Supreme Court Denies Appeal by Disbarred Mississippi Attorney Scruggs

The Supreme Court won’t hear an appeal from disbarred Mississippi attorney Richard “Dickie” Scruggs.

The high court on Monday decided not to hear from the architect of the multi-billion dollar tobacco lawsuits of the 1990s. Scruggs was convicted of improperly influencing a Mississippi judge, saying that he would recommend him to Scruggs’ brother-in-law, then-Mississippi Sen. Trent Lott, for an appointment to the federal bench. The judge was presiding over a lawsuit between Scruggs and another lawyer who were fighting over money.

Scruggs pleaded guilty in 2009 to honest services fraud, but appealed his conviction after the high court limited the scope of honest services laws in June 2010. But federal judges have refused to overturn his conviction, and the high court refused to reconsider their rulings.

Topics Mississippi