Prosecutors ask court to deny Scrushy request
MONTGOMERY — Federal prosecutors have asked an appeals court to turn down former HealthSouth CEO Richard Scrushy's request for a special master to investigate alleged e-mails between jurors during his 2006 bribery trial.
Scrushy's legal team said a special master was needed after the Justice Department revealed that prosecutors had the e-mails investigated by postal inspectors, with marshals informing the judge they were bogus, without telling attorneys for Scrushy and former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman.
Scrushy's attorneys asked the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to appoint a special master to determine if the purported e-mails, sent anonymously to defense attorneys, were legitimate.
But prosecutors said in a court filing this week that copies of purported e-mails were also sent to co-workers of two jurors who supposedly wrote them. Prosecutors said they did not tell defense attorneys about the investigation because the objective of the probe was to determine if someone was sending the anonymous e-mails to harass the two jurors after the trial.
"The postal inspector did not uncover the source of the mailings to the jurors' co-workers, but, in the course of his investigation did conclude that the purported e-mails were not authentic and had been forged," the filing from prosecutors said.
The prosecutors said it would be "wholly unnecessary" for the appeals court to appoint a special master. The motion says U.S. District Judge Mark Fuller adequately investigated the claim of juror misconduct before turning down a motion for a new trial from defense attorneys.
Scrushy attorney Art Leach declined comment on the government motion Wednesday, saying a formal response would be filed with the court next week.
Defense lawyers have said the e-mails show misconduct by some members of the jury that convicted Scrushy and Siegelman of bribery and other charges.
