Attorney Scruggs, 2 others face trial

A federal judge in Oxford declined to dismiss an indictment in a judicial bribery case against attorney Richard “Dickie” Scruggs and two others.

Scruggs, his son Zach and law partner Sidney Backstrom are accused of trying to bribe a judge to get a favorable ruling in a dispute over $26.5 million in legal fees from a mass settlement of Hurricane Katrina insurance lawsuits.

U.S. District Judge Neal Biggers Jr. ruled that there was enough evidence against the three for the case to go to trial.

The defendants have pleaded not guilty to counts including wire fraud and defrauding the federal government. A trial is set to begin March 31.