Michael Maggio, ex-Arkansas judge, asks to withdraw guilty plea

Ousted Circuit Judge Michael Maggio is shown in this file photo.
Ousted Circuit Judge Michael Maggio is shown in this file photo.

LITTLE ROCK — A former central Arkansas circuit judge is asking a federal judge to allow him to withdraw his guilty plea on a federal bribery charge, two weeks before he is scheduled to be sentenced.

Attorney James Hensley wrote in a filing Friday that former Judge Michael Maggio's previous attorneys had erred in advising him to plead guilty last year to the bribery charge. Hensley said there was no evidence the bribe involved government business as required under the charges.

Federal prosecutors allege Maggio accepted campaign donations from a nursing home owner and a lobbyist in exchange for reducing an award in a nursing home negligence case. A message left with prosecutors was not immediately returned Friday.

Maggio's sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 26.

Read Saturday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.

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