Contempt
Contempt Joyce Vance Mar 22 In July of 2007, I was the appellate chief in the U.S. Attorney’s Office in North Alabama when Judge William Marsh Acker, may he rest in peace, requested that my office prosecute Dickie Scruggs for criminal contempt. Scruggs was a well-known Mississippi lawyer with a civil case before Judge Acker, involving allegations of insurance fraud that impacted Hurricane Katrina victims. Judge Acker believed Scruggs had violated the terms of an injunction entered that required Scruggs to turn over documents in his possession. Judge Bill Acker The then-U.S. Attorney in Birmingham declined to prosecute. That didn’t end the matter, though. And what happened next is instructive for those wondering how Judge James Boasberg might handle a similar situation in the Alien Enemy Act case, where the government seems disinclined to provide factual information regarding contempt allegations the Judge is reviewing. In our situation, Judge Acker did what he was entitled...