LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - A federal appeals court panel has upheld the bribery conviction and 10-year prison sentence for a former Arkansas judge who admitted to reducing a jury award against a nursing home operator in exchange for campaign contributions.
The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel upheld the conviction Monday of former circuit judge Michael Maggio, who accepted thousands in campaign donations from the nursing home operator before reducing a jury’s $5.2 million award to $1 million in a negligence lawsuit. Maggio tried unsuccessfully last year to withdraw his guilty plea. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison but had been allowed to remain free pending his appeal.
Maggio’s attorneys had argued he should have been allowed to withdraw his guilty plea and that his sentence was unreasonable.
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