Unusual Trial Pending in Baton Rouge

The Advocate notes that an interesting trial is shaping up in the Middle District in Baton Rouge where former LSU Professor Mark Johnson is defending charges related to his sale of a deer herd. The paper notes that the trial is not even close to beginning, "but if the preliminary paper sparring between defense attorney John J. Jackson III and assistant U.S. attorneys Corey Amundson and Patricia Jones is any indication, this one is going to be worth the wait."

Johnson was indicted by a federal grand jury in April for passing off his own deer herd as that of LSU so that the potential buyers would believe that they were certified disease-free. The motions have centered on whether or not deer are wildlife, whether Johnson's attorney should be disqualified, and the striking of 10 paragraphs in the indictment.

Posted by AJR at August 13, 2003 09:53 AM