Tag: “Fall of the House of Zeus”

On the outside looking in at

The release of Curtis Wilke’s book on the “rise and ruin” of Dick Scruggs, “The Fall of the House of Zeus”, has reopened discussion of a subject I addressed in a June 5, 2008 post,  On the outside looking in at “the perspective of honest lawyers”.

As someone who is two-plus years older and still not a lawyer, I remain on the “outside looking in” – although, definitely, both “older and wiser” on “the perspective of honest lawyers” in terms of the anger they feel at Dick Scruggs for tarnishing their profession.  Like all growth, growing “older and wiser” was painful at times.  However, the aches and pains of aging paled to the heartache I felt while gaining wisdom from the anger of  “honest lawyers”.

Simply stated, not all who make the claim are “honest lawyers” but the truly honest are easily identified.  “Honest lawyers” also express anger toward the system of justice that failed in so many ways.  They rage and rail about the “good ole boy network” that closed rank to protect Judge Lackey and remained silent about the government’s conduct.  Honest lawyers seek no advantage and decry a system that viewed Grady Tollison’s contact with Judge Lackey with a closed eye.  Honest lawyers trade on their skill, have no connections to tout, and never ever toot their own horn in public.

Consequently, the belief expressed in my closing statement is one I believe even more today than when I hit “publish”:

To the whatever extent honest lawyers have not been honest people – fair and just in their treatment of all involved in USA v Scruggs and the Katrina insurance cases – they have corrupted the legal system as much, if not more, than those they blame.

My archived post follows: Continue reading “On the outside looking in at”

Tollison was green (with envy), Judge Lackey went whacky – Curtis Wilke’s “Zeus” a Scruggs tell-all

“[Wilke’s]… story is particularly tough on Oxford plaintiffs lawyer Grady Tollison, portrayed as jealous of Scruggs, who horns in on Tollison’s perceived primacy on the Square.And on Lackey, who delights in the federal yoke when he’s doing the FBI’s bidding to snare Scruggs, but turns eccentric and bitter as the story winds down, despite the accolades that come his way for his role.”
Not that “green Grady” and “whacky Lackey” weren’t obvious to those following USA v Scruggs; but, good for Curtis Wilke who lets it out in his Scruggs tell-all,  Fall of the House of Zeus – and good for Daily Journal reporter Pasty Brumfield who gets the word out in her review,  lending credibility to the opinion of Washington (state) attorney Steve Eugster:
“It seems we may have a situation where a trial judge engaged in earwigging with the attorney(s) for the plaintiff in the Jones v. Scruggs case. Evidence of the earwigging is found in the fact of the very unusual ore tenus motion whereby the judge entered an order sealing the file of the case from all the world open to be unsealed in the sole discretion of the attorney who filed the case.” Continue reading “Tollison was green (with envy), Judge Lackey went whacky – Curtis Wilke’s “Zeus” a Scruggs tell-all”

You bet your sweet a$$ “a response is in order” – Judge Biggers orders USA response to Zach Scruggs’ motion to vacate

The court has reviewed the movant’s request to vacate, set aside, or correct his sentence, and is of the opinion that a response from the government is appropriate.

September 16th Order of Judge Neil Biggers re: Zach Scruggs’ Motion to Vacate

Patsy Brumfield broke the story yesterday:

Almost a month ago, Scruggs’ attorneys said new evidence and legal developments showed he is innocent of the charges that sent him to prison for 14 months and cost him his law license and career… (link added by SLABBED)
Thursday, Biggers gave the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Oxford 30 days to respond.   Biggers has presided over all the proceedings against Zach Scruggs, his father Richard Scruggs and other co-defendants in a scandal that rocked Mississippi’s legal community when it went public in late 2007…

[Zach Scruggs’]… motion tells the court “respectfully” that several of its central rulings in his case “were based on the inaccurate information provided to the court by the government.”

Especially not true, he says, was the government’s story to Biggers that then-Booneville attorney Joey Langston would testify that Zach Scruggs knew about another bribery plot.

A recent sworn statement by Langston, who is in prison because of that scheme, insists Zach Scruggs knew nothing about a plan to bribe a Hinds County judge in another legal-fees lawsuit against Richard Scruggs…

SLABBED notes Judge Biggers set for the date for the government’s response a few days before the release of “The Fall of the House of Zeus”, Curtis Wilke’s much anticipated book on the downfall of Dick Scruggs.