Insurance Law

Zach Scruggs gets 14 months prison time

By David Rossmiller

Judge "Maximum Neal" Biggers today sentenced Zach Scruggs to 14 months in prison for his role in the Scruggs Bribery Scandal.  Actually, it was not the maximum he could have received -- three years was the max.  According to this Associated Press story by Holbrook Mohr, the younger Scruggs seemed surprised. 

Here is a transcript of Zach Scruggs' sentencing hearing, at the website of the Sun Herald, and you may note when you read it that Zach was represented by suspected Trailer Lawyer Todd Graves.  (Unconfirmed rumors were that Graves arrived at the courthouse in a single-wide pulled by a 1986 Jeep Cherokee with rust colorations, and was met by a State Farm band of pipers playing "Bye Bye Trailer Lawyer Pie."  I'm still checking this out).

Also present and representing Zach was former Mississippi AG Mike Moore, who at one point, to the apparent surprise of the judge, who said he was accustomed to only one lawyer speaking on behalf of a defendant, interjected some bunk about counseling Zach over the last year and how he's now very remorseful. 

Judge, the only thing I will say, because I 've known Zach since he was a little boy, what has occurred in this case is completely out of character for him. And I 've counseled with him and worked with him over the last year, and I can promise the Court that he is very remorseful and very contrite and ashamed, ashamed of what has occurred.

Yeah, right, I can hear you now, what you're saying to yourself: "Moore was counseling him? That might be part of his problem right there." This is of course a very cynical view which I in no way endorse, I merely note that some may be thinking this.  The Moore statement apparently went over with the Court like a lead zeppelin, because as mentioned, the judge sentenced the younger Scruggs to 14 months, contrary to the recommendation of prosecutors for a sentence of probation. (You may recall, if you know your rock and roll history, that Keith Moon,  the fabled drummer of The Who, heard that Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, John Paul Jones and John Bonham were going to form a new band out of the debris of The Yardbirds, and Moon supposedly said that the new band "would go over like a lead zeppelin."  Thus the name of the band, Led Zeppelin -- the simplified spelling was, no doubt, so as not to confuse fans of heavy metal).   

Here's what Judge Biggers had to say about Scruggs' role in the bribery scandal, including a nice little exchange with Mike "Lead Zeppelin" Moore. 

All right. Well, as counsel and the Government both know, and as the Court pointed out at the plea, any pleas for leniency by the Government or anyone else are not binding on the Court. And the Court primarily is bound by the sentencing guidelines that are the law, regardless of what any individuals ask for.

Your case is a sad case, Mr. Scruggs, as your attorney eloquently stated. The primary actor in this case was your father. It would not have happened without him. And it makes it even sadder that you, his son, was brought into it. The evidence in this case shows that you were fully aware of this corruption - - attempted corruption of Judge Lackey. You took that order that Balducci brought up to your law office that - - the corrupt order that was attempted to be bought from Judge Lackey. And you made comments on it. You said where commas should be and what things should be said about it, what the order should say.

And based on some of those tapes that you - - that were played at the request of your attorney - - or your father' s attorney, Mr. Keker, and which I heard because they were produced, I just - - it was just clear that you not only knew what was going on, you were participating in what was going on. You helped write that order.

You shake your head, Mr. Moore; but I heard the tapes. He wrote - - he suggested what should be in that order, that corrupted order. Have you heard that?

MR . MOORE : Judge, I 've listened to every tape, interviewed every witness.

THE COURT : Well, then, you've heard that if you've listened to every tape.

MR . MOORE : I did Judge - -

THE COURT : He commented on it.

MR . MOORE : - - and I hope I get a chance to respond.

THE COURT : Well, you've had your chance to respond. Well, you can respond to that; you can respond to that. Go ahead.

MR . MOORE : Thank you, Your Honor. Zach Scruggs never had any knowledge whatsoever that there was any conspiracy to bribe a judge in this case. Zach Scruggs, on March 28th, was at a meeting about a - -

THE COURT : He' s not being sentenced for conspiracy to bribe a judge.

MR . MOORE : I understand, Judge.

THE COURT : He' s being sentenced for misprision of a felony. But the underlying offense is the corruption of Judge Lackey. He knew that Judge Lackey was being corrupted, and he had an order there that he was looking at that was part of - - that was an order that was being bought from Judge Lackey - - or being taken - - persuaded - - at the very least, that he - - you're saying he knew - - that I know he knew - - was that this order was the result of a corruption or attempted corruption of Judge Lackey.

MR . MOORE : Right. Your Honor, I - -

THE COURT : And whether it was for money or whatever else is really immaterial; it was a corrupt order.

MR . MOORE : The only difference - - and I don' t want to offend the Court. But the only difference is, is that the only thing Zach knew was that Tim Balducci went to have a conversation with Judge Lackey. He never knew that anybody conspired to bribe a judge or to do something untoward. The tape that you're talking about is a tape that occurred after Tim Balducci came to the Scruggs Law Firm on November the 1st, wired up, wearing a wire, walked up the stairs, saying he was there to meet with two individuals, Sid Backstrom and Dick Scruggs. Zach Scruggs, all the evidence would show, happened to walk in the room that day. He was never a part of that. And that' s the only evidence the Government ever had in this case. And that may be a distinction without a difference in Your Honor' s mind, but it' s a distinction in Zach' s mind.

THE COURT : Well, that' s something you can argue. Whether or not that' s true remains open. He hasn' t pled guilty to being part of the bribery. And he' s not being sentenced for part of the bribery. You know, when Mr. Backstrom - - who' s admitted he was part of the bribe - - and your client are as close as they were, they're up there in that office every day talking about their - - the legal projects of the firm - - and it' s hard to - - it' s kind of a stretch of credulity to believe that Backstrom never mentioned that money was being sent down to Judge Lackey. You can claim that; you can argue that. And as far as the law is concerned, I'm going to base the sentence on that. But whether or not I believe that is something else.

MR . MOORE : One thing I ' d say, Judge, is - - and I know you've listened to some of the tapes, but I 've listened to all of them. And if the Government has a different view, they can say it. With all of the conversations, hundreds of conversations, that were wiretapped and taped, there' s no mention of Zach Scruggs in this case anywhere. He just - -

THE COURT : I understand all of that. That' s not part of this hearing. What do you say, Mr. Dawson?

MR . DAWSON : I ' d have to disagree with that statement. Mr. Scruggs - - Zach Scruggs is mentioned on some of the tapes.

THE COURT : That was my recollection also. And another thing that impressed me negatively about this, frankly, is that when you, Mr. Scruggs, and Mr. Backstrom were talking with Mr. Balducci over this order that he had brought to you before it had been entered by Judge Lackey, it was an order that you were commenting on how it should read and what it
should say - - and you've told me that you have a great respect and love for the legal field, for the legal profession. And I ' m - - I ' m not questioning that. But you certainly had no great respect for the Circuit Court of Lafayette County or Judge Lackey, because the tapes show that you told Mr. Balducci and Mr. Backstrom that we need to hurry up and get this order signed before some other asshole gets the case. Now, that' s a total thumb in your nose at the Lafayette County Circuit Court. And it contradicts your statement to the Court that you have a great love and respect for the legal profession.

Based on these considerations, and based on the sentencing guidelines that have been furnished the Court, you have no criminal history. I ' m taking into consideration the Government' s plea bargain with you. Of course, I told you when the plea bargain was entered into it was not a binding plea agreement. If, really, the Government and defendants were serious on something that would bind the Court to a specific sentence, it would have been an 11( c ) ( 1 ) ( C ) plea agreement like Mr. Backstrom had which bound the Court.

MR . MOORE : Your Honor, we were informed by the Government on that matter - - we asked for a binding plea and the Government - -

THE COURT : You didn' t get it. You were here when he entered a plea of guilty. It was not an 11( c ) ( 1 ) ( C ) ; I told you it was not binding.

MR . MOORE : Judge, we know that. I just - -

THE COURT : Well, all right. Then, if I want you to say anymore, Mr. Moore, I 'll ask for it.

If you know anything about Mike Moore, you know, of course, that he kept right on talking, despite what the judge said, and even stepped on co-counsel Graves' lines in doing so.  In the end, the judge said he will consider allowing Zach to stay out of prison until after the birth of his third child in October.  He was fined $250,000.  Judge Biggers said he gave some weight to the prosectuors' recommendation of probation, and imposed the 14 months sentence instead of the 21 to 27 months the sentencing guidelines call for.   

Full post as published by Insurance Coverage Law Blog on July 02, 2008 (boomark / email).