Casualty Company et. al. Alpha Reporting Corp. 47. Case: CV–06-900071
Mobile County, Al. Circuit Court. 8 July 2008.
http://www.yallpolitics.com/images/Scruggs/QuiTamHardisonDepo072808.pdf
“Hurricane Katrina -.” Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Web.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Katrina
Governor Barbour. remarks of Governor Barbour at the Southern Growth Policies Board.
Governor Haley Barbour Press release. 8 June 2009. Web.
http://www.governorbarbour.com/news/2009/jun/growth.html
“Hurricane Katrina -.” Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Web.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Katrina
“Hurricane Katrina.” United States Department of Health and Human Services. Web.
http://www.hhs.gov/disasters/emergency/naturaldisasters/hurricanes/katrina/index.html
Wileman, Tom. “Social ties bind political elite.”
The Sun Herald [Biloxi] 13 oct. 2002. Print.
Lange, Alan. YallPolitics. Jackson New Media, 7 Feb. 2007. Web.
http://yallpolitics.com/index.php/yp/post/yp_connecting_the_dots_for_the_gallo_show/
Political organization report of Contributions and Expenditures for DAGA.
rep. no. 8872. IRS. Web.
http://forms.irs.gov/politicalOrgsSearch/search/Print.action?formId=28699&formType=E72
Lange, Alan. YallPolitics. Jackson New Media, 7 Feb. 2007. Web.
http://yallpolitics.com/index.php/yp/post/yp_connecting_the_dots_for_the_gallo_show/
Jim Hood Candidate report of 2007 Receipts and Disbursements.
Yall Politics. Web.
http://www.yallpolitics.com/images/Hood/HoodDAGAReport103007.pdf
“Paying for Flood Damage Looms as Big Challenge - WSJ.com.”
The Wall Street Journal - WSJ.com. 8 Sept. 2005. Web.
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB112614167949934797,00.html?mod=home_whats_news_us
State Farm vs. Jim Hood. Hearing Transcript. Case 2:07-CV-188 - U.S.
District Court Southern District of Mississippi. 6 Feb. 2008.
http://www.yallpolitics.com/images/SFvHood/HoodHearingTranscript020808.pdf
“State sues Katrina victims’ insurers.” L.A. Times 16 Sept. 2005. Print.
Jones, Funderburg, Sessums, Peterson and Lee, LLC vs. Dickie Scruggs and Don Barrett et. al. Compliant. Case L-07-135.
Lafayette County, Miss. Circuit Court. 18 Mar. 2007.
http://www.insurancecoverageblog.com/Jones%20v.%20Scruggs%20complaint.pdf
John and Lois Thorton vs. State Farm Casualty Company et. al. Alpha Reporting Corp. 47. Case CV-006-900071
Mobile County, Al. Circuit Court. 8 July 2008.
http://www.insurancecoverageblog.com/Rigsby,%20Hardison%20deposition.pdf
“Dickie Scruggs - FORTUNE Features.”
FORTUNE Features. 2008. Web.
http://features.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/category/dickie-scruggs/
United States ex. rel. vs. State Farm et. al. Motion. Case 1:06-CV-433 -
U.S. District Court Southern District of Mississippi. 28 July 2008.
http://www.insurancecoverageblog.com/Rigsby%20brief%20July%2028%202008.pdf
John and Lois Thorton vs. State Farm Casualty Company et. al. Alpha Reporting Corp. 47. Case CV-006-900071
Mobile County, Al. Circuit Court. 8 July 2008.
http://www.yallpolitics.com/images/Scruggs/QuiTamHardisonDepo072808.pdf
Thomas C. and Pamela McIntosh vs. State Farm Fire and Casualty Company, et al. Case 1:06CV1080
U.S. District Court Southern District of Mississippi. 20 Nov. 2007.
http://www.insurancecoverageblog.com/Kerri%20Rigsby%20dep.%2011-20-07.pdf
Thomas C. and Pamela McIntosh vs. State Farm Fire and Casualty Company, et al. Case 1:06CV1080
Kerri Rigsby Deposition.
U.S. District Court Southern District of Mississippi. 20 Nov. 2007.
http://slabbed.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/rigsby-k-may-1.pdf
Thomas C. and Pamela McIntosh vs. State Farm Fire and Casualty Company, et al. Case 1:06CV1080
U.S. District Court Southern District of Mississippi. 20 Nov. 2007.
http://www.insurancecoverageblog.com/Kerri%20rigsby%20dep.%2011-20-07.pdf
“Anthony DeWitt | Bartimus, Frickleton, Robertson & Gorny” Web.
http://www.bflawfirm.com/Anthony_DeWitt.aspx
United States ex. rel. vs. State Farm et. al. Motion. U.S. District Court
Southern District of Mississippi. 28 July 2008.
http://www.insurancecoverageblog.com/Ex%20rel.%20Rigsby,%20memo%20in%20support%20of%20motion%20to%20disqualify%20counsel.pdf
“Edward “Chip” Robertson, Jr. | Bartimus, Frickleton, Robertson & Gorny” Web.
http://www.bflawfirm.com/Edward_Chip_robertson.aspx
State Farm vs. Jim Hood. Complaint. Case 2:07-CV-188
U.S. District Court Southern District of Mississippi 13 Sept. 2007.
http://www.yallpolitics.com/images/SFvHood/SFComplaint.pdf
“Exclusive: Whistleblowers Say State Farm Cheated Katrina Victims - The Blotter.”
Political Punch. 28 Aug. 2008. Web.
http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/2006/08/state_farm_insi.html
Thomas C. and Pamela McIntosh vs. State Farm Fire and Casualty Company, et al. Case 1:06CV1080
U.S. District Court Southern District of Mississippi. 20 Nov. 2007.
http://www.insurancecoverageblog.com/McIntosh,%20State%20Farm%20reply%20re%20motion%20to%20disqualify.pdf
Thomas C. and Pamela McIntosh vs. State Farm Fire and Casualty Company, et al. Case 1:06CV1080
U.S. District Court Southern District of Mississippi. 08 Jan. 2008
http://www.legalnewsline.com/content/img/f205989/compelmemo.pdf
Freeland, Tom. “Documents in the Alabama US v. Scruggs contempt case provide interesting background.”
Folo. 2008. Web.
http://www.folo.us/2008/02/27/documents-in-the-alabama-us-v-scruggs-contempt-case-provide-interesting-background/
Email to Richard Scruggs from Courtney Schloemer.
http://www.insurancecoverageblog.com/Scruggs%20alabama%20Schoemer%20December%2013%20e-mail.pdf
Freeland, Tom. “First Draft of a Grand Unified Theory: A Chronology of the Katrina and Scruggs cases from mid-2006 to January 2008.”
NMissCommentor. 7 Apr. 2008. Web.
http://www.folo.us/2008/04/07/first-draft-of-a-grand-unified-theory-a-chronology-of-the-katrina-and-scruggs-cases-from-mid-2006-to-january-2008/#comments
Lange, Alan. Lee Harrell Deposition Ties Mike Moore to SKG and Hood’s Criminal Efforts.
YallPolitics. 6 Dec. 2007. Web.
http://www.yallpolitics.com/index.php/yp/post/lee_harrell_deposition_ties_mike_moore_to_skg_and_hoods_criminal_efforts/
Thomas C. and Pamela McIntosh vs. State Farm Fire and Casualty Company, et al. Case 1:06CV1080
U.S. District Court Southern District of Mississippi. 11 June. 2007
http://www.insurancecoverageblog.com/Exh%20B%20to%20SF%20Opp%20to%20Hood%20Mtn%20to%20Clarify%2011062007.pdf
O’Brien, John. “Scruggs allegedly offered sum to influence Hood | Legal-Newsline.”
LegalNewsline. 2007. Web.
http://legalnewsline.com/news/208586-scruggs-allegedlyoffered-sum-to-influence-hood
Freeland, Tom. “Documents in the Alabama US v. Scruggs contempt case provide interesting background.”
Folo. 2008. Web.
http://www.folo.us/2008/02/27/documents-in-the-alabama-us-v-scruggs-contempt-case-provide-interesting-background/
State Farm vs. Jim Hood. Complaint. Case 2:07-CV-188
U.S. District Court Southern District of Mississippi. 13 Sept. 2007.
http://www.yallpolitics.com/images/SFvHood/SFComplaint.pdf
Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood. Attorney General Reaches Settlement with State Farm in State Court Insurance Lawsuit.
MS Attorney General Press Releas. 23 Jan. 2007. Web.
http://www.ago.state.ms.us/images/uploads/forms/settlement.pdf
Lange, Alan. “YP - More dot connecting on Jim Hood and Mike Moore.” YallPolitics. Jackson New Media, 24 Jan. 2008. Web.
http://yallpolitics.com/index.php/yp/post/yp_more_dot_connecting_on_jim_hood_and_mike_moore/
State Farm vs. Jim Hood. Complaint. Case 2:07-CV-188
U.S. District Court Southern District of Mississippi 13 Sept. 2007.
http://www.yallpolitics.com/images/SFvHood/SFComplaint.pdf
Mike Moore Email to State Farm.
YallPolitics
http://www.yallpolitics.com/images/SFvHood/MooreEmail.pdf
“Mississippi Hoods - WSJ.com.”
The Wall Street Journal - WSJ.com. 15 Nov. 2007. Web.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119509103297193644.html
“Scruggs: Dale ‘Is Political Toast In Mississippi’”
WAPT Jackson’s Channel 16. 28 Mar. 2007. Web.
http://www.wapt.com/politics/11406648/detail.html
Chapter 5
Company, Turner Publishing. Prentiss County, Ms. Atlanta: Turner Pub
Co, 2002. Web. P152
http://books.google.com/books?id=NCxb4WfVz6MC&pg=PA152&lpg=PA152&dq=”joey+langston”+bio+joe+ray&source=bl&ots=arcoPrxk2-&sig=8BohoxF3FnzuFruo—fsr75oi6o&hl=en&ei=qqzYSsoMCcKg8AaFzMS3BQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=5&ved=0CBcQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=&f=false
“Jim Hood.” Wikipedia. Web.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Hood
Minor, Bill. “Barbour’s policy almost cost state $97 million.”
QuinLaw.com. 6 Mar. 2005. Web.
http://www.quinlaw.com/inthenews-billminor.html
Lange, Alan. “Hopkins Accuses Hood of Pay For Play - And Provides
His Evidence.” YallPolitics. 25 Sept. 2007. Web.
http://yallpolitics.com/index.php/yp/post/hopkins_accuses_hood_of_pay_for_play_and_provides_his_evidence/
Retention Agreement between Attorney General Jim Hood and Joey Langston in the Worldcom case.
http://www.yallpolitics.com/images/OAGWorldcom.pdf
Salter, Sid. “ Hood downplays Balducci’s role in settlement.”
The Hattiesburg American[Hattiesburg, Miss.] 12 December 2007. Web.
http://www.allbusiness.com/government/elections-politics-campaigns-elections/12064395-1.html
Hipp, Laura. “MS General Fund receives $100 million MCI settlement.”
National State Attorney General Program Columbia Law School 5 (25 May 2005): 3. Web.
http://www.law.columbia.edu/null/Newsletter+200505?exclusive=filemgr.download&file_id=96278&showthumb=0
The State of Mississippi and Phil Bryant vs. The Langston Law Firm, Joseph Langston and Timothy Balducci. Case 251-07-12:58-CIV.
Hinds County Circuit Court. 20 Dec. 2007.
http://www.insurancecoverageblog.com/Bryant%20complaint%20v.%20Langston%20firm.pdf
Minor, Bill. “Barbour’s policy almost cost state $97 million.”
6 Mar. 2005. Web.
http://www.quinlaw.com/inthenews-billminor.html
Scheck, Tom. “How much charity is too much?” MPr. Minnesota
Public radio, Minnesota, 2004. 13 Dec. 2004. Web.
http://news.minnesota.publicradio.org/features/2004/12/13_scheckt_suit/
Phelps Dunbar LLP. Former Attorney General Mike Moore to Join
Phelps Dunbar LLP in Jackson Ms. 1 January 2004. Web.
http://www.phelpsdunbar.com/firm-news/press-release/article/former-attorney-general-mike-moore-to-join-phelps-dunbar-llp-in-jackson-ms-725.html
Connolly, Ceci. “Tax-Exempt Hospitals’ Practices Challenged.”
The Washington Post. 29 Jan. 2005. Web.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A45531-2005Jan28?language=printer
Taylor, Mark. “Beginning of the end? North Mississippi Health Services’ settlement of uninsured billing issues raises questions about future of hospital lawsuits.”
9 Aug. 2004. Web.
http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/gi_0199-5923173/Beginning-of-the-End-North.html
Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood Press release. “Attorney General Jim Hood Intervenes in Charity Hospital Case.”
Medical News Service. 8 June 2004. Web.
http://www.medicalnewsservice.com/ArCHIVE/MNS2446.cfm
The Scruggs Law Firm P.A. “North Mississippi Health Services Fails to Complete Agreement to Provide Charity Care to Uninsured Patients Due to Unwillingness to reform Cronyism; - Uninsured Plaintiffs File Motion to Enforce Court order and Lawsuit Previously Filed Moves Forward Immediately.”
P.R. Newswire, 6 Apr. 2005. Web.
http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-131208774.html
Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood Press release. “Attorney General Jim Hood Intervenes in Charity Hospital Case”.
Medical Newswire. 8 June 2004. Web.
http://www.medicalnewsservice.com/ArCHIVE/MNS2446.cfm
The Scruggs Law Firm P.A. “Largest rural Nonprofit Hospital in America Becomes First to reach Settlement With Uninsureds; - North Mississippi Health Services System Agrees To Provide Charity Care To Uninsured Patients And reinforce Policies related to Collection Practices, Corporate Governance and Conflicts of Interest”.
P.R.Newswire. 5 Aug. 2004. Web.
http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/gi_0199-8913/Largest-rural-Nonprofit-Hospital-in.html
Scheck, Tom. “How much charity is too much?”
MPR. Minnesota Public radio, Minnesota, 2004. 13 Dec. 2004. Web.
http://news.minnesota.publicradio.org/features/2004/12/13_scheckt_suit/
“Nonprofit Hospital Charity Care Litigation.”
Health Care Professional Information Center. 22 Nov. 2004. Web.
http://healthcenter.bna.com/pic2/hc.nsf/id/BNAP-674MLV?openDocument
Beck, Susan. “The Legend of Richard Scruggs: More Myth Than Fact?”
Law.com. 2008. Web.
http://74.125.113.132/search?q=cache:V8LNv5PMMz4J:www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp%3Fid%3D900005560602+langston+scruggs+sulzer&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us
Curriden, Mark. “Some Corporations Enlisting Plaintiffs’ Attorneys in Effort to Avoid Court.”
The Dallas Morning News. 29 Aug. 2001. Web.
http://www.accessmylibrary.com/article-1G1-120874471/some-corporationsenlisting-plaintiffs.html
Chapter 8
“Lampton’s legacy: Integrity, hard work.” YallPolitics. The Sun Herald,
22 Feb. 2009. Web.
http://yallpolitics.com/index.php/yp/post/dunn_lamptons_legacy_integrity_hard_work
Jones, Funderburg, Sessums, Peterson and Lee, LLC vs. Dickie Scruggs and Don Barrett et. al. Case L07-135
Lafayette County, Miss. Circuit Court. 9 July. 2007.
http://www.insurancecoverageblog.com/Jones%20v.%20Scruggs%20defendant’s%20reply%20to%20supp.%20briefing.pdf
Schnugg, Alyssa. “Assistant DA says Lackey’s testimony was true.”
The Oxford Eagle 17 Apr. 2008. Web.
http://yallpolitics.com/index.php/yp/post/folo_in_oxford_eagle_article_moore_throws_patterson_under_the_bus/
Treaster, Joseph B. “A Lawyer Like a Hurricane; Facing off Against Asbestos, Tobacco and Now Home Insurers.”
The New York Times. 16 Mar. 2007.
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9806E6DE1F31F935A25750C0A9619C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=1
Rossmiller, David. “Insurance Coverage Blog: Federal judge requests that U.S. Attorney prosecute Dickie Scruggs for criminal contempt.”
Insurance Coverage Blog. 18 June 2007. Web.
http://www.insurancecoverageblog.com/archives/industry-developments-federal-judge-requests-that-us-attorney-prosecute-dickie-scruggs-for-criminal-contempt.html
E.A. Renfroe & Company vs. Cory rigsby Moran et. al. order. Case 06-AR-1752 - U.S. District Court Northern District of Alabama. 26 July 2007.
http://www.insurancecoverageblog.com/Acker%20order%20appointing%20special%20prosecutors.pdf
“Scruggs Scores Dismissal in Alabama Contempt Case.”
WSJ Blogs – Wall Street Journal. Web.
http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2008/02/29/scruggs-scoresdismissal-in-alabama-contempt-case/
Treaster, Joseph B. “A Lawyer Like a Hurricane; Facing off Against Asbestos, Tobacco and Now Home Insurers.”
The New York Times. 16 Mar. 2007. Web.
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9806E6DE1F31F935A25750C0A9619C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=1
Derek Wyatt vs. Dickie Scruggs et. al. Case L-09-260
Lafayette County, Miss. Circuit Court. 16 Apr. 2009.
http://www.yallpolitics.com/images/SCRUGGS.pdf
Associated Press. “11th Circuit agrees Scruggs contempt charges should be vacated.”
Associated Press. 21 July 2009. Web.
http://yallpolitics.com/index.php/yp/post/11th_circuit_agrees_scruggs_contempt_charges_should_be_vacated/
Freeland, Tom. “First Draft of a Grand Unified Theory: A Chronology of the Katrina and Scruggs cases from mid-2006 to January 2008.”
NMissCommentor. 7 Apr. 2008. Web.
http://www.folo.us/2008/04/07/first-draft-of-a-grand-unified-theory-a-chronology-of-the-katrina-and-scruggs-cases-from-mid-2006-to-january-2008/#comments
Freeland, Tom. “Balducci “lays the corn on the ground,” 9/21, another partial transcript.”
Folo.us. 12 Feb. 2008. Web.
http://www.folo.us/2008/02/12/balducci-lays-the-corn-on-the-ground-921-another-partialtranscript/
“Calhoun City, Mississippi (MS 38916) Detailed Profile.” City Data. Web.
http://www.city-data.com/city/Calhoun-City-Mississippi.html
Freeland, Tom. “Balducci: “This ain’t my first rodeo with Scruggs.” (a 9/27 partial transcript).”
Folo.us. 12 Feb. 2008. Web.
http://www.folo.us/2008/02/12/balducci-this-aint-my-first-rodeo-with-scruggs-a-927-partial-transcript/
Freeland, Tom. “Patterson and Balducci talk about P.L. Blake (from the transcripts, 9/27).” Folo. 13 Feb. 2008. Web.
http://www.folo.us/2008/02/13/patterson-and-balducci-talk-about-pl-blake-from-the-transcripts-927/
U.S. vs. Steven Patterson. Case 3:07-Cr-192
U.S. District Court Northern District of Mississippi. Transcript.15 Jan. 2008. P5
http://www.insurancecoverageblog.com/Patterson%20plea%20agreement%20hearing.pdf
Grand Jury Testimony of Timothy Balducci. Case 3:07-Cr-192
U.S.District Court Northern District of Mississippi. 27 Nov. 2007.
http://www.folo.us/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/us-v-scruggs-balducci-grand-jury-testimony-complete.pdf
Chapter 11
Boyer, Peter. “The Bribe.”
The New Yorker. 19 May 2008. Print.
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/05/19/080519fa_fact_boyer?currentPage=all
Chapter 10
No external citations in this chapter.
Chapter 9
U.S. vs. Dickie Scruggs et. al. Delaney, William. Case 3:07-Cr-192
U.S. District Court Northern District of Mississippi. “Wired conversation between Tim Balducci and Judge Henry Lackey”. 2007.
Exhibits. FBI, Calhoun City, Miss. Insurance Coverage Blog. Web.
http://www.insurancecoverageblog.com/Exhibits%2031-37.pdf
Freeland, Tom. “A Narrative of the Bribery Case, Pt. 4: 9/24-10/10, Balducci, Lackey and Patterson.”
Folo. 16 Feb. 2008. Web.
http://www.folo.us/2008/02/16/narrative-of-the-judicial-bribery-case-pt-4-924-1010-balducci-lackey-and-patterson/
U.S. vs. Dickie Scruggs et. al. Delaney, William. Case 3:07-CR-192
U.S. District Court Northern District of Mississippi. “Wired conversation between Tim Balducci and Judge Henry Lackey”. 2007.
Exhibits. FBI, Calhoun City, Miss. Insurance Coverage Blog. Web.
http://www.insurancecoverageblog.com/Exhibits%2011-20.pdf
U.S. vs. Dickie Scruggs et. al. Delaney, William. Case 3:07-Cr-192
U.S. District Court Northern District of Mississippi. “Wired conversation between Tim Balducci and Judge Henry Lackey”. 2007.
Exhibits. FBI, Calhoun City, Miss. Insurance Coverage Blog. Web.
http://www.insurancecoverageblog.com/Exhibits%2021-30.pdf
Rossmiller, David. “Insurance Coverage Blog: Scruggs Nation, February 12: the sweet potatoes edition.”
Insurance Coverage Blog. 12 Feb. 2009. Web.
http://www.insurancecoverageblog.com/archives/industry-developmentsscruggs-nationfebruary-12-the-sweet-potatoes-edition.html
H.R. rep. 110th Congress (2008). Allegations of Selective Prosecution in our Federal Criminal Justice System.
United States of House of representatives Committee on the Judiciary Majority Staff. Prepared for Chairman John Conyers, Jr.
http://judiciary.house.gov/hearings/pdf/SelProsreport080417.pdf
Freeland, Tom. “A Narrative of the Bribery Case, Part 5: Balducci,Patterson, Lackey, 10/18-10/31.”
Folo. 17 Feb. 2007. Web.
http://www.folo.us/2008/02/17/a-narrative-of-the-bribery-case-part-5-balducci-pattersonlackey-1018-1031/
Grand Jury Testimony of Timothy Balducci. Case 3:07-Cr-192
U.S. District Court Northern District of Mississippi. 27 Nov. 2007.
http://www.yallpolitics.com/images/Scruggs/BalducciGJTestimony.pdf
Lange, Alan. “YP - FBI transcript excerpts that show Zach Scruggs knew about the Lackey order.”
YallPolitics. 18 Mar. 2008. Web.
http://yallpolitics.com/index.php/yp/post/yp_fbi_transcript_excerpts_that_show_zach_scruggs_knew_about_the_lackey_ord/
U.S. vs. Dickie Scruggs et. al. Case 3:07-Cr-192
U.S. District Court Northern District of Mississippi. 19 Feb. 2008.
Consensually recorded conversation between Tim Balducci, Sidney Backstrom, Zach Scruggs and Dickie Scruggs. 1 Nov. 2007.
http://www.yallpolitics.com/images/Scruggs/Wiretaps2.pdf
Ibid.
Eaton Corp. vs. Jeff Frisby et. al. Case 04-000642 - Hinds County
Circuit Court. Timothy Balducci’s deposition testimony. Clarion-Ledger. Print.
http://www.clarionledger.com/assets/pdf/D0138483713.PDF
Chapter 6
Alwyn Luckey vs. Dickie Scruggs et. al. Trial transcript. 1:05 CV-089.
U.S. District Court Northern District of Mississippi. 8 June 2005.
http://www.insurancecoverageblog.com/Luckey%20trial%20transcript%20pages%20465-550.pdf
Insurance Coverage Blog. Correspondence between Tim Balducci and Steve Livingston. 2008.
http://www.insurancecoverageblog.com/patterson%20letter%20re%20practice%20of%20law.pdf
Mitchell, Jerry. “Documents allege judge’s e-mail tipped Scruggs’ attorney.”
The Clarion-Ledger.18 January 2008. Web.
http://74.125.113.132/search?q=cache:Mn1a-iDOas0J:www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article%3FAID%3D/20080118/NEWS/801180370+Documents+allege+judge%E2%80%99s+e-mail+tipped+Scruggs%E2%80%99+attorney&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us
Rossmiller, David. “Scruggs Nation, March 7: the Wilson case lives.”
Insurance Coverage Blog. 7 Mar. 2008. Web.
http://www.insurancecoverageblog.com/archives/industry-developments-scruggs-nation-march-7-the-wilson-case-lives.html
Freeland, Tom. “Frisby defendants state their version of what the Eaton plaintiffs, Peters, and Judge DeLaughter did.”
NMissCommentor. 1 Sept. 2009. Web.
http://nmisscommentor.com/2009/09/01/frisby-defendants-state-their-version-of-what-the-eaton-defendants-peters-and-judge-delaughter-did/
Chapter 4
Olson, Walter. “October 2002 archives, part 1.”
Overlawyered. Oct. 2002. Web.
http://overlawyered.com/early-years/october-2002-archives-part-1/#1009a
“Judicial Campaigns and Elections - Mississippi.”
Judicial Selection in the States. Web.
http://www.judicialselection.us/judicial_selection/campaigns_and_elections/campaign_financing.cfm?state=MS.
Lange, Alan. “The John Grisham Connection to Dickie Scruggs - Political Cash.”
YallPolitics. 17 Jan. 2008. Web.
http://www.yallpolitics.com/index.php/yp/post/6217/
“Oliver Diaz”
Judgepedia. Web.
http://judgepedia.org/index.php/oliver_Diaz
Gov. Musgrove’s office. Governor. Governor Musgrove Appoints Oliver E. Diaz, Jr. to Mississippi Supreme Court. 2000
MS Department of Archives & History.
http://mdah.state.ms.us/arrec/digital_archives/musgrove/pdfs/3586.pdf.
“Keith Starrett.”
Judgepedia. MediaWiki. Web.
http://judgepedia.org/index.php/Keith_Starrett.
“Scruggs’ explanation for the Diaz loan.”
The Clarion-Ledger [Jackson,Miss.] 17 Aug. 2003. Web.
http://www.votelaw.com/blog/archives/000839.html
Mississippi Secretary of State. Election and Finance.
Authorized Judicial Political Committee’s report of receipts and Disbursements. Nov. 2000. Page 7.
http://www.yallpolitics.com/images/DiazCampaignp7.pdf
Mississippi Secretary of State. Election and Finance.
Authorized Judicial Political Committee’s report of receipts and Disbursements. Jan. 2001. Page 11
http://www.yallpolitics.com/images/DiazCampaign2.0-p11.pdf
Alexandrovna, Larisa. “Mississippi Justice: Bush US Attorney targeted my wife, supporters and friends.”
The Raw Story. 9 Apr. 2009. Web.
http://www.rawstory.com/news/2008/Diaz_placeholder_0408.html.
Musgrave, Beth, Margaret Baker, and Tom Wileman. “Three Coast judges indicted; Minor charged with racketeering.”
The Sun Herald, 26 July 2003. Web.
http://www.mississippiwebsite.com/judicialscandals.htm
Olson, Walter. “October 2002 archives, part 1.”
Overlawyered. oct. 2002. Web.
http://overlawyered.com/early-years/october-2002-archives-part-1/#1009a
Musgrave, Beth, Tom Wileman, and Margaret Baker. “Web of Connections.”
The Sun Herald [Biloxi] 8 June 2003: A1. Web.
http://www.nrsc.org/nrscwebimages/2008citations/ronniemusgrove/20030608_SunHerald.pdf
Lee, Anita. “The Invincible Man.”
The Sun Herald [Biloxi] 30 Mar. 2008: A1. Web.
http://www.instituteforlegalreform.org/component/ilr_news/30/article/I4066314134.html
Mitchell, Jerry. “Indicted Diaz pleads ‘absolutely not guilty’”
The Clarion-Ledger [Jackson, Miss.] 7 Aug. 2003. Web.
http://tulanelink.com/tulanelink/diaz_box.htm
United States vs. Paul Minor, Walter Teel and John Whitfield appeal. Case 07-60748, 07-60751, 07-60774
Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.
http://www.yallpolitics.com/images/Minor/MinorAppeal.pdf
United States vs. Paul Minor, Walter Teel and John Whitfield appeal. Case 07-60748, 07-60751, 07-60774
Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.
http://www.yallpolitics.com/images/Minor/MinorAppeal.pdf
Profile of Wayne Drinkwater. Bradley Arant rose & White LLP. Web.
http://www.bradleyarant.com/attorney_prof.php?id=50165
United States vs. Paul Minor, Walter Teel and John Whitfield appeal. Case 07-60748, 07-60751, 07-60774
Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.
http://www.yallpolitics.com/images/Minor/MinorAppeal.pdf
Olson, Walter. “Update: Miss. judge’s wife may cooperate with prosecutors.”
Overlawyered. 30 April 2005. Web.
http://overlawyered.com/2005/04/update-miss-judges-wife-may-cooperatewith-prosecutors/
“Profile of Abbe D. Lowell.” McDermott Will & Emery. Web.
http://www.mwe.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/bios.detail/object_id/4f563be6-81da-40cc-ad34-831caffa49ec.cfm
U.S. vs. Paul Minor. No: 07-60751.
Fifth District U.S. Court of Appeals. 6 Apr. 2009.
http://www.yallpolitics.com/images/Minor/MinorMotion040609.pdf
“MFEP asks for investigation of campaign finance violations revealed in Diaz trial.”
Reporter Mississippi Manufacturers Association 8 (2005): 9.
http://www.mma-web.org/files/newsletter/reporter%20%208-05.pdf
“Progress in the Paul Minor Case?”
Legal Schnauzer. 20 June 2008. Web.
http://legalschnauzer.blogspot.com/2008/06/progress-in-paul-minor-case.html
Olson, Walter. “Show of Minor support is major.”
Overlawyered. 11 Aug. 2005. Web.
http://overlawyered.com/2005/08/show-of-minor-support-is-major/
U.S. vs. Paul Minor et. al. U.S. District Court Southern District of Mississippi. 30 Nov. 2005.
http://www.yallpolitics.com/images/Scruggs/MinorCupitTestimony.pdf
Musgrave, Beth, Tom Wileman, and Margaret Baker. “Web of Connections.”
The Sun Herald [Biloxi] 8 June 2003: A1. Web.
http://www.nrsc.org/nrscwebimages/2008citations/ronniemusgrove/20030608_SunHerald.pdf
“Attorneys say Minor asked for checks.”
The Sun Herald 10 June 2005. Web.
http://www.votelaw.com/blog/archives/003130.html
Lee, Anita. “Virginia attorney testifies he received ‘Mississippi shakedown’ from colleague.”
The Sun Herald [Biloxi] 8 June 2005. Web.
http://www.accessmylibrary.com/article-1G1-133118275/virginia-attorney-testifies-he.html
Brister, Davis. “Judicial Bribery Trial Heats Up.”
WLBT. Jackson, Miss., 9 June 2005. Web.
http://www.wlbt.com/global/story.asp?s=3456050&ClientType=Printable
“Secretary Testifies Repaid Loan Was Reimbursed By Attorney.”
WAPT, Jackson, Miss., 7 June 2005. 7 June 2005. Web.
http://www.wapt.com/news/4580103/detail.html
“More Testimony Heard in Bribery Trial.”
WLBT, Jackson, Miss., 7 June 2005. Web.
http://www.wlbt.com/global/story.asp?s=3444830&ClientType=Printable
United States vs. Paul Minor, Walter Teel and John Whitfield appeal. Case 07-60748, 07-60751, 07-60774
Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.
http://www.folo.us/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/paul-minor-v-us-brief.pdf
Olson, Walter. “Jury acquits Diaz, other charges unresolved.”
Overlawyered. 12 Aug. 2005. Web.
http://overlawyered.com/2005/08/jury-acquits-diaz-other-charges-unresolved/
Olson, Walter. “Mississippi verdict aftermath.”
Overlawyered. 15 Aug. 2005. Web.
http://overlawyered.com/2005/08/mississippi-verdict-aftermath/
Paul Minor public drunk incident report. YallPolitics. Web.
http://www.yallpolitics.com/images/Scruggs/MinorGreatGuy.JPG
U.S. vs. Paul Minor et. al. Case 3:03-Cr-120
U.S. District Court Southern District of Mississippi. 30 Nov. 2005.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/17916576/Minor-Memo
U.S. vs. Paul Minor et. al. Case 3:03-Cr-120
U.S. District Court Southern District of Mississippi. 30 Nov. 2005.
http://www.yallpolitics.com/images/Scruggs/MinorCOPAC.pdf
Olson, Walter. “Mississippi judicial bribery retrial.”
Overlawyered. 26 Feb. 2007. Web.
http://overlawyered.com/2007/02/mississippi-judicial-bribery-retrial/
Olson, Walter. “Paul Minor retrial, cont’d.”
Overlawyered. 16 Mar. 2007. Web.
http://overlawyered.com/2007/03/paul-minor-retrial-contd/
“Gulf Coast lawyer Paul Minor gets 11 years in prison for bribing Miss. judges.”
The Natchez Democrat. The Associated Press, 7 Sept. 2007. Web.
http://www.natchezdemocrat.com/news/2007/sep/07/gulf-coast-lawyer-paul-minor-gets-11-years-prison-/
Cohen, Adam. “The United States Attorneys Scandal Comes to Mississippi.”
The New York Times. 11 Oct. 2007. Web.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/11/opinion/11thu3.html?_r=1
Chapter 3
Orey, Michael. Assuming the Risk. Boston: Little, Brown, and Co., 1999.
P21, 27, 24, 147-159, 181, 186, 197, 201
Moore, Michael. “Inside the Tobacco Deal.” Interview by Lowell Bergman.
Frontline. PBS. 1998.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/settlement/interviews/moore.html
Zegart, Dan. Civil Warriors The Legal Siege on the Tobacco Industry.
New York: Delacorte, 2000. Print. P34, 132, 134-136
Orey, Michael. Assuming the Risk. Boston: Little, Brown, and Co., 1999.
P212
U.S. vs. Paul Minor, John Whitfield, Oliver Diaz, Jennifer Diaz, Walter Teel.
U.S. District Court Southern District of Mississippi. 12 Jan. 2004. Print.
http://judiciary.house.gov/hearings/pdf/MinorMotion071023.pdf
Bergman, Lowell, and Neil Docherty. “Inside The Tobacco Deal”.”
Frontline. PBS. 1998. Television.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/settlement/etc/script.html
Mike Moore, Attorney General for Mississippi vs. American Tobacco et. al. Chancery Court, Case 1994-0429
Jackson County Chancery Court Mississippi. 23 May 1994. Print.
Schwartz, Nelson D. “The Legal Trial in a Delta Drama.”
The New York Times. 20 Jan. 2008. Web.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/20/business/20blake.html?pagewanted=4&_r=2.
Parloff, Roger. “Dickie Scruggs - Fortune Features.”
Fortune website. 2008. Web.
http://features.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/category/dickie-scruggs/page/2/
Schwartz, Nelson D. “The Legal Trial in a Delta Drama.”
The New York Times. 20 Jan. 2008. Web.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/20/business/20blake.html?pagewanted=4&_r=2
Moore, Michael. “Inside the Tobacco Deal.” Interview by Lowell Bergman.
Frontline. PBS. 1998.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/settlement/interviews/moore.html
Jim Hood, Attorney General for Mississippi; The Partnership for a Healthy Mississippi vs. State of Mississippi Division of Medicaid. Case
2006-SA-1088
Mississippi Supreme Court. 30 May 2006. Print.
http://www.mssc.state.ms.us/Images/opinions/Co41342.pdf
Lott, Trent. Herding Cats A Life in Politics. New York: Harper Paperbacks, 2006.
P147, 150.
Orey, Michael. Assuming the Risk. Boston: Little, Brown, and Co., 1999.
P268
Brenner, Marie. “The Man Who Knew Too Much.”
Vanity Fair May 1996. Web.
http://www.jeffreywigand.com/vanityfair.php
Orey, Michael. Assuming the Risk. Boston: Little, Brown, and Co., 1999.
P315-316
Estate of Burl Butler et. al. vs. ron Motley et. al. Case 94-5-53.
Jones County Miss. Chancery Court. 18 Aug. 1997. Print.
http://no-smoking.org/august97/8-22-97-3.html
Orey, Michael. Assuming the Risk. Boston: Little, Brown, and Co., 1999.
P321
Orey, Michael. Assuming the Risk. Boston: Little, Brown, and Co., 1999.
P339
Lott, Trent. Herding Cats A Life in Politics. New York: Harper Paperbacks, 2006.
Print.P157
“Tobacco Litigation Fee Payments.”
PR Newswire. Web.
http://www2.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/12-01-1998/0000815021&EDATE
Orey, Michael. Assuming the Risk. Boston: Little, Brown, and Co., 1999.
P361
Orey, Michael. Assuming the Risk. Boston: Little, Brown, and Co., 1999.
P3
Alwyn Luckey vs. Dickie Scruggs et. al. Case 1:05CV00089
U.S. District Court Northern District of Mississippi. 8 June 2005. Web.
http://www.insurancecoverageblog.com/Luckey%20trial%20transcript%20pages%20465-550.pdf
Lange, Alan. “A few not so random observation on the Scruggs Scandal.”
YallPolitics. 18 Jan. 2008. Web.
http://yallpolitics.com/index.php/yp/post/a_few_not_so_random_observations_on_the_scruggs_scandal
Maneker, Marion. “Yacht Club.”
New York Magazine Web.
http://nymag.com/nymetro/urban/recreation/features/5083/index1.html
Goodgame, Dan. “Richard (“Dickie”) Scruggs.”
Time Magazine. 9 July 2000.
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,49449,00.html
Report to Mississippi Legislature. rep. no. 456.
PEER Committee, 26 Nov. 2003. Web.
http://www.peer.state.ms.us/reports/rpt456.pdf.
Jim Hood, Attorney General for Mississippi; The Partnership for a Healthy Mississippi vs. State of Mississippi Division of Medicaid. Case 2006-SA-1088.
Mississippi Supreme Court. 30 May 2006.
http://www.mssc.state.ms.us/Images/opinions/Co41342.pdf
Jim Hood, Attorney General for Mississippi; The Partnership for a Healthy Mississippi vs. State of Mississippi Division of Medicaid. Case 2006-SA-1088
Mississippi Supreme Court. 30 May 2006
http://www.yallpolitics.com/images/Hood/PartnershipvMHCTF.pdf
ibid.
Report to Mississippi Legislature. rep. no. 456.
PEER Committee, 26 Nov. 2003. Web.
http://www.peer.state.ms.us/reports/rpt456.pdf.
Brister, Davis. “Mike Moore, Students Rally at Capitol.”
WLBT. 2 Feb. 2005. Web.
http://www.wlbt.com/global/story.asp?s=2893428#
Chapter 2
Dickie Scruggs. “Asbestos for Lunch.”
Prudential Securities, Inc. New York. 11 June 2002. Lecture.
http://www.triallawyersinc.com/html/part04.html
Orey, Michael. Assuming the Risk. Boston: Little, Brown, and Co., 1999.
Goodgame, Dan. “Richard (Dickie) Scruggs.”
Time 9 July 2000.
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,49449,00.html
“Who’s Afraid of Dickie Scruggs?”
Newsweek 6 Dec. 1999.
http://www.newsweek.com/id/90457/page/1
“Richard Scruggs.” Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Wikipedia. Web.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/richard_Scruggs
“Trent Lott.” Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Wikipedia. Web.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trent_Lott
Tumulty, Karen. “Trent Lott’s Segregationist College Days.”
Time 12 Dec. 2002. Print.
http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,399310,00.html
Boyer, Peter. “The Bribe.” The New Yorker 19 May 2008. Print.
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/05/19/080519fa_fact_boyer?currentPage=all
Orey, Michael. Assuming the Risk. Boston: Little, Brown, and Co., 1999.
“William Winter.” Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Wikipedia. Web.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Winter_(politician)
Boyer, Peter. “The Bribe.”
The New Yorker 19 May 2008. Print.
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/05/19/080519fa_fact_boyer?currentPage=all
Orey, Michael. Assuming the Risk. Boston: Little, Brown, and Co., 1999.
Richard Scruggs vs. Charlie Merkel et. al. Case 1999-CA-00406.
Mississippi Supreme Court. 4 Aug. 2000. Print.
http://www.mssc.state.ms.us/images/opinions/Conv11287.pdf
Orey, Michael. Assuming the Risk. Boston: Little, Brown, and Co., 1999.
Moore, Michael. “Inside the Tobacco Deal.”
Interview by Lowell Bergman. Frontline. PBS. 1998.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/settlement/interviews/moore.html
Pringle, Peter. Cornered big tobacco at the bar of justice.
New York: H. Holt, 1998. Cornered. The New York Times. Web.
http://www.nytimes.com/books/first/p/pringle-cornered.html?_r=1
Chapter 1
US vs. Scruggs. 3:07cr192. Recording Transcripts.
United States Federal Court - Northern District of Mississippi. 19 Feb. 2008.
http://www.yallpolitics.com/images/Scruggs/Wiretaps1.pdf
http://www.yallpolitics.com/images/Scruggs/Wiretaps2.pdf
http://www.yallpolitics.com/images/Scruggs/Wiretaps3.pdf
http://www.yallpolitics.com/images/Scruggs/Wiretaps4.pdf
US vs. Scruggs. 3:07cr192. Document 142. Amended
Motion to Dismiss the Indictment for Government Misconduct occurring Before the Grand Jury with Combined Memorandum of Law by attorneys for David Zachary Scruggs.
United States Federal Court - Northern District of Mississippi. 4 Mar. 2008.
http://www.yallpolitics.com/images/Scruggs/BalducciGJTestimony.pdf
Reference
All information is provided in order of its use in the book by chapter.
About the Book
With over 200 individual fact citations into over 100 different sources, Kings of Tort has been impeccably researched. It used primary sources like the highly acclaimed book by Michael Orey entitled Assuming the Risk and Dan Zegart’s book Civil Warriors. The book has also sourced information via articles from publications and media outlets such as the Clarion Ledger, the Sun Herald, the Northeast MS Daily Journal, WLBT, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, the New Yorker, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, Time Magazine, PBS Frontline and Vanity Fair.
That research has been supplemented with interviews and perspective from those on all sides of this complicated story. All that were significantly involved in this story were invited in writing to participate. Most notably, Dickie Scruggs, Paul Minor, former Attorney General Mike Moore and Attorney General Jim Hood all declined (either directly or through legal counsel) to be interviewed after multiple attempts.
Wherever possible, the book used direct quotes and fact references from the legal documents involving all of these cases, which are all made available in the reference area.
About the Authors
Alan Lange is a native of Jackson, Mississippi, and is actively involved in a variety of business and community interests. He is the founder of YallPolitics, one of the largest political interest websites in the Southeast. YallPolitics became ground zero for documenting the Scruggs and Minor scandals. He is also president of Kinetic Staffing, a southeast regional legal and accounting recruiting firm. Along with his wife, Holly, and their sons Ford and Jake, they live in Jackson’s Fondren community – not far from their alma mater, Millsaps College.
Tom Dawson is a 36-year veteran federal prosecutor, having served as a trial attorney with the Department of Justice in Washington, D. C., Associate Independent Counsel and Assistant U.S. Attorney. Since his retirement in January 2009, he has been widely recognized by his peers for his role as lead counsel in the investigation and prosecution of the Scruggs cases. Tom and his wife Susan reside in Oxford, Mississippi.
About the Publisher
Pediment publishing is based in Battle Ground, Washington and publishes a wide range of books often partnering with newspapers and other media organizations for non fiction, compilation publications of all types. In 2008, Pediment published “Boo: A Life In Baseball Well Lived” documenting the storied career of Mississippi-born, Boston Red Sox great Boo Ferris. That book was written by Clarion Ledger sports columnist Rick Cleveland with a foreword by best selling author John Grisham. More information about Pediment can be found at http://www.pediment.com.
Oxford Eagle - Book Ready on Scruggs Legal Saga
By Alyssa Schnugg
A former assistant U.S. Attorney and Jackson blogger have co-authored a book on political and legal manipulation in Mississippi that features the rise and fall of trial attorneys Richard “Dickie” Scruggs and Paul Minor.
Published by Pediment Publishing, the 250-plus page book is due out in the first week of December, said Dave Hollingsworth, director of sales and marketing for Pediment.
The book will be titled, “Kings of Tort: The True Story of Dickie Scruggs, Paul Minor and Two Decades of Political and Legal Manipulation in Mississippi.”
The authors, former assistant U.S. attorney Tom Dawson and Alan Lange, who manages the political blog Y’all Politics, met last year at an Ole Miss football game.
Dawson, who was one of the lead prosecutors in the Scruggs judicial bribery scandal, retired in January from the U.S. Attorney’s office.
“Alan reached out to me and said he was thinking of doing some writing,” Dawson said Tuesday. “I told him I was thinking the same thing.”
The book will document Scruggs’ rise to fame during his tobacco and asbestos lawsuit and then his fall from grace when he pleaded guilty to attempting to bribe Lafayette County Circuit Court Judge Henry Lackey and his involvement in corruptly influencing Hinds County Circuit Court Judge Bobby DeLaughter.
Scruggs is serving a seven-year prison sentence for the two crimes.
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