The attorneys for indicted state Supreme Court Justice Oliver Diaz Jr. and his ex-wife, Jennifer.
The attorneys for indicted state Supreme Court
Justice Oliver Diaz Jr. and his ex-wife, Jennifer.
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MISSISSIPPI GULF COAST
STEVEN A. McCALEB
103 ALVERADO DRIVE
LONG BEACH, MISSISSIPPI 39560
PHONE & FAX: (228)-868-8428
The attorneys for indicted state Supreme Court Justice Oliver Diaz Jr. and his ex-wife, Jennifer, say the federal government's fraud and bribery case against their clients is ``based on unfounded speculation and innuendo.''
I believe it will up to the federal government to find the truth, not Mississippi truth, but the truth of law before the attorneys of Oliver Diaz, Jr. and his ex-wife become speculation and innuendos.
My only disappointment is that if Oliver Diaz Jr. is indicted will he have to pay all of the wasted salary back to the state of Mississippi?
12/31/03
Motions
Filed In Judicial Bribery Case
The attorneys for indicted state Supreme Court Justice Oliver Diaz Jr. and his ex-wife, Jennifer, say the federal government's fraud and bribery case against their clients is ``based on unfounded speculation and innuendo.''
In a recent legal filing with U.S. District Court in Jackson, attorneys Robert McDuff and James Kitchens said the U.S. attorney's office included in the indictment cases that are not relevant to the scheme Diaz is charged with being involved in. The Diazes were indicted with attorney Paul Minor and former judges Wes Teel and John Whitfield in an alleged scheme that the judges gave Minor an unfair advantage after he paid off or guaranteed campaign loans, made cash payments and, in one case, paid a judge's legal expenses. Minor also is charged with racketeering. The five are scheduled to go on trial on March 1. The Diazes' filing was in support of an earlier motion they made to throw out portions of the indictment. U.S. Attorney Dunn Lampton could not be reached for comment at his office on Wednesday. In their filing, McDuff and Kitchens called ``ludicrous'' the idea that Oliver Diaz showed favor to Minor after the attorney contributed to his 2000 campaign for Supreme Court and because the justice stayed in Minor's Gulf Coast condominium while the Diazes were separated.
McDuff and Kitchens said the government had not explained how a $25,000 loan guaranteed by Minor in 1994 affected a 2000 decision made by the Court of Appeals when Oliver Diaz was on that court. Among the other parts of the indictment the attorneys want thrown out is a case involving a libel charge against Minor's father, Mississippi political columnist Bill Minor. The attorneys said that case did not involve Paul Minor and the Supreme Court, including Diaz, voted unanimously in favor of Bill Minor in 2002. Kitchens and McDuff said the allegations against Jennifer Diaz, who had no role in Supreme Court decisions, were ``even more ridiculous.'' ``Rather than confront this fundamental flaw and dismiss the charges against Oliver Diaz and Jennifer Diaz, the government is trying to build a prosecution based on unfounded speculation and innuendo,'' the filing said.
(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
STEVEN A. McCALEB
COMMENTARY
MY OPINION
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Posted on Thu, Jan. 01, 2004 |   |
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Diazes challenge
indictment
Their attorneys claim allegations will prevent them getting fair trial THE SUN HERALD BILOXI - The attorneys for Justice Oliver Diaz Jr. and his former wife, Jennifer Diaz, accused the government of "trying to build a prosecution based on unfounded speculation and innuendo" in court papers filed Wednesday. The Diazes, who were indicted last summer on federal fraud and bribery charges, are scheduled for trial March 1 along with three co-defendants. Paul Minor, a successful lawyer, is accused in the indictment of receiving preferential treatment from judges in exchange for financial favors. Two former lower court judges, John Whitfield and Wes Teel, also are accused of fraud and bribery. All five defendants have pleaded innocent. The reply brief filed Wednesday was in response to the government's opposition to a Dec. 5 motion that defense attorneys filed to strike language in the indictment. Lawyers have said allegations in the indictment are prejudicial and would prevent the defendants from having a fair trial. U.S. Attorney Dunn Lampton was unavailable for comment on Wednesday, but his team of prosecutors filed papers in December to back up assertions made in the indictment. The government has alleged that Diaz benefitted from Minor through campaign contributions, campaign loans and the use of a condominium. The brief filed on Wednesday by Robert B. McDuff, the attorney for Justice Diaz, and James W. Kitchens, the attorney for Jennifer Diaz, contends that the indictment fails to connect judicial decisions to any alleged favors. They point out that Diaz, as a Supreme Court justice, recused himself from cases involving Minor. "Accordingly, the allegation that this assistance caused Justice Diaz to give Mr. Minor or his clients an unfair advantage in cases before the court is ludicrous," the lawyers wrote. "(Of course, Jennifer Diaz had no role in the Supreme Court decisions, and the allegation that she somehow was involved in favoring Minor in court decisions is even more ridiculous.)" Jennifer Diaz owns Green Oaks LLC, a Biloxi bed and breakfast, which received checks from Minor and other lawyers, according to the July indictment. The lawyers also use timelines to challenge a government allegation about a vote Diaz made when he was on the Court of Appeals. McDuff and Kitchens said the government had not explained how a $25,000 loan guaranteed by Minor in 1994 affected the 2000 decision by the Court of Appeals. They object to the use of the adjective "trial" before the word lawyer in the indictment. U.S. District Judge Henry Wingate will decide whether the indictment as it is written should stand. |
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Posted on Wed, Jan. 07, 2004 | |
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Bed,
breakfast law upheld Ordinance
bans weddings at B&Bs in residential areas
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BILOXI - The city's new law prohibiting weddings at bed and breakfasts in residential areas has withstood a legal challenge from Green Oaks LLC, a company founded by Mississippi Supreme Court Justice Oliver Diaz Jr. and his former wife, Jennifer Diaz.
Harrison County Circuit Judge Steve Simpson upheld the city's law, but the legal dispute will continue. Another lawsuit involving Green Oaks is pending in chancery court.
"Some of these political footballs get punted," said Britt Singletary, the lawyer for Green Oaks. "This one got punted."
Now that the new law has been upheld, the city wants to close a loophole that could allow weddings and parties to continue at Green Oaks. The city has petitioned chancery court for a ruling to prevent the parties from being grandfathered.
"We felt that we were doing the right thing all along," said City Attorney Ronnie Cochran. "The remaining case, which the city has brought forward in chancery court, essentially says that Green Oaks is a bed and breakfast, but not a commercial meeting facility."
Singletary said he looks forward to calling city elected officials to the witness stand to prove they knew about the parties and even attended some of them.
The matter before Simpson was a civil case and separate from criminal allegations against the Diazes that also involve the bed and breakfast. The civil case stems from a party held at Green Oaks two summers ago. The city began revamping its 1997 bed and breakfast law after neighbors complained about noise from the party.
The Diazes were indicted in July on federal fraud and bribery charges along with lawyer Paul Minor, who also is charged with racketeering. Two former lower court judges, John Whitfield and Wes Teel, also were indicted on the fraud and bribery charges. All five have pleaded innocent.
Defense lawyers have characterized the government's case as a political prosecution.