folo

Someone in comments suggested that DeLaughter and Peters were only pawns in someone else’s game, which immediately brought to my mind Bob Dylan’s song about Beckwith’s murder of Medgar Evers.  Thus a lunchtime music post for the first time in a while.

Some of the lyrics:

A bullet from the back of a bush took Medgar Evers’ blood.
A finger fired the trigger to his name.
A handle hid out in the dark
A hand set the spark
Two eyes took the aim
Behind a man’s brain
But he can’t be blamed
He’s only a pawn in their game. …

But when the shadowy sun sets on the one
That fired the gun
He’ll see by his grave
On the stone that remains
Carved next to his name
His epitaph plain:
Only a pawn in their game.

Here’s Dylan doing the song at the 1963 Newport Folk Festival.

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Judge DeLaughter’s case is going to be an interesting one for choosing a defense strategy. “Interesting” as in the supposed Chinese curse about living in interesting times. There are a couple of features to the indictment and to the known background of the case that are going to be trouble. If you want to re-read the indictment, here is my gloss on it, and here is the indictment itself.

Recall that Ed Peters was Judge DeLaughter’s mentor-and-boss when Judge DeLaughter was an assistant D.A. and Peters the D.A., and that the allegation here is that Peters was apparently working behind the scenes for people who wanted to influence DeLaughter once he became a judge.

Here’s some of the problems I see:

• That lie to the F.B.I. Yes, it’s only an allegation at this point, but the last count of the indictment charges that Judge DeLaughter told the FBI that he “never spoke to Ed Peters regarding…” substantive issues about Wilson v. Scruggs. Perhaps Judge DeLaughter thinks he can get into a semantic debate about what “substantive” means, but it’s clear that there will be testimony that he and Peters exchanged information, ultimately resulting in Scruggs’s team getting a chance to secretly edit opinions before DeLaughter issued them. There will also be testimony about meetings between the two to plan how hearings were to be handled. This is all going to be hard to explain away, particularly with a parade of pretty smart witnesses now testifying for the Government describing how it was done, and their testimony being corroborated by document exchanges. But that’s hardly the worst of it.
• That lie to the FBI pretty much ruins any attempt to say “it was all innocent talk.” The word for some time has been that Judge DeLaughter was going to try to explain that he didn’t really have evil intent, that he didn’t have the state of mind of being corrupted. The Government is going to be able to make a very strong argument that his lie meant he knew he had something to cover up. He knew it wasn’t innocent, or he wouldn’t have lied about it.
• The 404(b) evidence is going to be a real bear here. Folks who followed Scruggs I may recall that the prosecution was going to use the facts in this case as 404(b) evidence in the case about bribing Judge Lackey. Here’s what that’s about: The Government is allowed to prove “other crime” evidence to show mental states related to intent. In Scruggs I, to rebut any inference that Scruggs wasn’t the kind of guy who would bribe Judge Lackey, they were going to show he bribed Judge DeLaughter. In this case, the Government can show that Judge DeLaughter had a history of working out backroom shady resolutions of cases with Ed Peters to show that the handling of Wilson was not on the up-and-up. And the history is pretty nasty– Eaton v. Frisby (where there was similar off-the-record contact), and Kirk v. Pope, both among the cases the Judicial Performance Commission cited in suspending Judge DeLaughter from the bench. One interesting question is how broad the immunity deal with Peters may be: Does the Government have a witness on the shenanigans in Eaton? But in any event, DeLaughter is going to face some nasty “other crimes” proof in any trial.
• The mail fraud prosecution finesses the whole problem of DeLaughter getting none of the proceeds from Peters. There are those that thought Senator Lott’s phone call that he would consider Judge DeLaughter for the federal bench would be pretty thin in proving a quid pro quo for bribery, and it’s been reported that DeLaughter got none of the cash from Scruggs. But the government doesn’t have to face that problem– they’ve not indicted for bribery but rather for mail fraud, a charge that this scheme denied the state the honest services of a judge. If the Government proves the scheme outlined in the indictment, that’s kind of hard to argue against, regardless of whether any proceeds fell into the judge’s pocket. (I have an image of Ed Peters telling the judge:  “I’ll keep all the cash, that keeps them from charging you with bribery, and then I’ll take care of you in the end.” He sure has taken care of his friend in the end by becoming a Government witness.)
• He’s not going to be able to explain it. Defendants like Judge DeLaughter often think they are going to be able to get on the witness stand and explain it away. DeLaughter obviously had that in mind when he talked to the FBI and (reportedly) testified before the grand jury. Criminal defense lawyers shudder at the thought. But here, with that lie and the 404(b) evidence facing him on cross, not to mention whatever the heck he may have said to the grand jury, there’s no way he’s going to be able to be anything but a disastrous witness in his own defense. I’m guessing he’s not as smart as he thinks he is, or he’d not be the last one standing when everyone else charged in public has already come in and entered a plea.

That’s my read on problems with defending this case. I’d love to know if anyone else seems some obvious ways across this minefield for the defense.

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In his Clarion Ledger column, Sid Salter focuses on the relationship of Bobby DeLaughter and Ed Peters, focusing on the process of making a movie of the Beckwith trial:

In the penultimate moment in the actual Beckwith trial, Beckwith’s alibi witness was discredited in a withering, dogged cross-examination by Peters. But in Reiner’s film, that pivotal questioning of former Greenwood police officer James Holley was performed by DeLaughter.

“The most dramatic thing that happened in the trial was Ed Peters’ cross-examination of James Holley,” screenwriter Lewis Colick, who spent three months in Mississippi researching the case, told The Clarion-Ledger on Dec. 8, four days before the premiere. “And we gave it to Bobby DeLaughter.”

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Though we mostly blawg Mississippi here, we’ve also watched enough cases from Louisiana to learn that (in Juanita Jean’s phrase) triple-z crazzzy stuff goes on in that state’s courts too. Two vivid examples are The Adventures of James Perdigao and the famous “Road Home” litigation (the latter in slow progress in the Eastern District of Louisiana under U.S. District Judge Stanwood R. Duval, Jr., featuring such familiar lawyer-names as Calvin Fayard and Charles Foti).

Well now, yesterday morning we heard from a new commenter named Ashton R. O’Dwyer, Jr., whose hair was pretty much on fire here and here, demanding our attention to E.D.La.’s Civil Action No. 08-4728 — which turns out to be his allegation of corruption in the “Victims of KATRINA” litigation.

Having now taken a look at that complaint, what I can say is “Blimey — ANOTHER one!”

In the 29-page (RICO) Complaint he filed on October 23, 2008, O’Dwyer makes himself the name plaintiff, he needs a 47-page Appendix to list all his client/co-plaintiffs, and his defendants include Judge Duval (who took senior status in mid-December, by the way) and former Louisiana Attorney General Foti — both sued individually — plus Calvin Fayard and seven other New Orleans lawyers sued both individually and with their firms. I’d tell you all about it except that nearly a year ago, commenter Not At All Surprised prospectively saved me the trouble:

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Adam Nossiter wrote a book about the prosecution of Byron Beckwith that takes a completely heroic view of Bobby DeLaughter and his decision to prosecute.  His book played a large view in creating the public view of DeLaughter. Today, in a story Lotus linked in a prior post, he writes about DeLaughter again, turning up the volume on the “hero” theme even more (without mentioning that he’s written a book on the subject.

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A hearse carried the body of Medgar Evers in 1963 in Jackson, Miss. Three decades later, the Klansman Byron De La Beckwith was convicted of his murder. (United Press International)

Bobby DeLaughter, above in 1996 as an assistant district attorney in Hinds County, Miss. (Clarion-Ledger)

Mr. DeLaughter, hearing a case last year as a circuit court judge. He has pleaded not guilty in a bribery scandal. (Joe Ellis/Clarion-Ledger)

I’m interested in y’all’s reactions to NYT’s take on Bobby DeLaughter.

Here and there, over the months, a few foloers have commented on his history, especially his performance in the State v. De La Beckwith prosecution. But especially because we have a large number of new visitors around these days, I invite you longtime DeLaughter-watchers to reprise what you know and think about all that. For instance, the story of the Evers murder weapon’s mysterious reappearance particularly interests me, and I’m not sure anybody’s fully explained here how that happened. Any other perceptions you’d like to share are welcome too . . .

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What a week, eh? I’m so tuckered, my attention’s all over the place. Got a Valentine’s treat coming up later, but first, some mucking-out . . .

On Monday (while certain invertebrate GOP Senators breathe sighs of relief — and with no thanks to a single House Republican or Gene Taylor), President Obama will activate a national economic-stimulus process remarkably close to the one he first proposed. But Thomas Levenson (h/t John Cole) made an important point yesterday:

If Mitch McConnell (or, say, Judd Gregg) were a Mensch…

…pigs would fly, I know, but if McConnell had any sense of decency he would do the following:

Vote for the stimulus package in the Senate.

Why? So that his colleague, Sherrod Brown, would not have to leave his mother’s wake (say that again, in all caps: HIS MOTHER’S WAKE) in Ohio, fly to DC, cast his vote, and then fly back to Ohio in time for his mother’s funeral (say that again, in all caps: HIS MOTHER’S FUNERAL) tomorrow.

I mean, there is no doubt that the bill will pass. There is no question that Brown’s vote will be the needed 60th to ensure passage. The only other option, the only other vote to provide the margin of those who voted at the last, procedural hurdle is Ted Kennedy, and he’s dealing with brain cancer (caps again: BRAIN CANCER), so it falls to Brown, trying to bury his mother, or some one Republican with a sense of decency sufficiently developed to switch his or her vote in Brown’s stead. …

However, all of them together lacking one-quarter of the sense or decency of Sen. Brown’s mom, Emily, her son had to make the trip.

Speaking of Judd Gregg . . . I’m not the only one suspecting that Thud Cochran and Ann Copland’s buddies Abramoff and Boulanger best explain his withdrawal as Commerce Secretary-nominee.

Would it surprise you to learn that the GOPers have just hatched a new candidate for Biggest Lie Yet on the Stimulus? Amazing how they keep topping themselves.

Is Ruth Bader Ginsburg the luckiest Supreme ever? Quite possibly.

Just don’t know what to make of those Bush DoJ f*ckups who prosecuted Ted Stevens, but the judge finally gave them their just deserts — contempt citations.

Want judges worse than Bobby DeLaughter? Try Pennsylvania (h/t weirdharold).

His hometown may yet love Bobby, but as the JPC tries to figure out whether it still does, Bob Norman & Co. (reports Paul Quinn, with video) are watching Scruggs III — AKA DeLaughter II? — take shape.

Developments also in the carwreck story in Jackson: now the cops deny chasing the Mercedes just before it crashed into the doctors’ truck.

Expect next week’s testimony in U.S. v. Melton to continue dreary — but not stinky.

For stinky we head to the Coast, where Anita Lee covers the Billey Joe Johnson story and the past it evokes.

Recall that our friend riddenword is plugged into the national animal-rescue community. And I’m afraid he’s had terrible news from near Holly Springs:

Here’s another damn tragedy to round out the week – a fire destroyed the home of a couple in Red Banks, MS, who have been leaders in Southern dog rescue. 40-50 dogs were killed and the husband badly injured as he ran inside again and again to try to get dogs out. Firemen had to physically restrain him to keep him from returning to the flames.

Crappy helicopter video and mediocre story here:

http://www.wreg.com/wreg-marshallcountyfire-story,0,7862287.story

Here’s what a fellow rescuer, now in CA, wrote about them:

Y’all,
Linda Money has worked tirelessly to rescue animals for years and years. I first knew her when she was struggling to get as many animals out of West Memphis Arkansas as she possibly could. Then she aided the work of Sunny Meadows with their efforts. She has headed up/organized the booths & participants for the St Jude event in recent years and often when you heard about an area wide rescue event, Linda’s name was listed as an organizer. She had close ties to the folks at Oxford and together they sought to make transport runs to the Southwestern US to find homes for MS canines. Her rescue facility was a dream for Linda. She bought land near Red Banks MS and when she spoke to me in the early planning stages, she was so very excited! She saw it as an opportunity to save so many animals from some of the worst situations! I cannot say enough about Linda and her endless efforts!

Y’all animal-lovers around the table (I know we have many), please help if you can. The info you’ll need is at the WREG link.

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The Eagle’s webmaster has finally put up the Friday edition. I was hoping for a look at Tim Balducci but instead we get this photo that makes me wonder about the barber schools in North Mississippi (if any). Anyhow, here you go . . .

Former Mississippi state auditor Steve Patterson (right) with attorney Hiram Eastland as he enters U.S. District Court for sentencing this morning. Patterson appeared light-hearted before being sentenced, asking the photographers taking his photo: “Where were you when I was running for office?” Photo by Bruce Newman.

2/13/09 – Last two judicial bribery defendants sentenced
Alyssa Schnugg
Staff Writer

The last two defendants in what’s been branded the Scruggs I judicial bribery case were sentenced to spend 24 months in federal prison for their roles in the scheme to bribe a circuit court judge.

Timothy Balducci and Steven Patterson both appeared before U.S. District Court Judge Neal B. Biggers this morning at the Federal Courthouse in Oxford.

Both men pleaded guilty a year ago to a charge of conspiring with Richard “Dickie” Scruggs, his son and attorney Zach Scruggs and his law partner Sidney Backstrom to bribe Circuit Court Judge Henry Lackey with $40,000 for a favorable ruling in a lawsuit against the elder Scruggs involving legal fees in Hurricane Katrina related litigation.

During Balducci’s sentencing hearing, U.S. Assistant Attorney Bob Norman told the judge that his department had never seen such “complete cooperation” from another defendant. He said Balducci’s help has opened the doors to other investigations of corruption and that the Scruggs case got as far as it did because of Balducci’s assistance.

“His cooperation was immediate,” Norman said. “He’s doing the best he knows how to do to right the wrong he has done.”

Biggers agreed but reminded Balducci he was the “bag man” in the case.

“You carried the money,” he said. “You talked the judge into going along with what you wanted to do.”

Balducci told Biggers and the court that he was “profoundly sorry” for what he had done.

“All I can do now is try to make things as rights as I can,” Balducci said.

Norman also reported that Patterson has cooperated with the government, albeit to a lesser degree than Balducci.

Patterson was called a “minor” participant in the case, although he received the same sentence as Balducci.

Before he was sentenced, Patterson said he was embarrassed and humiliated.

“If God gave me a choice to live carefree in paradise the rest of my life, or to choose to go back two years ago and change my actions, I would not hesitate to enlist to do the latter,” he told Biggers.

Both men will report to prison on March 25. The government asked for the later reporting dates because their testimony may be needed when the grand jury meets in the March.

The saga began on Nov. 27, 2007, when FBI agents raided Scruggs’ office on the Square. The next day, the five men were indicted.

On Dec. 5, 2007, the day of his arraignment, Balducci pleaded guilty to the bribery charge.

It was later learned that Balducci had been working with the government in building its case against Scruggs and the others.

But it was also Balducci who got the ball rolling. In trying to gain favor with Scruggs, during a meeting with the other defendants in March 2006, he told the famous trial attorney that he could use his friendship to corruptly influence the judge to find in favor of Scruggs in the lawsuit Jones v. Scruggs.

After Balducci approached Lackey and suggested that if Lackey would find in favor of Scruggs, he would give Lackey a place in his law firm after Lackey retired. Appalled, Lackey told the FBI about the conversation. For six months, Lackey allowed his office and telephone to be tapped. In September 2006, in another meeting with Balducci, the subject of money came up and Balducci offered Lackey $40,000. It was later discovered Scruggs was providing the funds.

Balducci was approached by the FBI in November 2007 and he began cooperating with the government and wore a wire tap himself on the day the money was given to Lackey.

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.

Earlier this week, Scruggs was sentenced to seven years in prison for his role in a bribery case involving Hinds Circuit Court Judge Bobby DeLaughter, which came to light during the Lackey case and through testimony of Balducci. The sentence will run concurrent with his original five-year sentence.

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The hearing up to the Court’s imposition of sentence is described here.

The court then began his explanation of Patterson’s sentence by stating it was true that Patterson came forward early and aided the government and he would give consideration for that. He noted that the government had filed 5K motions asking for a downward departure. He stated that Patterson’s attorneys had filed objections to the presentence report on the calculation of the amount, and asked if counsel wanted to stand on the motion for downward departure or argue those issues. The court noted that if Patterson is a minor participant, the guidelines would still be at 57 months– it would not make a difference.

His lawyer (this time it was McCoy who spoke) persisted in the objection, and the court denied the objection, noting that the court has ruled that the amount involved was not what Patterson may have received (which was nothing) but the benefit the briber (Scruggs) was to get (which was upwards of $400K).

He noted that based on all these considerations, the guidelines point to level 31, which points to a guidelines sentence of more than the maximum of 60 months (the Balducci sentence produced the same calculation).

He noted the 5k1 motion and all the letters.

“You’re the only one in this case who is not a lawyer, and therefore I wonder if you realize you had a disrespect for the legal profession that would make you enter into a conspiracy to corrupt the courts.”  The judge could not decide how to weigh the issue of him not being a lawyer.

“You were in a firm that sounded like a legal firm called Patterson and Balducci.” At this point, he noted that the PSR said he was receiving $80K a month from tobacco fees, and Patterson interrupted to say, “No, it’s more like $20,000.” On pretty close questioning by the judge, Patterson’s lawyer (McCoy) clarified that the amount had gone down.

The judge concluded he was not going to consider his non-lawyer status as a big factor. He then sentenced Patterson to 24 months with a $150k fine to cover the costs of incarceration, which the court acknowledged was a downward departure.

He noted that the government said they would continue to need his cooperation, and that he was not charged in the other illegal bribery case, that this sentence was about this case only and he didn’t know the government’s other plans as to the case involving Judge DeLaughter.

They then discussed the report date and Patterson’s future grand jury testimony.

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I haven’t more than glanced at these yet, but while we wait for 10 AM in Oxford . . .

Jerry Mitchell’s DeLaughter story includes video of the accused ducking Paul Quinn’s question but AUSA Bob Norman answering a couple. Jerry has an Ed Peters story too, and here’s the DJournal‘s summary of yesterday (still with Patsy’s “witness-tampering” description of Count 5 — ???).

If U.S. v. Melton interests you, the C-L has:

Feds finish case against Melton; his turn Tuesday

Jury instruction could focus on ‘bad purpose’

Melton’s wife sued by bank; default cited

The horrendous head-on collision in Jackson early yesterday that killed — by incineration — two recently-engaged medical residents also involved a couple from of one of the town’s most prominent families. Witnesses say a police chase had “backed off” just before the Irbys’ Mercedes plowed into the young doctors.

I don’t know whether a grand jury will ever be involved in that investigation, but if it is, I hope its results are less unsettling than those in George County that yesterday found “no wrongdoing” in the death of Billey Joe Johnson. I can’t believe we’ve heard the last of this case by any means — and you can see how this may have to “go federal” before it’s over too . . .

I’m rushing here, so if I’ve missed something, please bring it.

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