ABERDEEN – U.S. District Judge Sharion Aycock plans to withdraw from presiding over the civil lawsuit Wilson v. Scruggs, a letter to its attorneys said Monday.

That is, unless all 11 attorneys and disbarred Timothy Balducci, a co-defendant in the North Mississippi case, say they don’t mind her staying on as judge.

This comes not long after Senior Judge Neal B. Biggers Jr. recused himself over this case, saying he’d already dealt with virtually all these issues when he presided over the criminal cases against Scruggs et al in the Lackey bribery case, so he really thought somebody else ought to hold down the bench.

In this case, attorney W. Roberts Wilson sued former Oxford attorney Richard “Dickie” Scruggs and others over legal fees he insists he’s due from national asbestos litigation. Wilson also claims they used his fees to bankroll other national cases, and he deserves some of those rewards, too, among other things.

Aycock’s notice tells 11 attorneys and Balducci that she intends to disqualify herself because her courtroom deputy, Ginger Sullivan, once worked as a paralegal for Wilson and is familiar with the issues.

However, Aycock says Sullivan has not discussed any of it with her.

Unless all the parties and counsel sign a waiver by Oct. 2, the judge says she will disqualify herself.

If that happens, the case will be reassigned to another judge.

Probably not Chief Judge Michael P. Mills, since he presided over former Booneville attorney Joey Langston’s guilty plea and sentence.

That pretty much leaves it to Senior Judge Glen Davidson, who presided over the DeLaughter (USA v. Scruggs, DeLaughter), which probably rules him out, and Judge W. Allen Pepper Jr. in Greenville.

• Patsy's blog, From the Front Row, urges Pepper to hear case somewhere closer to Tupelo.