From Walter Olson and the indispensable Overlawyered.com:

“A federal grand jury today indicted one of the nation’s most successful trial lawyers, Richard F. Scruggs, on criminal charges that he and other lawyers engaged in a scheme to bribe a judge.” The 13-page indictment charges five lawyers, including Scruggs and his son and law partner Zach, with offering Mississippi state judge Henry Lackey $40,000 for favorable action in a lawsuit filed against the Scruggs firm over Katrina insurance fees. “The indictment says Judge Lackey, who sits in Mississippi’s Third Circuit Court District, reported the ‘bribery overture’ to federal authorities and agreed to assist investigators in an ‘undercover capacity.’” (AP/New York Times, Nov. 28; Biloxi Sun-Herald).

Jerry Mitchell of the Jackson Clarion-Ledger is out front on the story, reporting: “Some of the conversations between Balducci and the judge were apparently taped,” and reporting alleged language uttered by some of the indicted lawyers, including: “We paid for this ruling; let’s be sure it says what we want it to say.” (“Scruggs arrested on bribery charges”, Nov. 28). David Rossmiller is following developments at Point of Law and at his blog, where he has a PDF of the indictment.

More: Y’all Politics has considerable reader comment about the implications for other Mississippi political figures, and notes drily that “for starters, Dickie Scruggs fundraiser for Hillary Clinton on December 15th featuring Bill Clinton, will likely be cancelled.” Many sites, including Michelle Malkin’s, are speculating on the close proximity of these developments to the surprise retirement of Scruggs’ brother-in-law, Sen. Trent Lott.

UPDATE (12:30 p.m.) In all, five are indicted:

Among them is prominent asbestos and tobacco plaintiffs lawyer Richard “Dickie” Scruggs and his son, Zachary Scruggs, the Wall Street Journal reported.

A grand jury in Oxford, Miss., handed down the indictments Wednesday alleging the Scruggs, along with Sidney Backstrom, Timothy Balducci and employee Steven Patterson, made a bribery overture to Judge Henry Lackey.

Stephen Moore had a tenchant item on Warren Buffett in yesterday’s Political Diary, the e-mail newsletter from the Wall Street Journal’s editorialists. First, the good news:

It now appears that billionaire Warren Buffett’s widely-broadcast appeal to keep and even raise the death tax has backfired. Following Mr. Buffett’s Senate testimony two weeks ago, the momentum has clearly shifted to Senator Jon Kyl, who’s been leading the charge to eliminate or at least sharply cut (to a top rate of 25%) the death tax. “Buffett’s testimony sounded canned and the small business owners on his panel made a compelling case for repeal,” says one Senate Finance Committee aide.

“We think the hearing was a victory for our side,” says Dick Patten, president of the American Family Business Institute. “The message was that the rich like Buffett can pay the tax, but small business owners can’t.”

We don’t want to paint Buffett out to be a bad guy, selfish or manipulative. But there’s no doubt he has a powerful self-interest at play. More Moore:

The American Family Business Institute reports that Mr. Buffett had been able to purchase his stakes in Dairy Queen, Jordan’s, the Buffalo News, R.C. Wiley Home Furnishings and other family-owned companies thanks in part to the death tax. There’s little question that a death tax rate as high as 55% has allowed vulture capitalists to snatch up family-owned companies at lower prices. Mr. Buffett is widely reported to be sitting on $40 billion of cash right now. A higher death tax would have families reluctantly lining up to sell to him.

A compelling case against Buffett’s position also came from Eugene Sukup, an Iowa manufacturer and NAM member. Again, Moore:

A poignant moment in the Senate hearings came when Eugene Sukup, chairman of an Iowa-based grain storage company, was asked what would happen to his company under a 45% estate tax. “We would not make it. We’d probably have to sell the business to this guy,” he said, pointing to Mr. Buffett.

Maybe that explains why so many of the truly wealthy advocate the death tax and so many of the merely aspiring wealthy don’t.

Sukup’s prepared testimony is available here. Highly recommended.

A good update from Bloomberg on the largely overlooked special-interest language that the plaintiff’s bar is having their congressional allies write into legislation. Their goal? More lawsuits, more lawyers’ fees, more jackpot justice.

Nov. 29 (Bloomberg) — U.S. trial lawyers have spent years fighting off litigation limits pushed by the Bush administration and congressional Republicans. Now it’s their turn to take the offensive.

Provisions backed by the lawyers have already been inserted in more than a dozen bills. They’ve scored a victory for victims of railroad accidents and strengthened consumer rights in prescription-drug cases. Now, they are quietly joining with advocacy groups to push legislation to limit the use of arbitration in consumer-rights disputes, preserve state regulations opposed by companies and make it easier to sue Chinese manufacturers.

With their Democratic allies holding only slim majorities in Congress, the trial bar is keeping its sights set low, avoiding both sweeping demands and a high-profile lobbying campaign. “This is trial lawyers working to enhance their revenue,” said Victor Schwartz, an attorney at Shook, Hardy and Bacon LLP in Washington who favors curbing lawsuits.

The Pacific Research Institute’s study, “Jackpot Justice,” reported that excessive, out-of-control litigation imposes a cost of $865 billion on the U.S. economy every year. That’s $9,827 for a family of four.

Trial lawyers think that figure is way too low.

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Just a reminder as we comment on lobbying.

The National Association of Manufacturers, the American Society of Association Executives, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce sent a letter to the secretary of the Senate and the clerk of the House asking for guidance on the new “Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007,” P.L. 110-81, or HLOGA for short.

The law, and specifically Section 207, casts a wide net. The section would require associations to disclose the identity of members contributing more than $5,000 per quarter toward lobbying activities and that “actively participate in the planning, supervision, or control of such lobbying activities.”

The issue gets into some pretty technical legal areas. Key point: Requirements are so vague that they discourage people and groups from associating with one another (and consequently, from petitioning the government). As the letter states, “[Section 207] would force associations and chambers of commerce to overdisclose — thus eroding the confidentiality of association membership that is intrinsic to the constitutional nght of free association.”

There’s nothing like a vague law to encourage politically motivated investigations and prosecutions, conducted not to enforce the statutes or to benefit the public but simply to weaken a group or individual you disagree with. Clarity and consistency are the prerequisites for the real rule of law. The law fails to meet those requirements.

You can read the joint letter here.

CQ Politics covers the story: Business Groups Seek Clarification of New Lobbying Law
The Hill: Trade groups question new lobbying law

Sen. Pete Domenici (R-NM) on Dominion’s application for a third reactor unit at the North Anna nuclear power station in Virginia. The project includes Bechtel Corporation (hey, a redesigned website!) and General Electric-Hitachi (a relatively recent alliance) in the Combined Operating License application. The unit would operate a next-generation General Electric reactor, which would provide enough energy to power 375,000 homes in Virginia

“It is clear that momentum for nuclear energy in America is continuing to grow. After 30 years with no action, we have now seen three applications to build new plants in the last three months, with even more possible in the near future. This is an exciting time for nuclear, and for those that want cleaner energy in our nation,” Domenici said.

“It has been obvious to me for quite some time that any serious effort to address global climate change must have nuclear energy as its centerpiece. Nuclear power is clean, safe, and efficient. As we work on policies that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions, we must continue to support nuclear energy just as other nations have done,” he continued.

Domenici takes rightful pride in his leadership in helping pass the 2005 Energy Policy Act, a forward-looking piece of legislation that encouraged development of domestic energy supplies.

Compared to ….(We don’t know what the “compromise” energy bill looks like yet. Any attention to domestic oil, natural gas, coal or nuclear power? Hope so. Yep. Lots of hopes. Hopeful…)

Domenici’s full release is in the extended entry portion below.

(continue reading…)

EPA’s current ozone rule is working. The amount of smog that once shrouded many American cities has thinned a lot in the past few decades.

Still EPA is proposing a stricter ozone standard that isn’t based on sound science and is probably unreachable in many parts of the country.

EPA can’t consider the economic impact of its new rule, which will be announced in 2008. But Virginia senator and NAM Board Member Frank Wagner said a new rule could give manufacturers in his state and around the nation a lot of economic pain.

Wagner is co-owner of Davis Boat Works in Newport News, Va. Ozone levels in southeastern Virginia have dropped so much the area is now an EPA ozone “attainment zone.” But if EPA lowers the amount of allowable ozone, southeastern Virginia could lose that designation, said Wagner, who is an expert on energy policy. (2005 EPA map here.)

I traveled to Richmond, Virginia’s capital, this week to visit Wagner and find out how the EPA ruling would affect his boat service company and the southeastern Virginia district he represents.

Wagner doesn’t have to do emissions tests on his company’s 15 trucks. But if the area’s ozone designation changes he will have to pay for tests each year. Plus staff will have to take time off from servicing military and other vessels to wait in testing line at the local motor vehicle department, he said.

But a new ozone designation would be much more than a time and productivity issue for a company like Wagner’s. It could also damage the region’s economy, Wagner said.

Areas that don’t meet ozone standards could be denied federal highway dollars, which would crimp growth and job creation, he said.

Companies in Wagner’s part of Virginia would also be put at a cost disadvantage to competitors in areas that don’t violate EPA ozone rule, he said. That’s because companies in fast-growing southern Virginia would have to shoulder higher regulatory costs than these competitors, he said.

“We always talk about competition overseas,” Wagner remarked. “But competition could come if your competitor is in an attainment area.”

What does Wagner suggest? EPA should put on the brakes and ensure every region complies with the current ozone rule before imposing a new standard on areas that have already done the hard work of reducing smog.

“Why are you punishing those that are doing well?,” he asks.

From the AP story on Dominion’s proposal for an additional nuclear power unit in Virginia:

Dominion’s application is opposed by several environmental groups. They say another reactor is unnecessary at a time when utilities should be exploring alternative energy sources, and would present a new target for terrorists.

“We are opposed to this plant for a variety of reasons,” said Glen Besa, Appalachian regional director for the Sierra Club.

Besa said the concerns range from the increased water temperatures at Lake Anna to nuclear waste disposal and safety risks.

“The whole revival of the nuclear industry is just one accident away from being shut down again,” Besa said.

For a more thoughtful discussion of nuclear energy, one not assuming that energy and humanity are evils to be defeated, please consider the recent Heritage Foundation papers by Jack Spencer, “Congress Should Not Overlook Benefits of Nuclear Energy,” and “Competitive Nuclear Energy Investment: Avoiding Past Policy Mistakes.” Merci, Jack.

And the words of Vaclav Klaus seem relevant:

I welcome it when people protect the environment, that too is necessary for life. But this absolutism, this fundamentalism, yes, this essentially religious view that dominate the debate – all of this puts the earth ahead of mankind, and I can’t accept that.

Amen to that.

From the Dominion Resources’ news release:

RICHMOND, Va. – Dominion (NYSE: D), one of the nation’s largest energy producers, announced today that it has filed an application with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission for a license to build and operate a new nuclear reactor at its North Anna Power Station in central Virginia.

If built, the new reactor would add to Dominion’s position as one of the nation’s top nuclear operators. The company owns and operates four nuclear power stations with a capacity to produce 5,726 megawatts of emissions-free electricity.

The application filed with the NRC is for a Combined Operating License (COL) for North Anna Unit 3. The company has not committed to build the new unit, but wants to maintain the option to do so to meet projected skyrocketing demand for electricity in Virginia in the next decade.

Lisa Stiles at NEI Nuclear Notes covered the press conference. The AP story is here.

A few examples of how America’s economy keeps humming thanks to exports. From Kiplinger Forecasts:

In the year through September 2007, exports to China were up 16% from the same period in 2006. Timken Co. of Canton, Ohio, is selling oodles of its specialty steel in the Middle Kingdom. China also buys huge volumes of American-grown soybeans and about one-third of the U.S. cotton crop. In addition, sales to China yield indirect benefits for companies that supply the exporters. For example, MTS Systems Corp. of Eden Prairie, Minn., one of the world’s leading manufacturers of test equipment, is doing brisk business with U.S. semiconductor makers and others selling to China.

U.S. exports to Brazil are up nearly 30%. John Deere and Caterpillar are cleaning up there with equipment sales to mining and agricultural businesses riding the wave of high-priced commodities. General Electric peddles jet engines and mining equipment to the South American giant, while IBM, Hewlett-Packard, Compaq and Dell all view Brazil as a choice target for their IT hardware sales forces.

Meanwhile, exports to India have gained a whopping 65%. Boeing will be busy for several years fulfilling orders, collectively worth $13 billion, from Air India and Jet Airways. Cisco is overflowing with Indian orders for IT networking gear, while Motorola and Alcatel-Lucent are cashing in on the nation’s expanding telecommunications infrastructure. Houston-based Transocean Inc. is selling the country deepwater gas drilling platforms as India tries to keep up with its burgeoning energy needs.

Impressive, eh?

Scruggs being the Mississippi trial lawyer and political power who has gotten in hot water over his corners-cutting pursuit of insurance companies after Katrina. The Insurance Coverage Blog is diligently covering the story. More here.

UPDATE (2:30 p.m.) Should have mentioned the commentary at Michelle Malkin’s blog, where we first saw this item.