Two Bribe-Taking Judges Report To Jail; Join Bribe-Paying Attorney

In Jackson, Mississippi, The Associated Press reports:

• Two former judges report[ed] to federal prison [last week] to begin serving lengthy sentences for their roles in a judicial bribery scandal that entangled one of the state's most prominent plaintiffs attorneys. Former Circuit Judge John Whitfield and former Chancery Judge Wes Teel, both of Harrison County on the Mississippi coast, were convicted in March of bribery and mail fraud. Whitfield, 45, was sentenced to more than nine years. Teel, 57, was sentenced to almost six years. Paul Minor, who was convicted of bribing the judges, is already serving an 11-year sentence in a federal prison in Tallahassee, Fla. The 61-year-old Minor was once considered among the top trial lawyers in Mississippi, amassing a fortune from tobacco, asbestos and other litigation.

The men were found guilty at the end of a second trial. The first trial in 2005, which ended with the acquittal of Mississippi Supreme Court Justice Oliver Diaz Jr., ended in a hung jury as to them. Diaz was the only one cleared of all charges and has since returned to the bench.

Minor and the former judges are appealing their convictions, claiming to be victims of a political witchhunt by a Republican controlled [U.S.] Justice Department that wanted to bring an end to Minor's financial support of Democratic candidates.

For more, see Former Miss. judges report to jail.

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