Another attorney has asked to be removed from the federal bribery case of ousted Judge Michael Maggio.
Conway attorney James Hensley Jr., who at one point accused Maggio's first two attorneys of ineffective counsel, took over the defense in February. Now, Hensley has filed a motion asking the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis to replace him with John Wesley Hall, a Little Rock lawyer and former president of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.
In the motion, Hensley noted that Hall is "a regular practitioner in this Court" and that Hall has agreed to take the case.
The request, filed Saturday, came 11 days after the appeals court granted Hensley's motion seeking more time to file the legal brief detailing Maggio's appeal grounds, but only until May 26, not until Aug. 2 as Hensley wanted. The request also follows U.S. District Judge Brian Miller's March 31 order that granted Maggio pauper status. Hensley was appointed to the government-paid defense position the next day. Now, Hensley has asked the appeals court to give that role to Hall instead.
The motion, if approved, could mean a further delay, this time to give Hall time to review the case.
"I got plenty of other stuff going" as well, Hall said Monday.
As far as the appeal grounds, Hall said he's largely "bound by what [was] argued in the trial court."
Hall said "probably 40 percent" of his caseload is in federal court. Based on his knowledge of the system, he said it could be later than December or January before oral arguments take place in the appeals court.
Maggio, 54, is free pending his appeal.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick Harris said Monday that his office did not plan to respond to the request to change attorneys.
Hensley's motion said he had consulted Maggio and that Maggio "concurs in this substitution" of lawyers. Hensley said he would make sure Hall gets the case file and relevant notes by today.
Maggio pleaded guilty to a federal bribery charge in U.S. District Court in Little Rock in January 2015, then unsuccessfully sought to withdraw that plea earlier this year.
Hensley at first accused Maggio's original lawyers, Lauren Hoover and Marjorie Rogers, of ineffective counsel but withdrew that claim after Miller ruled that Hoover and Rogers could reveal some previously confidential information they had exchanged with Maggio if Hensley pursued that argument.
Hensley also had contended the federal bribery statute did not apply to Maggio, who was a judge in the 20th Judicial Circuit, which includes Faulkner, Searcy and Van Buren counties.
In Maggio's plea agreement, he admitted taking thousands of dollars in campaign contributions in exchange for lowering a Faulkner County jury's judgment against a Greenbrier nursing home. That nursing home, owned by Fort Smith businessman Michael Morton, had been sued for negligence in the 2008 death of Martha Bull of Perryville.
On July 8, 2013, Morton and his businesses donated thousands of dollars to several political action committees that later contributed to Maggio's since-halted campaign for the Arkansas Court of Appeals. On July 10, 2013, Maggio reduced the $5.2 million judgment against the nursing home to $1 million.
Two of Bull's daughters have since sued Morton and lobbyist Gilbert Baker, who helped raise money for Maggio's campaign. That lawsuit accuses Baker and Morton of conspiring to funnel money to Maggio's campaign in exchange for the lowered judgment. The lawsuit is pending in Faulkner County Circuit Court in Conway.
Morton and Baker have denied wrongdoing and have not been charged with any crime.
The Arkansas Supreme Court ordered Maggio removed from office in 2014 because of unrelated issues, including contentious online comments he made about a legally confidential adoption involving actress Charlize Theron.
State Desk on 05/17/2016