NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- Former Mississippi attorney is asking the federal appeals court in New Orleans to overturn his guilty plea in a judicial bribery case that also involved his father.
Zach Scruggs spent 14 months in prison, lost his law license and paid a $250,000 fine after pleading guilty in 2008 of failing to report knowledge that a colleague had spoken illegally to a judge.
Scruggs says he knew nothing about a scheme to bribe the judge who presided over a legal-fees lawsuit against his father, imprisoned attorney Richard Scruggs, and others.
Charges included bribery aimed to deprive the public of an official's honest services. Zach Scruggs' arguments rely on a 2010 U.S. Supreme Court decision limiting such cases to bribery and kickbacks.
His hearing is Monday.
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