Former Hinds County District Attorney Ed Peters has resigned his license to practice law.
Peters sent his request to the Mississippi Bar Association on Dec. 29. The bar sent the request to the Mississippi Supreme Court on Monday.
Mississippi Bar Association attorney Adam Kilgore said Peters is "admitting guilt to a bar complaint" with the irrevocable resignation of his license.
Kilgore could not release information about the complaint due to confidentiality rules.
Peters has been linked by witnesses to the judicial bribery scandal that toppled Dickie Scruggs. Witnesses in the Scruggs investigation said Peters was paid a reverse contingency fee of $1 million from Scruggs to get a favorable ruling from Hinds County Circuit Judge Bobby DeLaughter. Federal prosecutors said that Peters told DeLaughter that he would be considered for a federal judgeship if he ruled in Scruggs’ favor.
Neither Peters nor DeLaughter have been charged with any crime. DeLaughter denies any wrongdoing and has voluntarily accepted a suspension by the Mississippi Supreme Court from the bench.
Scruggs pleaded guilty in March to conspiring to bribe Judge Henry Lackey with $50,000 in an effort to get a favorable ruling in a dispute over $26.5 million in legal fees from a mass settlement of Hurricane Katrina insurance cases. Scruggs is currently serving a five-year sentence in a federal prison in Kentucky.
Peters sent his request to the Mississippi Bar Association on Dec. 29. The bar sent the request to the Mississippi Supreme Court on Monday.
Mississippi Bar Association attorney Adam Kilgore said Peters is "admitting guilt to a bar complaint" with the irrevocable resignation of his license.
Kilgore could not release information about the complaint due to confidentiality rules.
Peters has been linked by witnesses to the judicial bribery scandal that toppled Dickie Scruggs. Witnesses in the Scruggs investigation said Peters was paid a reverse contingency fee of $1 million from Scruggs to get a favorable ruling from Hinds County Circuit Judge Bobby DeLaughter. Federal prosecutors said that Peters told DeLaughter that he would be considered for a federal judgeship if he ruled in Scruggs’ favor.
Neither Peters nor DeLaughter have been charged with any crime. DeLaughter denies any wrongdoing and has voluntarily accepted a suspension by the Mississippi Supreme Court from the bench.
Scruggs pleaded guilty in March to conspiring to bribe Judge Henry Lackey with $50,000 in an effort to get a favorable ruling in a dispute over $26.5 million in legal fees from a mass settlement of Hurricane Katrina insurance cases. Scruggs is currently serving a five-year sentence in a federal prison in Kentucky.