Scruggs Gets 5 Years in Prison; Judge Calls Conduct “Reprehensible”
We have a bit more on Dickie Scruggs’s sentencing hearing — where he was ordered this morning to serve five years and pay a $250,000 fine for his role in a judicial-bribery scheme.
The AP reports that U.S. District Judge Neal Biggers Jr. called Scruggs’s conduct “reprehensible.” “Scruggs appeared to nearly faint as the federal judge scolded him for his conduct. Some people in the courtroom gasped as Scruggs started to sway side to side and his attorney grabbed his arm to steady him. He had to be seated before the sentence was read,” the AP reports.
“I could not be more ashamed where I am today, mixed up in a judicial bribery scheme,” Scruggs told the judge.
Scruggs must report to prison by Aug. 4 and pay the fine in one lump sum within 30 days.
The famed plaintiffs pleaded guilty in March to conspiring to bribe Mississippi judge Henry Lackey in a fee-dispute with other lawyers concerning proceeds from litigation related to Hurricane Katrina. Five years was the maximum sentence Scruggs could have received. He had argued for a lesser sentence, in the 2 1/2-year range.
auviederzane, farewell, its time to say good night, bye bye blackbird…
It’s a shame how someone who has done so much good for so many people felt the need to break the law. A sad day indeed for those who seek remedy from greedy corporations content to earn money from other’s suffering.
Aww man…now who’s going to fight for those unable to navigate the disgusting world of big business. Someone will step in. Bush and his buddies are probably toasting right now.
It’s all about the money. He made money sticking it to big business. Why attribute more noble motives to him? Now he’s shown his true colors. End of story. Another blood sucking shark out of the water. The world is a better place and the longer he is inside, the better.
I hope it is somewhere that will allow him to work on his tan. He should do some weight work to enhance those pecs, too.
He broke the law. He got exactly what he deserved. Most likely not the first time, and he got caught.
SadDay: how about the greedy tort lawyers content to earn money from other people’s suffering? At least Big Tort took a fall today.
So much good? Are you kidding. He ruined my families life as well as the lives of countless others. This man is filth, and deserves nothing less than death.
Give him the Chair
. . . but I thought bribery was the American way
He ought to have received as long as the worst corporate thief of late, i.e. 20 yrs or more. His offence impalled a stake through the heart of that so-called high water mark of western civilization: ‘Law’. HE WAS AN OFFICER OF THAT COURT. His offence was FAR worse.
Is this guy the dumbest & most greedy arragant person around. He made a super living in the legal system and then has a BRAIN FART idea to try and “bribe” a judge. 5 yrs for him is just a vacation. Horay for the legal system when it works.
Hang this jerk
where is our Chief with the broad ability to use the pardon? Do we just save that for political purposes?
Ol’ Dickie will spend a few months in jail, where he belongs. But fear not, O’ King of Parasites! If Obama wins in November, he’ll pardon you any Tony Rezko by 1/21. And he won’t even charge you as much as the Clintons would have.
I hate to be the one to break the news to you, SadDay, but screwing “greedy corporations” for millions while keeping the bulk of the settlement in the form of outrageous fees while the suffering consumers get discount coupons to buy more of the offending product is not what qualifies as “doing good”, you idiot. Remember, these are the same lawyers who also shake down doctors and hospitals that leads to chumps like you bemoaning the cost of health care.
“Reprehensible” is the right word, not only for the crime of bribing a judge, but his entire career of extortion and subverting the judicial system. And about the bribery, does anyone think this was the first and only time this felon did it? Let’s see - get caught with a few grams of crack and you serve 15-20 years in a real prison, but be an “officer of the court” and bribe a judge and you get only 5 years in a minimum security prison?
I see the justice system is working as it should. I guess it is sad that this guy had to sink to such a low standard - I am glad that he got caught. I wonder if he won his other cases independent of bribes. I guess they need to investigate the judges who presided over the cases that he won. That is just shameful.
When the law is corrupted only the corrupt benefit.
News Flash to SadDam! There is no such thing as a greedy corporation. There are only greedy individuals, including “Dickie”, who lie, cheat and steal from others. The corporation is an inanimate object, a convenient vehicle, for an entire society, including widows and orphans, to invest in capitalism, in order to get some return, for their old age, by investing their hard-earned wages. It is very tiresome to hear terms of sympathy applied to the likes of Dickie Scruggs. I will save my sympathy for the people who have lost life’s savings, because it is so easy for tort lawyers to extort money from corporations and the taxpayers, resulting in hundreds of millions for them, when the individual wrongdoers usually go free. I might add that the individuals (or members of the class), that were “wronged” by the alleged tort, usually get some nominal return, while the lawyers build mansions from their kingly return.
He was an officer of the court and he knew better. Greed got him, as it got Mel Weiss and Bill Lerach. Don’t shed any tears for them - when they get out of prison, they still go home to all their millions.
unfortunately, he seems to be the norm with the bar in Mississippi. no one seems particularly shocked by what he did, other than the crassness of it.
Attempting to bribe a judge? Scruggs is an officer of the court and his actions corrupt our society. Five years in prison is not enough time for him to reflect on his behavior (without all of the many comforts he has amassed); he should have been sentenced to 50 for what he tried to do to the system. If it is any consolation, take comfort knowing that his eventual disbarment will provide further humiliation. Thank goodness the judge did not accept the bribe! I imagine, however, there are some other judges who Scruggs appeared before over the years that are a little uncomfortable right now.
Not only is he going to jail for 5 years, let’s not forget that his son got mixed up in the same scheme and presto! he’s a felon too.
Scruggs == Norm for the bar in Mississippi? Don’t be naive and think that this disease of greed only exists in that state!! No one seems shocked? Hardly. Many people are appaulled by his actions. He brided a judge to extort money from people who had lost EVERYTHING in Hurricane Katrina. That is not crass; that is low life scum!!
Does anyone realize that Trent Lott retired from the Senate about the time all this was going on……….Trent is Dickie’s brother-in-law.hmmmmmmm……..imagine that. I am sure Trent saw the writing on the wall.What a bunch of snakes!!!!
Wow shocking, lawyers bribing judges in Mississippi. Who knew.
FREE DICKIE!!!!!!!!!!!
wonder if he’ll fake suicide and get outta dodge in an RV before August 4th. he could become another of the growing breed of white collar crime gypsies.
25 years for Bernie Ebbers and 5 for bribing a judge…..funny how society treats its crooks. Make an example of a business man but not a dreadful trial lawyer. I threw up when I read this.
He was caught attempting to bribe a judge in a case where he (Dickie) was fighting over attorney’s fees with other lawyers.
There are other ongoing investigations of bribery and attempted bribery, including one where Dickie allegedly got his bro-in-law (Trent Lott) to call and offer to include that judge’s name on a list of possible nominees to the federal bench.
This ain’t over by any means.
I am sure the billable hours on the time sheets for the fee’s he was bribing a judge to award were padded. Once a crook, always a crook. Too bad they did not catch him sooner. His nickname (Dickie)says it all!
He is a disgrace to his profession and his profession is pretty disgraceful in and of itself.
He used his knowledge to pervert the system. He is the “everyone” of “everyone does it”. May he rot in hell.
$250k fine ? That’ll show him. Although he’s ‘earned’ hundreds of millions in legal fees, this is probably,like, his first offence, right ? I mean, he really did earn all that other money, fair and square, right ??
Another politically motivated prosecution from the hopelessly compromised DOJ. If action is ever taken on the recent IG report, the people behind Scruggs’ prosecution will be joining him.
Dickie’s a pimp. But I didn’t know until this day, that it was ________ _________ all along.
Dickie picked up a cool $1.0 billion in the tobacco wars. Yes folks, it went to him, not the sick and dying “victims of corporate greed” who lit their own cigarettes. This guy was in it for the money - if he was a do-gooder, he would have done it all pro-bono. And the fine - pocket change. Take away his liberty forever, it’s all he has to lose.
Wow. Did everyone see that picture of Dickie Scruggs coming out of the courtroom on the arm of his wife? He looked like he had aged 20 years- no kidding. 5 years AND 3 years supervised release! Wow!
I think his son Zach is not going to get probation-I think his son is now going to get prison time as well.
The man Scruggs- was worth millions and millions -he is, as the judge said a “millionaire several times over” -and he was going to bribe a judge for a measly $450,000? Oh my GOD-THE GREED OF SOME OF THESE PLAINTIFF LAWYERS, LERACH, WEISS AND NOW SCRUGGS-IT’S NOT PRETTY, AND IT SURE DOESN’T MAKE THE PROFESSION LOOK GOOD.
Why on earth did Scruggs do it?
Did he do anything else?
How often does this kind of thing go on? Fen Phen, Weiss, Lerach, Scruggs and …………..
A harsh sentence from a hanging judge who wants to pretend that only Dick Scruggs breaks the law. District Judge Mark Fuller ordered former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman to prison right after the guilty verdict came in, the same Mark Fuller whose company, Doss Aviation Inc., received renewals on its Department of Defense and FBI contracts worth over $150 million while Siegelman’s trial was going on. So it is bad for Scruggs to attempt to bribe a judge, but okay for the Bush White House and Karl Rove to really bribe a judge with government contracts worth millions in personal profits to Judge Fuller. Only in America.
Jim Hood is in on this, watch and see unless it is covered up. Mississippi is SO crooked!
John Edwards made $20 million in 4 years suing doctors. People like that are one of the main reasons health care costs are so high, the lawsuit industry takes money from all the other industries and gives it to lawyers.
Well, the Dems Culture of GREED were hit a blow. Wonder if all the democrats that benefitted so richly from Dickie’s contributions will be donated to charity?
TORT REFORM ANYONE????
Dickie is in a long line of Democrat trial lawyers doing some big time time for doing their big time, time.
GOD-THE GREED OF SOME OF THESE PLAINTIFF LAWYERS, LERACH, WEISS AND NOW SCRUGGS-IT’S NOT PRETTY, AND IT SURE DOESN’T MAKE THE PROFESSION LOOK GOOD.
Democrats LOVE THEM!
Hope the bum gets some lovin’ in the slammer. His ilk disgust me.
a bon chat, bon rat.
heh
Folks, I’ve been in depositions with some of Scruggs’s fellow lawyers during the Mississippi tobacco wars. Let me be clear. They are interested in heaps of cash — nothing more, nothing less. It’s disgusting, and they make no secret of it when they’re off the record. They are not remotely interested in the welfare of their clients, whom they refer to as their “inventory.” Yes, that’s right — they view their clients no differently than Wal-Mart views boxes in a warehouse. So spare us all the BS about truth and justice. It’s a sickening money grab that may yet kill the golden goose. (I wonder who’ll build their private jets after that?)
“They are interested in heaps of cash…”
Of course, how much of the billions of dollars that lawyers took from doctors over the past 40 years went to improve the quality of medicine practice in the United States.
Not one dime.
There have been improvements, but they came from the medical and insurance people. The lawsuit industry just redistributes wealth.
So “Democrats Culture of Greed
” LOL . . explain to us all why Dickie Scruggs few hundred thousand bucks donated to the GOP is now being given back BY THE GOP because of his good old redneck boys behind bars status besmirching their pretense of “moral superiority”?
It might behoove you good old boys to read the real news from time to time — but in the south, truth is an anathema to the intellectually constipated of your ilk.
Justice is finally coming to Dickie Scruggs. BUT, hold on, Judge Biggers did give him the option of getting a lesser sentence if he cooperates with the feds about P.L. Blake. Yes, these is the fellow that Scruggs paid $50 Million for newspaper clippings. (This is when Ole Dickie broke down and the Judge had to stop his speech but after he was seated, Judge Biggers picked right up where he left off. He reminded Dickie that there would a FULL transcript of everything he (Judge Biggers) had said and hoped that Dickie would take the time to read it and fully understand.) The Judge gave Dickie a little over a month to come forth and start whistling “Dixie”!
Trent Lott was NO where to be found! I guess he did not want to distract any of the news outlets and have himself photo ‘d.
This sentencing does not include the ongoing investigation into another possible (in Judge Bigger’s statement to Dickie – PROBABLE) case where Dickie BRIBED Judge Delaughter (yes, Ole Trent Lott’s name came across in this case).
As Judge Biggers stated, Dickie had probably done this before and got away with it and he did so he gave it another try BUT this time, he GOT THE WRONG JUDGE!
Judge Biggers - you’re my HERO! You took on the Good Ole Boy and gave it to him.
I wonder how many time did Ole Dickie stick it to the little man? Judge Biggers knew this. He did his homework!
P.O.Box 532.up.knust.
kumasi.Ghana.
looking forward for sample mail to address mention
I’ll send him a little KY to make this stay more comfortable.
It is people like this that is killing the USA. Take a look at these slides and begin to realize the USA needs to change and to go back to competing.
http://ydito.com/showchannelimages/?Pid=SQ-JE-FVEA-JN-TP-CM-WK-GFBS-WD-GO
ATTICUS FINCH PROLIFERATES IN THE SOUTHERN BAR,ESPECIALLY HERE IN MISSISSIPPI
INCIDENTIALLY,WE ARE A HELL OF A LOT MORE EDUCATED THAN SOME. IN AN ECSTACY OF ELITISM SEEM TO ASSUME THERE ARE THOSE WITH.LIMITED KNOWLEDGE WHO MAY NOT HAVE READ INTRUDER IN THE DUST,MOCKINGBIRD,OR THE BEST BOOK BY JOHN ,GRISHAM A TIME TO KIL,, THE THREE BEST LAWYER BOOKS WITH THE SAME HEROIC THEME,DEFENDING HEOROT FROM GRENDEL,DAM & cie.
Now who among you dares to cast a stone against the arbitration monster that takes away trial by struck juury or the abominations of artificial(and Low)caps
Mississippi or New York a crooked lawyer is a crooked lawyer. See more crooked lawyers at www.stoplegalfiction.org
Let’s put the civil court system on trial. The verdict would be guilty for masquerading as a fair and unbiased system that is used to settle disputes fairly instead of with a gun. Time to fix the system and take greed out of the picture. After that then we work on capital punishment for anyone who engages in fraud for their benefit. We then wouldn’t need all the lawyers we have now have would we? Oops forgot about the appeals process that would inspire.
Anyone know where he is goin?
Scruggs Milberg and Lerach shuffle off to the shower room in their comfy rubber shoes. Were I a Big Law partner I wouldn’t be too smug and sanctimonious. Next up to bat will be a series of AmLaw 200 firms whose partners’ creative timekeeping practices will be revealed in a courtroom near you. Like the captive plaintiffs of Milberg - the cozy judges of Scruggville - the craven criminal timekeeping padding, inflation, and exaggeration will in the words of Jeremiah Wright be “coming home to roost.”
Of course padded timesheets will be the next priority when so much more is untouched after these showroom investigations. Two from Bear, two from biglaw, four from Milberg and four from Mississippi - you will see as many scapegoats as needed to divert attention from the widespread looting and pillaging. Look at New York Courts and who is really in charge. www.stoplegalfiction.org
sunherald.com has the transcript from sentencing..for those thinking the fine was minimal, apparently the statute caps the fine at 250k, although the Judge ordered Scruggs to pay his costs of confinement
Chickens…coming home…to roost…
I THINK ZACK SHOULD HAVE GOT 5 YEARS ALSO
