Postby Po Monkey Lounger » Sat Mar 15, 2008 9:33 am
A few facts for clarification.
First, Scruggs pled guilty to one of the counts against him. As part of the deal, the other counts will be dismissed. When entering the plea, he had to admit his guilt to the Court. The maximum prison term for the crime he pled guilty to is 5 years. There was no agreement by the prosecution to recommend anything less. Judge Biggers is a no nonsense Judge. Scruggs will be sentenced to the full 5 years and the maximum fines (which are not much in terms of Scruggs' money). But, keep in mind, that this plea only relates to the judicial bribery case involving Judge Lackey. No immunity was given to Scruggs for any other unrelated crimes ---such as prosecution in the Bobby Delaughter bribery matter (the matter that Langston has already pled guilty to), MS state charges for the same type of crimes (if AG Hood ever get around to it), any state or federal tax prosecutions, etc. In other words, Scruggs is not out of the woods yet. And by virtue of the guilty plea to a felony, Scruggs will lose his law license. The only way for Scruggs to get any leniency and some degree of immunity from other prosecutions would be for him to agree to cooperate with the feds in the prosecution of others. So far, Scruggs has refused to do so.
Next, with regard to Zach, he is not being let off the hook as some have stated in this thread. The prosecution has only agreed to delay prosecution --for now, meaning a continuance of the late March trial until a later date ---perhaps as early as April. And Zach has agreed to go ahead and forfeit his law license as part of this deal. As it stands now, Zach still faces a trial in this case, as he is the only remaining defendant without a plea deal. No doubt, the plea deals entered yesterday by Scruggs and Backstrum will open the door to more possibilities for Zach. Once Backstrum is sentenced, I think we will then see a plea deal by Zach, with the agreement being somewhat consistent with the punishment Backstrum received. I would be very surprised to see the case go to trial against only Zach.
The feds will now be gearing up for indictments (to the extent not obtained already), arrests, and prosecutions in the Bobby Delaughter related matter --- and perhaps other matters under investigation. The federal investigations and prosecutions are just shifting gears now to other matters. A MS housecleaning is coming.
You can't drink all day if you don't start in the morning.