folo

Tollison: We call Mr. Richard Scruggs.

Brooks Dooley stands up, representing Keker and Van Nest.

Scruggs is sworn.

He answers his name. He declines to answer based on the Fifth Amendment asked about his relationship with Scruggs Law Firm, SKG, Nutt McAlister. At the judge’s suggestion, a briefer form of his assertion of the Fifth Amendment is agreed upon.

The courtroom has a couple of dozen people it. Charlie Merkel, Tom Dawson, reporters (Bruce Newman with a camera), Mike Moore, Barney Robinson in the audience.

He’s asked about admitting the government’s response. I’m not sure I can fairly read Scruggs’s state of mind, but this is pretty grim for him — the most tight-lipped grimness I’ve seen from him in court.

Note: I missed the very beginning of the hearing, which included some intro of exhibits. Scruggs is the first witness.

He goes through the outline of the bribery scheme and then checks momentarily with Roy Percy and he’s done.

Tollison: Asks for inference that assertion of the Fifth Amendment that the answers to the questions will be adverse.

Mayo: Wait until end of hearing to make that decision.

Mayo: Other defendants have some witnesses, will take about an hour, and our proof will not take any longer than that. Proof won’t take longer than a day.

Judge agrees.

Mayo asks if Scruggs can be excused from the courtroom and he leaves.

Tollison: We are prepared to rest after Judge Lackey. Moments of lawyers conferring. Sid Backstrom leaves the courtroom.

Mayo: We have subpoenaed documents from Judge Lackey and it might be helpful to see them before he testifies.

After a recess.

BTW, Nutt and Lovelace are here on the first row. Frank Trapp is seated beside Mike Moore.

Court: Call Judge Lackey. He’s sworn.

“I am presently a circuit judge, 3rd circuit court district of Mississippi and have been on the bench since 1993.” States how long a lawyer. Got law degree at Ole Miss in 1966.

Was assigned Jones. Signed an order sealing the matter first before process was issued before there were attorneys on the other side. During the course of that, had no conversation about the facts of the case other than that it was a dispute between two groups of lawyers and either Tollison or judge thought it was best for it to be sealed. Knew nothing about the facts or the lawsuit at the time. Mrs. Busby (circuit clerk) was standing next to them in the clerk’s office in the courthouse when Judge Lackey signed the order.

Daniel Coker represented all of the defendants. Came a time when he met with Tim Balducci about the case. Balducci called and asked to speak with him. I had known Tim a long time and recognized he was a young lawyer of great ability, I thought. It sounded to me the way he approached me on the phone that this was very important. I did not know what it was about, told him I could see him on that afternoon. He came down and talked to me. After we exchanged pleasantries, asked about his children and wife. Did not know he had left the Langston firm and moved his practice to New Albany. He explained what his ambition was with the law firm. He explained why he was down there. Said that while he was practicing with Joey he had made some mighty good friends, and made a lot of money practicing with them, said you (Tollison) had sued that group of lawyers, explained the consortium of lawyers, how the fees were to be divided, said there were some scurrilous allegations made by Tollison in the pleadings, and felt as though his friends (Scruggs, Barrett, Nutt, and maybe someone else or two) were being mistreated, he only wanted them to be treated properly, suggested that a summary judgment motion would probably dispose of the worst allegations, and the remainder of the claims could probably be handled in arbitration. He suggested that that might be the best way for me to handle it, and further suggested that when I got ready to lay the gavel down or take my robe off, he had a place for me in his firm as of counsel.

Next contact with him was sometime later. Went to the US Attorney’s office and spoke with Mr. Hailman. He asked me not to do anything or tell anyone about it until I heard from him.

There was a hearing on the arbitration issue in Okolona, Jones testified.

Intended to recuse self, informed the firms he was going to, signed an order to do so and never entered it. Sent it to Judge Howorth and he signed it, sent it to Judge Elliott and before he signed it, withdrew the order, and informed the attorneys I was back on the case.

First thing did after Balducci contact: Contacted Judge Howorth and told him about it. Then went to the district attorney’s office and spoke with Lon Stallings, and we came to the conclusion that the district attorney did not have the capability to do what we thought needed to be done — not personal. Knew he could not go to the attorney general’s office because he knew that Mr. Scruggs through Mike Moore had told the Attorney General that if he did not go along with them that they would fund a candidate against him and see that the candidate was properly funded to defeat him.

Objection-hearsay.

Lon Stallings, an assistant district attorney and Judge Lackey agreed he should go to the US Atty, and Hailman said, “Don’t do anything until we decide what to do next about this.”

Balducci about May 4 contacted, said they’d changed tactics, decided arbitration, said a delay would help because Jones was in financial trouble and a delay might force him to settle. My perception he was speaking for the four other firms with the Katrina Group. Lackey’s perception was the Balducci was acting for all of the Katrina Group law firms. That was his perception. The order Balducci tendered applied to all of them.