Legal News

Earning His Letters: Taking Stock of the Support for Scruggs

By Ashby Jones

The sentencing of famed plaintiffs lawyer Richard “Dickie” Scruggs isn’t scheduled until Friday, but today we’re doing a little pregaming by reading up on the letters submitted on his behalf. Again, Scruggs faces up to 5 years in prison for conspiring to bribe a Mississippi judge, a crime he pleaded guilty to in March. Click here for a whole treasure trove of previous posts.

As is often the case leading up to criminal sentencing, letters supporting Scruggs and asking for leniency have been pouring into the chambers of the judge presiding over the case, Neal Biggers. But until today, we had no idea what the letters said; unlike those submitted in the cases involving Bill Lerach and Mel Weiss, the letters concerning Scruggs had been kept private.

That is, until the Mississippi press got involved. Several news organizations filed motions with Judge Biggers, arguing that the letters were of public interest and that they should be allowed to see them. Judge Biggers ruled in favor of the pubs, which included the blog folo. (From the Law Blog Blogger Victory of the Day: “The court has been advised by readers of the blog Folo that [folo writer Tom Freeland] has been exceptionally thorough, energetic and accurate in his writings on this case and the court will and does hereby make an exception for his status as a blogger and allows him equal credentials with the traditional press in this matter.)

So it seems the whole lot of them went down to the court in Oxford today and checked out the letters, of which there are over 400. Click here and here and here for a variety of the accounts.

Among the writers: Tobacco whistleblower Jeffrey Wigand, portrayed in the movie “The Insider” by Russell Crowe; former 60 Minutes producer, Lowell Bergman, portrayed in the movie “The Insider” by Al Pacino; yachtsman Dennis Connor; Ole Miss Chancellor Robert Khayat and former Mississippi governor William Winter.

A sampling:

• Khayat: He has much to offer society and is a public-spirited person. Furthermore, it would appear to be a waste of taxpayers’ money. Punishment is relative to the individual. A man such as Dick has been amply punished by the loss of his profession and his public stature. . . It is my belief that any time he spends being incarcerated is an absolute waste of a great deal of talent and ability.
• Bergman: Without Mr. Scruggs, the revelations that appeared in court proceedings and the media about the tobacco industry, as well as the unprecedented settlements, simply would not have happened.
• Wigand: When I first learned of the issue that has caused Dickie’s current situation, I was shocked as well as others that know or have worked with him. How could a man with such a strong moral fiber err like this? . . . He is a good man, an intrinsically honest lawyer, and a true friend who has made a mistake.

Not all are positive, though. According to folo, a handwritten letter retired Oxford police officer explains that this is not a case where the defendants were economically or otherwise disadvantaged, and states how serious the crime is.

Photo: AP

Full post as published by Law Blog - WSJ.com on June 25, 2008 (boomark / email).