The Final Phunk & Wagnalls Post...until the reunion tour, anyway

I think I can speak for Trevor Kane when I say that both of us have not had a fraction of the time to blog than when we first started P&W.
I can't let some old post stand as the last post, so I at least want to make some sort of formal post to let you know that we haven't abandoned the site completley...just taking a hiatus and waiting for the reunion tour.

Thanks to all who visited, contributed and commented. Hopefully we'll get some time in the future to continue Phunk & Wagnalls.

Humpty Dumpty & Trevor Kane

More Melton Motions

Prosecutor's in the Melton case have filed a new motion saying the law applies to the mayor and they're not going to get into his "personal moral code of conduct"...whatever his personal code of conduct is. I think it's been in question since his TV days.

The motion was filed in response to a defense argument that jurors in the mayor's Jan. 5 trial should be allowed to hear evidence showing Melton did not have an "evil motive" on Aug. 28, 2006, when he allegedly led a group of sledgehammer-welding young men, some with criminal records, to attack a Ridgeway Street duplex he later claimed was a "crack house."

Melton and his two former Jackson Police Department bodyguards Marcus Wright and Michael Recio were charged in July in a three-count federal indictment with crimes related to the warrantless raid on the duplex. In October, Wright pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor in exchange for his cooperation in prosecuting Melton and Recio.

If convicted on all counts, Melton and Recio could spend up to 25 years in prison.

The claim that Melton's actions were well intentioned was a central feature of the mayor's successful defense in an April 2007 state trial on charges related to the duplex raid. In that trial, a Hinds County jury found Melton and his bodyguards not guilty on all counts after jurors were told they had to consider whether the mayor's alleged actions were "malicious."

U.S. Justice Department prosecutors argued in their motion that jurors in the federal system need receive no instruction about "evil motive."

"Moreover, even if this Court were to use such charging language, case law and grammatical structure of the instruction make clear that the phrase refers only to the defendant's 'purpose' or 'motive' to disobey or disregard the Constitution and federal law," the motion states.

In short, prosecutors argued, jurors need only decide whether Melton and his bodyguards knew the raid was against the law.

In prior briefs and courtroom arguments, prosecutors have said they intend to show Melton was warned several times about proper police procedure, but chose to ignore that advice. As police officers, Recio and Wright were trained in proper procedure, and according to a federal trial brief filed last month, Wright will testify that the three men knew what they were doing was against the law.

While Melton's defense has seized upon court precedent requiring jurors to weigh "evil motive," prosecutors argued that language is "shorthand" to mean something consciously done and not "mere carelessness or mistake."

John Reeves, Melton's defense attorney, has made it clear that allowing in evidence showing a history of drug use and sales at the duplex and in the surrounding neighborhood is key to his defense of the mayor. Reeves has a week to draft a rebuttal to the prosecution's argument, after which U.S. District Judge Dan Jordan will rule on how the case will proceed.

Mississippi College law professor Matt Steffey said Reeves made a strong initial argument in his original motion filed last month.

As a result, he expects Jordan will allow some leeway for the defense to explain why Melton and Recio were at the duplex.

"I don't expect Judge Jordan to let the mayor run wild like he did at the state trial," he said. "But (the jury) has to know why the mayor showed up that night."

In a separate filing, prosecutors also asked Jordan to place three of their latest motions under seal, two of them in an apparent effort to protect Wright, their star witness.

In an attempt to discredit Wright, defense attorneys for Melton and Recio filed a motion last month seeking JPD Internal Affairs documents involving Wright.

The documents involve second-hand accounts of alleged sexual misconduct by Wright made by a jailed male prostitute.

One motion federal prosecutors filed Monday seeks "to preclude any reference to findings of misconduct of police officers by witnesses that do not concern lack of truthfulness."

A second asks Jordan to "exclude reference to allegations of misconduct by Marcus Wright."

Judging from the titles of the latest prosecution motions, they appear to pick up from last month's hearings where lawyers for both sides argued over the Internal Affairs documents that mentioned Wright.

During that hearing, lead prosecutor Mark Blumberg blasted the defense motions regarding the male prostitute as a blatant attempt to smear Wright.

Defense attorneys fired back with accusations that government prosecutors withheld information damaging to Wright's credibility.

The third motion prosecutors filed Monday is more mysterious in that it asks Jordan to reconsider a ruling that would keep out "certain statements by Defendant Frank Melton."

Because the government has asked the motion be sealed, it is not clear what statements Jordan is being asked to reconsider.

At the hearing, attorneys for both sides discussed Melton's many public statements over the past two-plus years since the Ridgeway Street incident and prosecutors provided DVD's of Melton's television interviews to the defense.

However, Jordan did not rule during the hearing on their admissibility.

From the Clarion-Ledger

1 Year Anniversary: Alyssa Schnugg's take on The Scurggs Cases

From folo and today's Oxford Eagle:

Today's edition of the Oxford Eagle (but I'm lifting it from folo):

Oxford has had its fair share of being in the limelight this year, such as hosting the first presidential debate in September on the University of Mississippi campus.
But just a few months prior, it was the rise and fall of prominent attorney Richard “Dickie” Scruggs, often referred to as the “Tort King,” that turned all eyes on Oxford in 2008.
On Nov. 28, 2007, Scruggs, his son Zach Scruggs, law partner Sidney Backstrom, former attorney Timothy Balducci and former state auditor Steven Patterson were indicted on federal charges for trying to bribe Circuit Court Judge Henry Lackey with $40,000 for a favorable ruling in a lawsuit — Jones v. Scruggs —against the elder Scruggs over Hurricane Katrina litigation.
After several months of motions, rumors, months-long bouts of silence, guilty-plea agreements and about 400 letters asking for leniency, Scruggs was sentenced in June to spend five years in a federal prison in Kentucky.
His son is serving a 14-month sentence in Forrest City, Ark., and Backstrom is serving 28 months in Forrest City.
Balducci and Patterson have not been sentenced. The lawsuit has since been settled.
National attention
The case received national attention with news articles appearing in The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times and The Wall Street Journal — as well as daily headlines in local and regional newspapers.
Local attorney and legal blogger Tom Freeland followed the Scruggs case extensively on www.folo.us.
“The case involved a lawyer who had been as high profile as possible, and allegations — that turned out to be true — of an attempt to actually bribe a sitting trial judge,” Freeland said. “Both parts of that sentence make for an attention-grabbing case.”
Freeland said the story has a “live by the sword, die by the sword quality.”
“The defendants had used and benefited from the use of publicity in their cases for some time, and now had that hurting them in their own case,” he said.
Law offices raided
The saga began on Nov. 27, when FBI agents raided Scruggs’ office on the Square, which is now closed and up for sale.
The next day, the five men were indicted.
On the day of his arraignment, Balducci pleaded guilty to the bribery charge on Dec. 5. It was later learned that Balducci had been working with the government in building its case against Scruggs and the others.
In the middle of all clamor about the famous trial attorney’s fall from grace, his own attorney, Joey Langston of Booneville, was arrested and pleaded guilty to conspiring with Scruggs and others to engage Ed Peters — a “close personal friend” of Hinds County Judge Bobby DeLaughter — as a “consultant” to assist them in the case of Wilson v. Scruggs. That case involved a dispute over attorneys’ fees which was pending before DeLaughter at that time.
Langston represented Scruggs in that case along with Balducci, according to court documents.
DeLaughter has denied any knowledge of the conspiracy. Meanwhile, Langston’s sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 16.
No other indictments have been handed down in that case as of this morning — although Assistant U.S. Attorney Bob Norman said there could be new developments in the case in the next month or so.
“The investigation is continuing,” was all Norman would say on the future of the Langston case.
Some courthouse observers wonder if the fact that Balducci and Patterson have not been sentenced yet is a sign of more indictments to come, while others theorize that the setting of a specific sentencing date for Langston may indicate the investigations could be coming to an end.
“That means little or nothing,” Freeland said. “It may be personal preferences by the judges as to docket management.”
The aftermath
While it’s been a year since the five men were indicted, Lackey’s role in the case started much earlier, and he couldn’t be any happier it’s over.
“I’m happy my part is over,” Lackey said recently. “I’m just saddened it happened at all because of the impact it had on so many bright young lawyers.”
After a meeting in March 2007 between Balducci, the Scruggses, Backstrom and Patterson, Balducci told the others he thought he could influence Lackey because of their friendship.
Balducci went to see Lackey shortly thereafter and suggested to Lackey he could give him a place in his law firm after Lackey retired, if he would grant Scruggs a motion to send the lawsuit to arbitration.
After the meeting, Lackey reported the conversation to the FBI. He began working with the FBI and allowed his phones and office to be wired. Eventually, those conversations led to Balducci offering Lackey $40,000, and to the arrests of Balducci and the others for their roles in the scheme.
“I’m saddened on the impact on the reputation of our bar,” Lackey said. “But I am happy to know our system works. It’s not perfect; nothing I know of is perfect. But it does work, and it worked because of cooperation between the bar and the bench.”
Lackey said he’s been able to move on and didn’t even realize it’s been one year since the arrests, although it has made him more cautious about his conversations with attorneys.
“Even though it may be as innocent as it can be, appearances of impropriety can cause a problem in itself,” he said.
The Mississippi Bar and local attorneys are still reeling from the hit the legal profession took this year.
“The case hurt the reputation of the bench and bar, and will likely continue to do so,” Freeland said. “The only thing that can be done to mitigate that damage is a demonstration to the public that these problems — and solving them — are taken seriously. A perception that there has been a reform effort — based on reality — I think matters.”
Telling the tale
Author and University of Mississippi journalism professor Curtis Wilkie has been hired by Kneeriam-Williams Literacy Agency to write a book about the rise and fall of Scruggs. The manuscript is due September 2009.
Wilkie, a friend to Scruggs, said he’s corresponded with the Scruggses during their incarceration.
“Dickie has kept his sense of humor up in his letters to me,” Wilkie said. “I think with all things considered, the family is holding up well and handling things as well as possible.”
Wilkie said the elder Scruggs battled some health issues when he first arrived in prison.
“I think he was hospitalized briefly,” Wilkie said. “But he’s healthy now and exercising a great deal.”
While the Scruggs case may have divided the legal community for a short time, Wilkie doesn’t believe the reputations of Oxford or the Ole Miss School of Law have been blemished.
“I don’t think it reflected badly on the school or the community,” he said. “But it obviously causes people in the legal profession to reflect more seriously on what all this has meant — not just the indictments and charges, but how the case has been handled.
“There’s an awful lot of questions that haven’t been answered.”
—alyssa@oxfordeagle.com
Alyssa Schnugg
Staff Writer
Oxford Eagle

Does anyone outside of Lake Caroline care?

I guess if you were in love with the old golf course, you might. But, the Clarion-Ledger claims it's news:

Madison County supervisors voted 2-1 to approve a new master plan for Lake Caroline that includes the subdivision's golf course as residential property.

Voting for the new master plan were Board President Tim Johnson and John Bell Crosby. Against it was D.I. Smith. Abstaining was Paul Griffin. Karl Banks, a Lake Caroline resident, could not participate in the vote because it would have been a conflict of interest according to the state Ethics Commission.

The public hearing on the matter lasted more than two and a half hours Monday morning. More than 200 area residents attended the hearing.

NASCAR in jeopordy?

If the 'big three' don't think about selling their private jets and re-organizing, NASCAR could be in a world of hurt...

NASCAR's stars — Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson, among others — have been showing their support for the auto industry, urging their fans to contact their members of Congress to push through the $25 billion Detroit bailout plan.

"We're optimistic that Congress will help support the automakers and help them get through this very difficult time," said Andrew Giangola, Director of Business Communications for NASCAR.

Click here for photos.

"It would affect NASCAR if the manufacturers were not with us. It would very strange to watch NASCAR and not see Chevy and Ford and Dodge racing around the track."

Along with the rest of the country, NASCAR is feeling the financial crunch right now. Hundreds of millions of dollars in sponsorship funds fuel stock car racing, and the money just isn't flowing in as it used to. On top of that, attendance is down by just under 10 percent, and some sponsorship deals have not been renewed.

General Motors is cutting back on sponsorships; Sears dropped its 13-year running title sponsorship deal for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck series; and AAA and the Army have left altogether.

In an attempt to cut costs across the board the sport recently banned off-season testing, in which teams use official NASCAR racetracks to test or tweak vehicles or for practice. It's expected to save each team $1 million, but it has also cost about 1,000 garage workers their jobs.

Venues, teams and the sport itself are competing against each other for the same sponsorships. Lower profile racing teams worry they won't have the funds to enter next season; higher profile teams are merging to share resources.

"NASCAR in general is at risk with a broad bankruptcy in the industry, and I think [not bailing out the Big Three] would just frankly take out NASCAR," said Dr. David E. Cole, chairman of the Center for Automotive Research, a nonprofit group that studies the industry.

"But assuming there's some sort type of bridge loan to the Big Three and we'll get stability in the credit markets, I think NASCAR will live and at least two of the Big Three will continue to participate."

"NASCAR has a very significant stake in these talks to develop some form of a bridge loan," Cole said.

Somehow, experts say, NASCAR will survive. If the bailout comes through, industry experts say the sponsorship money will still flow into the sport, just more slowly. But if it doesn't come through, they say, the sport could be set back by 30 years.

Teams will have to learn how to survive with less money, there will be more shared sponsorships, fewer teams, less cash. It's possible that Honda — or another foreign manufacturer — could step in and fill the void left by Chevy and Ford and Dodge.

Dr. Larry DeGaris, president of Sponsorship Research & Strategy, who has conducted national sports scholarship surveys, said Chevy and Ford have had great success marketing to the NASCAR demographic and will likely maintain some level of reduced sponsorship. (Chrysler's NASCAR campaigns have shown less traction.)

The sport's fan base comprises somewhere between 40 million and 70 million people, depending on one's definition of a fan, and is strongest in smaller markets in middle-of-the-country states, near the American automobile manufacturers and the plants of their foreign competitors Toyota and Honda.

"That's all the more reason to maintain a visible presence at NASCAR," DeGaris said of the Big Three bailout seekers. "I don't think it would be a good idea for them to throw in the towel."

Racing teams are kept afloat by corporate sponsorship, from which they get 90 percent of their revenue. Sponsors include Loews and Home Depot home improvement outlets, NAPA Autoparts, Coors and Budweiser beers and Sprint/Nextel telephones. And big name drivers like Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jeff Gordon have fronted multimillion-dollar marketing campaigns.

Sponsors have historically tapped into the sport's "real American" reputation, and experts agree that is expected to continue.

For example, despite SEARS dropping its $4 million annual sponsorship of the Craftsman Truck Series, Camping World filled the void a deal reported to be worth between $5 million and $7 million annually.

But NASCAR and its sponsors will have to tread lightly. Experts say corporations will have to be careful not to roll out expensive marketing campaigns to an audience that's increasingly unemployed. Similarly, if the Big Three automakers get their bailout, they'll need to be careful not to appear to be wasting taxpayer money with marketing campaigns.

"What the bailout represents is a downturn economy, and in a downturn economy your marketing budgets are among the first to be slashed," said Mark Dodds, sports marketing professor at State University of New York-Cortlandt. "I think it would be difficult to rationalize marketing spending when you're also making decisions to put people out of work."

But experts agree, the purchasing power is too strong.

"NASCAR fans know who the sponsors are and they appreciate them and they act on it," DeGaris said. "Their purchase behavior is influenced by NASCAR sponsorship. No other relationship or sport comes close to that success. NASCAR and Chevy is the best there is."

NASCAR is a private company, and revenue figures are not easy to come by. But since television contracts were still in place this past season and sponsorship contracts remained in place, experts suggest next year could show a loss. (Ticket sales do not affect the company; racetracks operate independently, as do racing teams.)

"Right now it's a reduced version of what it was, but the fundamentals are still solid," DeGaris said. "The big question mark is next year."

"Do we have our eye on things? Absolutely. As industry we're doing what we can," said NASCAR's Giangola.

"NASCAR has been around for 60 years. We've been racing when the stock market's been booming and racing when the stock market's been through difficult times.

America's love affair with automobile is certainly not going to diminish anytime soon."

Others aren't so sure how it'll all pan out. "I would say difficult times ahead," Dodds said. "It would be difficult to imagine seeing NASCAR gone. But will it change? Most certainly."

Fox Sports

Mountain of evidence getting higher on Melton

Now, this.

A Jackson police officer who was transferred from his job riding a Segway scooter around downtown alleges his transfer to the night shift in west Jackson was Mayor Frank Melton's way of getting back at him for cooperating with federal investigators.

Officer Robert Watts filed a notice Tuesday of intent to sue the city for alleged retaliation for talking to FBI agents about the mayor. He is seeking more than $250,000 for "mental anguish" and punitive damages.

Police Chief Malcolm McMillin says he, not Melton, spearheaded Watts' reassignment. His decision, he said, was based on job performance, but he would not go into detail.

"I had him transferred, but I did not make the decision as to where to put him," the chief said Tuesday. "I said send him back to patrol, and that's the last I heard of it."

McMillin said the mayor had nothing to do with Watts' transfer.

"When I took this job a year ago, Mayor Melton agreed he would not interfere with the operations of the department," McMillin said. "So far, Mayor Melton has not asked me to do anything as far as where to assign or promote my personnel."

In the notice, Watts alleges Melton threatened him about talking to the federal grand jury two days after the mayor was indicted. Watts said he was directing traffic on July 11 when Melton approached him and complained, "I heard you have been running your ... mouth."

According to the notice, Watts said Melton said, "I got you later, and you'll learn that."

Watts said the next week he was transferred to Precinct 2.

"It is widely known throughout JPD that, with the exception of the downtown patrol area, Precinct 2 has the highest rate of violent crime in the city," Watts contends in his letter, adding "outspoken" officers often end up transferred to the night shift.

Melton did not return a call seeking comment on the notice.

City Attorney Sarah O'Reilly-Evans also did not immediately return a call for comment.

McMillin said Watts will continue to patrol his beat while the city responds to his intent-to-sue notice. "He has every right to file a suit," McMillin said.

Dorsey Carson Jr., Watts' attorney, said the money is not important. Watts just wants to make sure it does not happen again, he said.

"He's got faith in the Police Department, and he has got faith in his superiors to not act in a retaliatory manner when he is doing his duty and telling the truth in participating in a criminal investigation," he said.

Citing a gag order placed over the mayor's trial, Carson would not say what Watts told federal agents about Melton.

Carson said Watts has had "an impeccable service record over his nearly three years with the JPD." Watts worked as a Precinct 3 patrol officer before being tapped to patrol downtown.

Melton and his former bodyguard, Michael Recio, are facing federal civil rights charges related to their alleged participation in an Aug. 26, 2006, police-style raid on a duplex Melton maintains was a crack house. The trial is scheduled for Jan. 5.

Federal investigators interviewed numerous city employees and officials, bringing many of them to testify before a federal grand jury. Defense attorneys said last week the government has amassed more than 6,000 pages of evidence involving Melton and Recio and former bodyguard Marcus Wright, who pleaded guilty last month to a lesser charge and is assisting the prosecution.

A filing earlier this month by federal prosecutors indicated that testimony may go beyond the civil rights charges, including allegations that Melton offered promotions to JPD officials called to testify against him.

The notice of Watts' intention to sue Melton comes amid tensions between City Hall and the Police Department following the departure of then-Deputy City Attorney Katherine Pugh, who at JPD, was responsible for handling issues such as responding to records requests in the federal government's investigation of Melton. After Pugh left, McMillin hired her as attorney for the Hinds County Sheriff's Department, which he also oversees.

Melton's trial delayed...

...until January 5th.

From the Clarion-Ledger

Melton wants his trial delayed

No surprise here. Judge Jordan should rule on two things this morning: 1) Whether he will grant continuance and 2) whether or not he will allow evidence of past drug use at the Ridgeway house.

It seems likely Judge Jordan will grant continuance but I seriously doubt evidence about drug use will be allowed - since it has nothing to do with the 4th Amendment.

From the Clarion-Ledger:

"They've had going on two years to develop their case. We've had since Thursday," said John Reeves, Melton's attorney.

Melton and Recio are facing a three-count indictment charging them with violating the constitutional prohibition on unreasonable search and seizure in an Aug. 26, 2006, police-style raid on a Ridgeway Street duplex in northwest Jackson. According to prosecutors, Melton instructed several young men to attack the house with sledgehammers and participated in the destruction himself, while Recio and fellow bodyguard Marcus Wright stood guard.

The trial is slated to begin Wednesday with jury selection.

U.S. District Court Judge Dan Jordan will rule this morning on whether to grant the continuance request. If granted, a continuance likely would mean putting the case off until after Thanksgiving. Jordan said he already was concerned the case would bridge the holiday weekend, meaning he would have to send jurors home for four days where they could be influenced by family members or news coverage of the trial.

Reeves and Recio's attorney, Cynthia Stewart, complained that prosecutors dumped on them thousands of pages of grand jury testimony, Jackson Police Department Internal Affairs files and FBI investigative documents last week.

"It's the guts of the case," Reeves said.

Stewart said reading those documents between now and Wednesday is "simply not humanly possible."

U.S. Department of Justice prosecutor Mark Blumberg said the defense was overstating the case. The evidence had been turned over in advance of a court deadline and given to Reeves and Stewart by e-mail as well as on DVD and CD.

While defense attorneys complained about 7,000 pages of evidence, Blumberg said the actual count of recently released pages is 3,792 - 1,700 pages of which is a single internal affairs file.

Jordan also will rule today on whether Melton and Recio can use evidence of past drug use at the Ridgeway Street duplex as part of their defense. Reeves said it is crucial for Melton to be able to show why he went to the house.

"It will be impossible for us to defend this case if we can't do this," he said.

BREAKING: Melton and Recio will be tried together

Well, his bodyguard will be by his side all the way to the end.

U.S. District Judge Dan Jordan today denied the motion to sever ex-bodyguard Michael Recio’s case from that of his former boss, Mayor Frank Melton, in their civil rights violation trial.

I have leaned toward granting the motion, but careful attention to the precedents and the law requires I deny the motion," Jordan said.

Recio’s attorney, Cynthia Stewart, and federal prosecutors spent the morning at a motions hearing at federal court arguing whether the two men should be tried separately.

Recio and Melton face three felony charges related to their alleged involvement in a police-style raid on a Ridgeway Street duplex on Aug. 26, 2006.

Jury selection for the trial is set to begin later this week.

Stewart has filed several motions asking for Recio to be tried alone. She told the court today that Recio would not be able to get a fair trial if he is tried with Melton.

Stewart said there will be evidence introduced during the trial, including public statements made by Melton, that point to the mayor’s involvement in the raid. She said jurors may struggle to separate that information from Recio’s case.

"It is going to be virtually impossible for the jury to separate in its mind, this is what goes against Mayor Melton and this is what goes against Mr. Recio," she said.

Melton has agreed to testify on Recio’s behalf if the men are tried separately. Stewart called Melton a "crucial witness."

Federal prosecutors are pushing for Recio and Melton to be tried together.

Mark Blumberg told the judge that the two men were co-conspirators and should have one trial. The court rarely agrees to grant separate trials.

Blumberg said Recio was directly involved in the conspiracy to destroy the Ridgeway Street duplex and did not stop the mayor from raiding the home. As a police officer, Recio was obligated to act, Blumberg said.

He said the mayor would not have gone to Ridgeway Street that night without law enforcement officials.

“This officer wanted to keep his job and the house wasn’t that big of a deal so he didn’t intervene,” Blumberg said.

From the Clarion-Ledger

Cynthia Stewart is fighting to separate Recio's trial

Fight on Cynthia...

Prosecutors and the defense finished arguing today about whether a former bodyguard of Jackson Mayor Frank Melton should have a separate federal trial.

Michael Recio's attorney, Cynthia Stewart, argued that the evidence against Melton in the April 2006 police-style raid on a Ridgeway Street duplex in west Jackson is much greater than that against Recio and that Recio tried to intervene, to a degree.

Prosecutor Mark Blumberg said Recio had a duty as a law officer to stop Melton and he didn't do it.

"The officer wanted to keep his job, and this house wasn't worth it," Blumberg said.

U.S. District Judge Dan Jordan has not ruled on that motion or a motion from the defense to allow into court evidence of possible drug use at the house.

Jordan recessed the hearing for lunch. It will reconvene later this afternoon.

Earlier in the morning, Jordan signaled some prosecution arguments were gaining traction.

They also are accused of violating those civil rights "under color of law" and committing a violent crime while possessing a handgun.

Jury selection is scheduled to begin Wednesday.

The defense is arguing Melton was at the duplex as commander in chief of the Police Department.

"I'm not persuaded by that argument," Jordan told Reeves this morning. "Being commander in chief of the United States doesn't allow you to violate the 4th amendment.

"Whether this is the worst crack house on the planet or whether there was one drug deal going on, you still have to follow the same 4th amendment requirements."

Jordan has ruled on only one motion so far, however. He said he will allow into evidence the warnings other police officers and Attorney General Jim Hood gave to Melton about proper police procedure.

Jordan has not ruled on whether to grant the defense's motion to allow the past character of house into evidence.

Blumberg, deputy chief of the criminal section of the U.S. Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division, argued against its inclusion, saying it is a "nullification defense."

Defense attorney John Reeves said it is necessary to show why Melton and his entourage were at the house because the government will have to show "evil intent." If it is not let in, Reeves said, the mayor has no other defense.

Blumberg has responded by saying it's not a question of why they approached the house but what they did when they got there. It’s a constitutional issue.

Meanwhile,Stewart, is continuing to argue for a separate trial on grounds the government's evidence all points to the mayor and not Recio and the jury will not be able to separate the two.

Stewart said Shirlene Anderson, who was police chief at the time of the raid, will testify Melton "wouldn't listen to anybody" and that Anderson appealed to the city attorney to help but Melton would not listen. Anderson apparently testified to this before the grand jury that indicted Melton.

A lot of defense strategy has become apparent. Reeves has said he intends to present defense that "thugs" did the majority of the destruction after Melton, Recio and Marcus Wright, another former bodyguard, left the first time.

Wright also was indicted but has pleaded guilty to a lesser offense and agreed to testify for the prosecution.

From the Clarion-Ledger