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88 Tul. L. Rev. 1007 (2013-2014)

handle is hein.journals/tulr88 and id is 1071 raw text is: United States v Scruggs: The Fifth Circuit Creates a New Method To Determine What Constitutes a More Serious Charge I. OVERVIEW ............................................. 1007 II. BACKGROUND ........................... ....1 009 A. Circuit Courts Rationalize Bousley's Extension of ActualInnocence to 'More SeriousForgone Charges ....................................... 1010 B. Circuit Courts Split on How To Determie Seriousness.............10 1H. COURT'S DECISION .................................1013 IV ANALYSIS ..................................1015 I. OVERVIEW Richard Dickie Scruggs first found notable success as a plaintiffs' attorney in asbestos litigation.' Not long after, Scruggs found massive success as one of the key plaintiffs' attorneys in tobacco litigation.2 Scruggs became a subject of national media attention, even finding himself as a character in the Academy Award-nominated motion picture The Insider, Hollywood's take on the epic legal fight against the tobacco industry.' However, behind the scenes, Scruggs continuously found himself embroiled in fee-sharing disputes with cocounsel.4 In particular, Roberts Wilson, Scruggs's cocounsel in asbestos litigation, filed suit against Scruggs for unpaid fees.' Mississippi Circuit Court Judge Robert Bobby DeLaughter was assigned to the case.' Scruggs, having recently lost a similar fee- sharing suit, decided to put into motion a scheme to avoid the same fate twice.' Scruggs hired Ed Peters, a close friend of DeLaughter, as a covert go-between to deliver an offer from Scruggs to DeLaughter: if DeLaughter tipped the scales in Scruggs's favor, Scruggs would speak 1. United States v. Scruggs, 714 F.3d 258, 260 (5th Cir.), cert. denieg 134 S. Ct. 336 (2013). 2. Id. 3. THE INSIDER (Touchstone Pictures et al. 1999). 4. Scruggs, 714 F.3d at 260. 5. Id 6. Id 7. Id. 1007

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