Roberson Acquittal?

David Roberson, the Drummond Company executive who was indicted along with Balch & Bingham partners Steven McKinney and Joel Gilbert, has a realistic chance of being acquitted while his two former legal counselors could end up convicted for the Oliver Robinson Bribery Scheme.

Although Roberson’s legal team lost their motion to bifurcate the case, the district judge wrote in his order:

But, as the Government notes, when [Gilbert and McKinney] testified before the grand jury neither codefendant could recall specific discussions with Roberson regarding the legality of the agreement with [Oliver] Robinson or about the decision to hire Robinson’s Foundation.

In addition, the judge wrote that “neither party has specifically identified any statements that ‘powerfully incriminate’ Roberson.”

Roberson and Drummond have argued they were  given poor legal advice. The grand jury testimony shows they may have been given incomplete legal advice.

So would jurors agree Balch & Bingham failed as a law firm? Probably.

What if jurors heard about the alleged conduct of Balch partner Clark A. Cooper, the alleged mastermind of the Newsome Conspiracy Case who was fired in March of 2017?

Jurors would probably not only believe that Balch provided poor or incomplete legal advice,  they would see a pattern of misconduct starting in 2012, several  years before the Oliver Robinson affair was even conceived, before Roberson was even a client.