JACKSON - After nearly two years of legal wrangling, the bribery trial of a Mississippi Supreme Court justice and three others is scheduled to begin on Wednesday, with a witness list that reads like a who's who of political players.
Gulf Coast attorney Paul Minor - who made millions in several landmark cases, including the tobacco suits portrayed in the movie "The Insider" - is accused of bribing Supreme Court Justice Oliver Diaz Jr., former Circuit Judge John Whitfield and former Chancery Judge Wes Teel.
Indictments claim Minor funneled hundreds of thousands of dollars to the judges, sometimes through third parties, in exchange for favorable decisions. His lead attorney, Abbe Lowell of Washington, claims the money was merely campaign contributions.
All have pleaded innocent to charges of bribery and fraud, and Minor has pleaded innocent to an additional count of racketeering.
Diaz's former wife, Jennifer Diaz, also was indicted in the scheme but pleaded guilty in April to lesser charges and agreed to cooperate with federal prosecutors. Jennifer Diaz's statements to investigators have been kept under wraps and hers is perhaps the most anticipated testimony to come.
Whitfield's attorney, Michael Crosby of Gulfport, says
prosecutors are bound by law to disclose relevant information and they haven't done so with Jennifer Diaz's statements.
"We're truly not expecting for her to say anything to our detriment," Crosby said. "Her guilty plea was based on her not properly classifying tax records, not our case."
Jennifer Diaz pleaded guilty to trying to avoid paying $27,873 in income tax for the calendar year 2001, court documents show.
Besides Jennifer Diaz, prosecutors have listed more than 145 potential witnesses and defense attorneys have about half as many - a lineup that includes a former state Supreme Court justice, former Attorney General Mike Moore, federal judges and other high-profile attorneys. Even U.S. Attorney Dunn Lampton, whose staff is prosecuting the case, is on a defense witness list.
Crosby told The Associated Press the outcome of the trial could have tremendous political ramifications.
He said if judges - elected in Mississippi in nonpartisan races - were not allowed to collect campaign contributions, only the wealthy would have a shot at winning a seat. Crosby said it would be detrimental to ban attorneys from donating while allowing businesses and political action committees to do so. "It's the criminalization of the political process and the politicalization of the criminal process," he said.
Lowell has pointed to other Mississippi lawyers, including Richard "Dickie" Scruggs, a high-profile attorney who Lowell says has given millions of dollars in political contributions to judges, in an effort to show that Minor was singled out for a practice common in Mississippi.
Lowell said Lampton guided a grand jury to indict Minor after Minor won a large settlement from a business owned by one of Lampton's relatives. The defense also claims Lampton set his sights on Minor after the wealthy Democratic supporter opposed the political ambitions of Lampton, a Republican appointee.
Prosecutors have maintained that the charges are not political. They say Minor and the other defendants were involved in a lucrative scheme that netted Minor hundreds of thousands of dollars in attorney's fees from cases before three different courts.
Prosecutors did not return telephone calls to The Associated Press.
Lowell says Scruggs - the brother-in-law of U.S. Sen. Trent Lott - was involved in nearly identical conduct but was not indicted because of his Republican ties.
Scruggs led the charge in tobacco lawsuits that resulted in a $4.2 billion settlement for Mississippi and set the stage for other states to pursue billion-dollar deals.
Lowell says neither Scruggs nor Minor broke any federal laws and that he will call Scruggs to testify.
U.S. District Judge Henry T. Wingate pointed out in pretrial hearings that Scruggs testified before a grand jury without immunity and was not indicted.
Scruggs told The AP that he has not been subpoenaed but would be happy to testify. "(Lowell) is doing what he feels like he has to do," Scruggs said. "And that's switch the spotlight off his client."
Scruggs says he has nothing to hide and acknowledges making campaign contributions to many politicians and judges - including John Kerry, Republican Lt. Gov. Amy Tuck and Diaz.
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