Judge Biggers:
As counsel and government both know, any pleas for lenience are not binding on the court. The court is primarily bound by the sentencing guidelines and the law. Yours is a sad case, Mr. Scruggs. The primary actor is your father, and this would not have happened without him. This makes it even sadder. The evidence shows you were involved in the effort to corrupt Judge Lackey. You took the corrupt order and made comments on it.
Based on the evidence on the tape… and which I heard, it was clear you not only knew what was going on, you helped. You shake your head, Mr. Moore, but I have heard the tapes.
Moore: I’ve heard the tapes. [Moore started saying that the tapes showed Zach was uninvolved.]
Judge: Mr. Moore, I’ve listened to every tape….
Moore: Zach Scruggs never was involved in any conspiracy to bribe a judge.
Court: He is not being sentenced for any conspiracy to bribe Judge Lackey.
Moore: The only thing Zach knew was that Tim Balducci was going to meet Judge Lackey. He didn’t know about anything improper. [Describes Nov. 1, when Tim Balducci came into the office wearing a wire. Moore claims Zach only walked into the room.] It may be a distinction without a difference.
Court: He hasn’t pled guilty to bribery, and I’m not going to sentence him on that. In meetings about firm business with Sid Backstrom, it stretches credulity that Backstrom never mentioned money was being sent to Judge Lackey. I’m not going to base the sentence on that, but I’m not going to say I believe Zach on that, either.
Moore: In all the tapes, Zach Scruggs is not mentioned.
Dawson: [disagrees.]
Court: Another thing that impresses me negatively: when you and Balducci and Backstrom were discussing this order – how it should be and what it should be. The statements you made on the tape show that you had no respect for the circuit court of Lafayette County. The things that “you said thumb your nose at the court and contradict your statement that you had great respect for the courts.”
Based on the guidelines, this is not a binding plea bargain.
Moore interrupts and says ”We asked for that during the plea,” and after the judge goes on, repeats it again, until finally the judge says, with some heat, “If I want to hear from you any more, I will ask you.” Moore keeps talking about the non-binding nature of the plea!
Judge Biggers: There never was 11(c)(1)(C).
Moore: We attempted to and the government said that this court will not accept a binding plea on probation.
Court: I am going to give some weight to the government recommendation for lenience. Under the guidelines the sentence would be 21-27 months. [Sentenced Zach to 21-27 months, 14 months supervised release. He stated he was going to depart upward on the statutory guidelines on the fine, because he wanted a combined sentence that reflects the seriousness of the offense. He is going to set the fine to offset the cost of imprisonment and probation, at $250,000. Zach is to be able to report on his own.
Moore: Notes Zach’s wife is pregnant and asks that Zach be able to report after the child is born in October.
Court: File a written motion.
Moore asks for 30 days to pay the fine, which the court granted.
The defense side was so unprepared for a sentence with jail time that Mike Moore stated to the court that they knew other defendants had asked for the court to make a recommendation as to a specific place to serve the time, but “We were not prepared to do that. We have not given any consideration about where Mr. Scruggs would go.” Moore asked to add that to the motion, which Judge Biggers said he could do.
Considering Zach’s comments when he plead quilty, the fact that he got a prison term should not come as a shock to anyone.
Saddens but does not surprise me at all. It less than I thought actually based upon what Biggers said at Dickie and Sid’s sentencings. I can’t believe they weren’t prepared for this, they know better, should have been reading Folo, lot of legal experience on here would have warned them to be prepared.
Mike you are an idiot.
The idea that anyone would want Mike Moore’s legal (or any other kind of) advice ever again — well, the only mindboggler anywhere close to that is Alan Lange’s “Awesome!” re Dubya.
Actually, it makes me wonder if Dickie did not in fact offer up something that they presumed would get a better deal for Zach…
Did I misunderstand or didn’t the government recommend probation?
As proof of the contradictory statements, didn’t Judge Biggers quote Zach’s “some other a-hole” comment from the tapes?
p.s. If Moore’s hair wasn’t so tall, maybe the judge wouldn’t have noticed him shaking his head.
Some babies are born in prison because judges do not hesitate to sentence pregnant women to prison. Get real Zach. The sooner you go, theyounger your kids are when you get out.
Will Biggers be presiding over the Delaughter case or will it be in Jackson?
He alluded to it, Phantom.
Whatever made Mike Moore think that arguing with a judge over evidence and the specific charge (at a sentencing, for pity’s sake!) was a good idea? That kind of fight to the last ditch seems terribly ill-advised under the circumstances.
And Moore should have seen jail time coming. I mean the tenor of the judge’s remarks the other day should have clued him in. Everyone else saw it.
“I mean the tenor of the judge’s remarks the other day should have clued him in.”
That’s what made me think Dickie might have offered something, Dragoman. ‘Course, that hypotheses assumes that reason is in tact with the folks making decisions here.
Oddest moment: The judge started the hearing about 8-10 mins early. The marshals shut the courtroom, and there were people outside trying to get in to a seat. I noticed a woman getting really insistent, and the marshal telling her no, she could not come in, it was too late. Looking at the photo on the WSJ site, I see it was Zach’s wife.
NMC, can you translate “There never was 11(c)(1)(C)” for us, please?
Lotus,
I b’leev an 11(c)(1)(c) would’ve tied the judge’s hands and forced him to sentence Zach to probation. Without that, the door was wiiide open.
(Just in case NMC is still enjoying some cathead biscuits at BBB)
Thanks, Phantom. So it’s a rule on a binding agreement of probation somehow?
Email from somebody in the Delta:
Can someone explain how the guidelines on misprison of a felony for a defendant with no criminal history are 21 to 27 months?
Lotus @ 15,
A binding agreement to go along with the government’s recommended sentence…whatever that recommendation may be.
In this case, gov’t. recommended probation. But w/o the 11(c)(1)(c), it was MERELY a recommendation.
http://www.law.cornell.edu/rules/frcrmp/Rule11.htm
(scroll down about halfway)
I may be wrong, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night.
what the hell is wrong with people who think that the jail part of this sentence was too harsh? the guy got 14 measley months (seven less than bottom range of the guidelines) for knowing that his father was trying to flip a judge 50K for a ruling favorable to their firm in a class fee case? are you kidding? the only way skruggs sees no jail time in this case is if he was able to successfully bribe this judge biggers. BTW, is it permisible for judge biggers to speculate that, based upon his view of the ease with which Dickie talked about the bribe scheme on the tapes, that skruggs had bribed other judges before and give the five years based in part on that belief?
Lotus, you need to read my post yesterday about Zach and the binding plea– it’s all about your questoin.
Response to 12 NMC
Zack’s wife was in the courtroom. She came in either right before Zack or right after him, I forget which, but she sat down in the front row on the right next to Zack’s mother.