Stop Lawsuit Abuse in Mississippi

The Public's Right to Know

Shining a light on how personal injury lawyers are "deputized" to file state lawsuits for profit – and Governor Barbour's proposed solution.

A disturbing trend in America's court systems began a few years ago when Mississippi personal injury lawyer Dickie Scruggs teamed up with then Attorney General Mike Moore to file a lawsuit on behalf of the state. Since then, personal injury lawyers often have been "deputized" by state attorneys general to file state lawsuits. Dickie Scruggs has also been selected to partner with Attorney General Jim Hood on lawsuits, and Scruggs has been a major contributor to Attorney General Hood’s campaigns.

This type of relationship raises many questions:

What is the relationship between the attorney general and the private attorneys he hires?

- Have the private attorneys received favorable treatment because they are campaign contributors to the attorney general? (In a number of states, the attorneys deputized by the attorneys general are often campaign contributors.)

- What are the terms of the deal? (Often the terms are never made public, and can involve millions or billions of dollars.)

What is the cost to citizens and taxpayers, who see huge lawsuit awards and settlements on behalf of their state go into the pockets of private individuals?
Generally, businesses that contract with the state have to follow stringent rules to qualify for the state business, and their compensation is closely regulated. Why should private attorneys be hired in secret and compensated in an undisclosed manner?
Should private individuals, the personal injury lawyers, be allowed the opportunity to make huge profits by trading on the name of the state? These private individuals are, in essence, being given permission to do their private business of filing lawsuits for profit as an agent of the state.

These are troubling questions for Mississippians and citizens of other states where ethical questions arise over the relationship between state attorneys general and their campaign contributors.

Attorney General Jim Hood hired two private law firms to file a lawsuit against MCI on behalf of the state. (One of the firms was the Langston law firm, which has contributed $100,000 to Hood’s campaigns. Two of the Langston lawyers involved in the MCI case, Joey Langston and Tim Balducci, have since pleaded guilty to judicial bribery charges.) When the lawyers were paid a $14 million legal fee for the case, Governor Barbour requested an investigation into the relationship between Attorney General Hood and the campaign contributors he hired who reaped millions from the case.

The investigation by State Auditor Phil Bryant found that the $14 million should have been deposited in the state’s general fund for distribution by the legislature rather than given to the law firms. The State Auditor recommended that the Attorney General work with him to recover the funds, but Attorney General Hood refused.

Governor Haley Barbour recently proposed legislation to require disclosure of the relationships between attorneys general and private attorneys they hire. This Private Attorney Retention Sunshine Act (PARSA) would have brought these relationships into the public light, where they belong. The legislation has been under consideration in recent legislative sessions.

The public has a right to know.