Seems Joey Langston took a plea bargain over the weekend after being accused of attempting to influence a Hinds County judge over another fee dispute Scruggs was involved in. http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080113/NEWS/801130376/1001/news

I almost gagged after reading this quote:

The statement could shake the very foundation of the legal profession in Mississippi, said Oxford lawyer Grady Tollison, past president of the Mississippi Bar Association and president-elect of the Southeastern American Board of Trial Advocates. “Everybody I honor and respect is offended that anybody would try to corrupt the greatest system of justice in the world. I find it heinous.”

No doubt now that 3 lawyers have plead guilty it seems there will more charges coming. Will they get to AG Moore? Lott?

At one point, Peters told Scruggs’ attorneys what DeLaughter would really like is a federal judgeship, according to statements.

DeLaughter was among a number of nominees Lott received recommendations for in letters and calls from lawyers and others.

Lott did call DeLaughter as a courtesy but recommended Sul Ozerden. President Bush nominated Ozerden in September 2006, and the Senate confirmed him in April.

Will the investigation cross state lines???? Will it get as far as Reno who took on the tobacco case with federal tax payer dollars so these pools of hired guns across the country would not be out so much money? Remember Scruggs organized a huge Hillary fund raiser in Oxford that turned into just a Christmas party after he was charged.  Seems Hillary suddenly had a schedule conflict.

The short answer is this won’t cross state lines. The Bush Justice Dept is not interested in going after Democrat corruption.

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gj5zcFSID7VUJylsD7FGrhsp_obgD8U6HIN80

Former Ms. state auditor cops a plea today related to Scruggs case. You know these guys are singing like birds. How far will this go???

Seems Delaughter passed his opinion to the bribing attorneys before rendering them. He wanted a federal judgeship badly. Lott is still clear but there is a lot of smoke.

http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080118/NEWS/801180370

At Langston’s hearing, Assistant U.S. Attorney Tom Dawson told U.S. District Judge Michael Mills, “In at least one instance, Judge DeLaughter e-mailed a rough draft of an opinion he planned to enter to Peters so that Langston and Balducci would be able to see it before any final version was filed.”

Langston and Scruggs became aware DeLaughter was interested in a federal judgeship, Dawson said, and based on this knowledge “Scruggs told Langston to let the judge know he would pass his name along with regard to a federal judgeship. Langston then informed Peters, who in turn passed the information to Judge DeLaughter.”

Dawson told Mills, “The government would further show that Judge DeLaughter’s name was submitted for federal judgeship and that DeLaughter was so notified.”

Scruggs’ brother-in-law, then-U.S. Sen. Trent Lott, did call DeLaughter, but Lott ended up recommending Sul Ozerden. President Bush nominated Ozerden in September 2006, and the Senate confirmed him in April.

“I would feel physically ill if Judge DeLaughter were implicated in all of this,” said Matt Steffe, professor at Mississippi College School of Law.

What’s been described so far “is not evidence, in and of itself, of a crime,” Steffe said. “It’s certainly irregular, but there may be an explanation for it. If that’s all the evidence, then my opinion is they don’t have enough evidence to go forward.”

Clarksdale lawyer Charlie Merkel - who represented Scruggs’ former law partners who sued - disagreed.

“Ethically a judge has no business discussing any aspect of the case, let alone the contents of an order he has intentions of entering with one side of a controversy to the exclusion of the other,” Merkel said, “and he certainly has no business sharing the contents of a proposed order with someone whom he knows is representing or contacting him on behalf of one of the parties.”

He said if DeLaughter was “promised a judgeship and did something on the basis of that promise, whether that promise was ever delivered, he’s still guilty of taking a bribe.”