Tuesday, April 22, 2014

DeLaughter into restoration

Former Hinds County (Miss.) Circuit Judge Bobby DeLaughter manages a firm that locates and restores forgotten buildings into apartments in New Orleans – where people have gone for nearly 300 years to start anew. He is best known for successfully prosecuting civil rights activist Medgar Evers' murderer in 1963; and penning a memoir that was turned into the motion picture “Ghosts of Mississippi" in 1996. He got out of prison in 2010 after serving a year for lying to FBI agents former boss, Ed Peters, regarding a legal fees dispute that could have cost trial lawyer Dickie Scruggs $15 million. Prosecutors accused DeLaughter of ruling in Scruggs' favor in exchange for Scruggs asking brother-in-law, then-U.S. Sen. Trent Lott, to nominate DeLaughter for a federal judgeship. Lott recommended someone else. (Source: Clarion Ledger, 04/21/14)
Central Mississippi Note: Last year, DeLaughter and Peters also drew some scrutiny when the Mississippi Supreme Court upheld the dismissal of a $1 billion trade secret lawsuit filed by Eaton Corp. of Jackson against a rival as punishment for Eaton turning Peters loose to influence DeLaughter. At sentencing, DeLaughter went to prison. He never considered a memoir on the latest experience.

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