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MONTGOMERY, Alabama — On the cusp of VictoryLand owner Milton McGregor’s trial in a federal vote-buying case, his attorneys have asked a judge to dismiss all of the charges based on instructions given to the grand jury.

McGregor’s lawyers argued in the motion that grand jurors were not instructed on legal requirements for a campaign contribution to be considered a bribe. There must be an explicit “quid pro quo” deal to take some official action in exchange for the money, defense lawyers wrote.

“There is certainly room for grave doubt in this case about whether a grand jury would have brought these charges if it had been instructed on the law of quid pro quo by prosecutors who understood and accepted the concept of that element,” lawyers wrote in the motion filed this week.

Prosecutors in the case have agreed the trial jury will be required to find an explicit arrangement, but defense lawyers said prosecutors pursued an incorrect understanding of the law for much of the case.

The 11th hour filing comes as McGregor and eight other defendants are slated to start trial Monday on charges of buying and selling votes for a gambling bill last year.

The other defendants include Sen. Harri Anne Smith, I-Slocomb; Sen. Quinton Ross, D-Montgomery; two influential state lobbyists and two former state senators. Several of the other defendants have joined in McGregor’s request to dismiss the case.

Defense lawyers conceded it would be unusual to dismiss a case based on grand jury instructions. But they argued these were unusual circumstances.

“This is no run-of-the-mill case. In this case, unlike most, there is reason to believe the grand jury was ignorant about the elements of the crimes charged,” defense lawyers wrote.

Defense lawyers said clear grand jury instructions are important because there are First Amendment issues involving campaign contributions.

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