Escorted by federal marshals, Maggio entered the courtroom Wednesday in shackles, but at Judge Marshall’s suggestion, they were removed. He wore a black T-shirt and trousers, a gray beard, a black mask, and the same outgoing, chatty personality he was long known for in Conway.
Michael Maggio is to testify today and he may be asked about reference to his reported attempt to implicate Supreme Court justice in the scheme to which he pleaded guilty.
Arkansas Supreme Court Justice Rhonda Wood testified Tuesday that she never talked with former Circuit Judge Michael Maggio about his decision to alter a jury’s award in a nursing home negligence case in 2013 — a ruling that led to Maggio’s imprisonment and to federal bribery charges against former lobbyist Gilbert Baker.
Both attorneys’ narratives and questioning of the first witnesses suggested Arkansas Supreme Court Justice Rhonda Wood’s name will become an integral part of both the case for Baker and the case against him.
Should former U.S. Attorney Cody Hiland testify, he could be cross-examined by either of two assistant U.S. attorneys he formerly supervised, Patrick Harris and Julie Peters.