Associated Press
JACKSON - A federal judge will hear motions today to dismiss new charges against attorney Paul Minor and Mississippi Supreme Court Justice Oliver Diaz Jr. in a judiciary bribery case.
The hearing will be before U.S. District Judge Henry T. Wingate in Jackson.
Minor, Oliver Diaz and his ex-wife, Jennifer, along with former judges Wes Teel and John Whitfield, are accused of participating in a scheme in which Minor allegedly provided cash, loans and gifts to the judges in exchange for favorable decisions.
They were originally indicted last summer. A new indictment was filed by federal prosecutors in February. The new indictment charged Diaz and Minor with extortion besides fraud and bribery.
All five have pleaded innocent. A trial date has been set for Aug. 16.
The new indictment added charges that Minor tried to extort money for Diaz from two attorneys whose case was before the Supreme Court.
In its response to the motions, the government said the new indictment follows the language in the statutes.
Attorneys for the Diazes and Minor have argued that the government has failed to provide support for its allegations that the three did anything wrong or violate any federal law.
Minor allegedly told the attorneys that Diaz had swung the Supreme Court's vote in favor of their client, and then asked for $20,000 for Diaz while the court considered a motion to rehear the case, according to the indictment.
The indictment also expanded the dates of Minor's alleged involvement with Diaz to 1994, when Diaz was on the Court of Appeals.
In the dismissal motion for Minor, attorneys said there were defects in the new indictment and many of the counts in it duplicated others.
Minor also argued that prosecutors failed to prove elements of the Hobbs Act, which governs violence or extortion that could affect interstate commerce.
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