This just in: The last of the five defendants in the high-profile judicial bribery case has entered a guilty plea, reports The Wall Street Journal Law Blog.
Zach Scruggs, son of well-known plaintiff's attorney Richard "Dickie" Scruggs, pleaded guilty to a federal felony charge that he was aware of but did not report that associates were inappropriately trying to influence a Mississippi judge.
Scruggs Sr. pleaded guilty to conspiring to bride the judge for a favorable ruling in a legal-fee dispute over Hurricane Katrina-related insurance litigation.
The crime, in federal parlance called "misprision of a felony" will cost the 33-year-old Scruggs his law license, according to the (Biloxi, Miss.) Sun Herald. Judge Neal B. Biggers Jr. could sentence Scruggs to a maximum of three years in prison, but prosecutors have recommended three years' probation.