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Oxford has had its fair share of being in the limelight this year, such as hosting the first presidential debate in September on the University of Mississippi campus.

But just a few months prior, it was the rise and fall of prominent attorney Richard “Dickie” Scruggs, often referred to as the “Tort King,” that turned all eyes on Oxford in 2008.

On Nov. 28, 2007, Scruggs, his son Zach Scruggs, law partner Sidney Backstrom, former attorney Timothy Balducci and former state auditor Steven Patterson were indicted on federal charges for trying to bribe Circuit Court Judge Henry Lackey with $40,000 for a favorable ruling in a lawsuit — Jones v. Scruggs —against the elder Scruggs over Hurricane Katrina litigation.

After several months of motions, rumors, months-long bouts of silence, guilty-plea agreements and about 400 letters asking for leniency, Scruggs was sentenced in June to spend five years in a federal prison in Kentucky.

His son is serving a 14-month sentence in Forrest City, Ark., and Backstrom is serving 28 months in Forrest City.

Balducci and Patterson have not been sentenced. The lawsuit has since been settled.

National attention

The case received national attention with news articles appearing in The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times and The Wall Street Journal — as well as daily headlines in local and regional newspapers.

Local attorney and legal blogger Tom Freeland followed the Scruggs case extensively on www.folo.us.

“The case involved a lawyer who had been as high profile as possible, and allegations — that turned out to be true — of an attempt to actually bribe a sitting trial judge,” Freeland said. “Both parts of that sentence make for an attention-grabbing case.”

Freeland said the story has a “live by the sword, die by the sword quality.”

“The defendants had used and benefited from the use of publicity in their cases for some time, and now had that hurting them in their own case,” he said.

Law offices raided

The saga began on Nov. 27, when FBI agents raided Scruggs’ office on the Square, which is now closed and up for sale.

The next day, the five men were indicted.

On the day of his arraignment, Balducci pleaded guilty to the bribery charge on Dec. 5. It was later learned that Balducci had been working with the government in building its case against Scruggs and the others.

In the middle of all clamor about the famous trial attorney’s fall from grace, his own attorney, Joey Langston of Booneville, was arrested and pleaded guilty to conspiring with Scruggs and others to engage Ed Peters — a “close personal friend” of Hinds County Judge Bobby DeLaughter — as a “consultant” to assist them in the case of Wilson v. Scruggs. That case involved a dispute over attorneys’ fees which was pending before DeLaughter at that time.

Langston represented Scruggs in that case along with Balducci, according to court documents.

DeLaughter has denied any knowledge of the conspiracy. Meanwhile, Langston’s sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 16.

No other indictments have been handed down in that case as of this morning — although Assistant U.S. Attorney Bob Norman said there could be new developments in the case in the next month or so.

“The investigation is continuing,” was all Norman would say on the future of the Langston case.

Some courthouse observers wonder if the fact that Balducci and Patterson have not been sentenced yet is a sign of more indictments to come, while others theorize that the setting of a specific sentencing date for Langston may indicate the investigations could be coming to an end.

“That means little or nothing,” Freeland said. “It may be personal preferences by the judges as to docket management.”

The aftermath

While it’s been a year since the five men were indicted, Lackey’s role in the case started much earlier, and he couldn’t be any happier it’s over.

“I’m happy my part is over,” Lackey said recently. “I’m just saddened it happened at all because of the impact it had on so many bright young lawyers.”

After a meeting in March 2007 between Balducci, the Scruggses, Backstrom and Patterson, Balducci told the others he thought he could influence Lackey because of their friendship.

Balducci went to see Lackey shortly thereafter and suggested to Lackey he could give him a place in his law firm after Lackey retired, if he would grant Scruggs a motion to send the lawsuit to arbitration.

After the meeting, Lackey reported the conversation to the FBI. He began working with the FBI and allowed his phones and office to be wired. Eventually, those conversations led to Balducci offering Lackey $40,000, and to the arrests of Balducci and the others for their roles in the scheme.

“I’m saddened on the impact on the reputation of our bar,” Lackey said. “But I am happy to know our system works. It’s not perfect; nothing I know of is perfect. But it does work, and it worked because of cooperation between the bar and the bench.”

Lackey said he’s been able to move on and didn’t even realize it’s been one year since the arrests, although it has made him more cautious about his conversations with attorneys.

“Even though it may be as innocent as it can be, appearances of impropriety can cause a problem in itself,” he said.

The Mississippi Bar and local attorneys are still reeling from the hit the legal profession took this year.

“The case hurt the reputation of the bench and bar, and will likely continue to do so,” Freeland said. “The only thing that can be done to mitigate that damage is a demonstration to the public that these problems — and solving them — are taken seriously. A perception that there has been a reform effort — based on reality — I think matters.”

Telling the tale

Author and University of Mississippi journalism professor Curtis Wilkie has been hired by Kneeriam-Williams Literacy Agency to write a book about the rise and fall of Scruggs. The manuscript is due September 2009.

Wilkie, a friend to Scruggs, said he’s corresponded with the Scruggses during their incarceration.

“Dickie has kept his sense of humor up in his letters to me,” Wilkie said. “I think with all things considered, the family is holding up well and handling things as well as possible.”

Wilkie said the elder Scruggs battled some health issues when he first arrived in prison.

“I think he was hospitalized briefly,” Wilkie said. “But he’s healthy now and exercising a great deal.”

While the Scruggs case may have divided the legal community for a short time, Wilkie doesn’t believe the reputations of Oxford or the Ole Miss School of Law have been blemished.

“I don’t think it reflected badly on the school or the community,” he said. “But it obviously causes people in the legal profession to reflect more seriously on what all this has meant — not just the indictments and charges, but how the case has been handled.

“There’s an awful lot of questions that haven’t been answered.”

—alyssa@oxfordeagle.com

Alyssa Schnugg

Staff Writer

Oxford Eagle

662-234-4331 Ext. 245