Jackson Free Press

The Clarion-Ledger has a story about D.A.-elect Robert Smith not showing up for a docket call and needing to resolve his pending cases before he takes office in January. The Ledger states:

For those that can't be resolved, Smith said he will find other attorneys to take the cases. Once he becomes DA, Smith said he can get attorneys from the attorney general's office or the U.S. attorney's office to prosecute the cases involving clients formerly represented by his firm, which bears his name. Smith had two other attorneys working with him in the firm.

Smith made it part of his campaign platform to use attorneys from state and federal government to help with the prosecution of criminal cases in Hinds County.

I'm confused. Isn't Smith a defense attorney? What am I missing here?

Previous Comments

ID

115133

Comment

Okay...they either completely messed up that line...or they are saying that when he takes office there will be a conflict of interest in him prosecuting cases where he-or his firm- were previously retained as defense counsel. So, I'm thinking they are saying when he IS DA they will have to find alternate lawyers to prosecute any of the 40 felony cases he currently has pending. Its very murky. Reading comprehension not high on the Ledge's list, eh?

Author

Lori G

Date

2007-10-18T13:08:28-06:00

ID

115134

Comment

What's funny is that they seem to be twisting themselves in a pretzel to avoid saying that he is going to have to find OTHER attorneys to prosecute the cases that he is DEFENDING now. What's so hard about the word "defending"? Of course, we tried to get people to think about this during the campaign—that he was going to have huge conflict-of-interest over all the people he's defended over the years. I don't think the Ledger ever mentioned that issue in their horse-race coverage. And now they're using such imprecise language that it's impossible to tell what they're saying.

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2007-10-18T13:24:12-06:00

ID

115135

Comment

Right, Lori. He needs to find defense attorneys to take over the cases he can't resolve before he takes office. He will also have to find someone else to prosecute the cases where he formerly represented the defendant. This happens all the time. Happens with judges, too. Judges get six months, I think, to wrap up their old cases. Not a big deal. Lawyers switch sides all the time and the rules have provisions for this.

Author

Jennifer2

Date

2007-10-18T13:24:15-06:00

ID

115136

Comment

The really disturbing thing about this is how many cases "involve" clients formerly represented by Smith's firm? And how many will the D.A.'s office have to recuse on—and how is the AG and U.S. attorney going to feel about having to handle, say, half the D.A.'s cases. Smith was a prolific defense attorney, you know.

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2007-10-18T13:25:48-06:00

ID

115137

Comment

It is not a big deal. And Smith didn't handle half the criminal case load. The pd's office might but there are plenty of criminal defense attorneys who also have cases. Faye went from the pd's office to the da's office. Same type conflict. Not a big deal.

Author

Jennifer2

Date

2007-10-18T13:27:48-06:00

ID

115138

Comment

....and what about those RETAINER FEES? Is Smith willing to "pay-up?" Now I understand the reason he needs those body guards. In a situation like this, one is too many and a hundred is not enough. What a MESS!

Author

justjess

Date

2007-10-18T13:28:17-06:00

ID

115139

Comment

You guys may have legitimate reasons not to want Smith to be DA but the fact that this conflict exists is not one that is going to excite reasonable people who know that this happens all the time.

Author

Jennifer2

Date

2007-10-18T13:30:13-06:00

ID

115140

Comment

I like the way he is already missing docket call and then blames someone else. That's quality there - Meltonian quality! Smith wasn't present at a docket call in Green's courtroom earlier this week. He has seven cases pending on Green's docket. A docket call determines whether cases will be set for trial, set for a plea or continued for an upcoming court term. "It's crucial we know what to do with Mr. Smith's cases," Green said. For any attorney not present at docket call, Green issued a show-cause order for the attorney to explain the absence. Smith said he was unaware of the docket call. He said he doesn't think he received the notice about the docket call. O RLY? YA RLY!

Author

pikersam

Date

2007-10-18T13:38:43-06:00

ID

115141

Comment

Docket call is so archaic. It makes no sense at all in this day and age except to waste HUGE amounts of attorney's time.

Author

Jennifer2

Date

2007-10-18T13:41:25-06:00

ID

115142

Comment

Jennifer, could you tell me the last time that a district attorney who had defended as many accused felons as Robert Smith (and his firm) took office in Hinds County?

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2007-10-18T13:44:04-06:00

ID

115143

Comment

No, I can't because I'd have to be given a list of all the people who have gone to the DA's office over all the years. But where else are you going to get candidates to run for DA? Defense attorneys. This is not a big deal. But, hey, I'm just a lawyer. What would I know.

Author

Jennifer2

Date

2007-10-18T13:50:00-06:00

ID

115144

Comment

Jennifer-I do know that lawyers switch sides all the time. But, one has to wonder how MANY cases Smith will be forced to excuse himself from due to prior involvment. At some point, doesn't that seem to cripple his ability to perform the job for which he was elected? Just askin'.

Author

Lori G

Date

2007-10-18T13:56:07-06:00

ID

115145

Comment

I think the Clarion Ledger said 40 cases, some of which he hopes to have resolved. Does this sound like a lot of cases to me? No. But why don't you have Ray weigh in.

Author

Jennifer2

Date

2007-10-18T13:58:38-06:00

ID

115146

Comment

Lawyers are a dime a dozen. Just look at this site. ;-) Well, there haven't been two many people who have taken over as D.A. in recent years, for one thing. And I'm hard-pressed to believe that many ADAs have Robert Smith's particular client list. We can stipulate that this is no big deal to you. But you don't speak for the rest of us unreasonable folks. So don't try.

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2007-10-18T14:02:07-06:00

ID

115147

Comment

Fine. You were so right about the Shavers' case.

Author

Jennifer2

Date

2007-10-18T14:03:22-06:00

ID

115148

Comment

Beyond those 40 cases, you have the problem that many of his former clients tend to end up back in front of prosecutors more than once. And what about the clients who are close to Melton; is he willing to defy his biggest supporter by going after one of his guys? What if the mayor himself should decide to commit a crime? (I know, never happen.) Would Smith prosecute the mayor?

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2007-10-18T14:04:53-06:00

ID

115149

Comment

I can't believe this is even an issue. 40 is nothing. If that's all he had, no wonder he ran for D.A....he was going broke! He'll resolve some before he takes office, and appointed counsel will plead out the others, leaving very few if any to actually go to trial.

Author

Tanner

Date

2007-10-18T14:05:52-06:00

ID

115150

Comment

I can't believe it is an issue either but if you supported Faye, and she lost, I guess it is.

Author

Jennifer2

Date

2007-10-18T14:06:56-06:00

ID

115151

Comment

Jennifer, don't try the catty insult game with me. It won't work. This isn't about being upset because Peterson lost. Sweetheart, I had people harangue me with much, much worse than this for raising concerns about Melton over the last two years. Whole Web sites were started to discredit my warnings about Melton and to belittle me and others who dare raise the same questions. Those folks tried to morph our warnings into a sore-Harvey-loser thing then, too, and today they all look like naive morons. And a bunch of those people were so-called smart lawyers. Guess what: We're still here, and we're still raising questions. Pray we're not proved as right as we were last time.

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2007-10-18T14:11:53-06:00

ID

115152

Comment

Like I said. You're the expert.

Author

Jennifer2

Date

2007-10-18T14:15:20-06:00

ID

115153

Comment

You know, I watched this whole Dane Cook comedy show the other night where he talked about fighting with women. He basically said when a woman stands back and starts agreeing with everything you've said...You're totally F--Ked. ;) To me, its not about "forty cases". Its about relationships. Those relationships don't end on a plea and don't just stop because he takes office. Taking those forty cases and saying that is the ONLY conflict of interest he may have is an extremely concrete way of looking at the situation. But, what do I know? I'm not a lawyer...I'm a therapist. SO, its ALWAYS about the relationships for me. I just know human nature. Unfortunatley, human nature is never as logical as the law. And if that human is Frank Melton...well, logic never even entered the building.

Author

Lori G

Date

2007-10-18T14:26:30-06:00

ID

115154

Comment

I thought this was a place to share ideas and not bash people. We all have our ideas of how things should be done but we don't need to belittle or make snide remarks to each other because we disagree. Lets please act all like intellectual adults here or some semblence there in.

Author

Simpleton

Date

2007-10-18T14:27:22-06:00

ID

115155

Comment

Lori, you make a good point, but I'm not willing to say that Robert will ignore the law in future cases simply because there might have been some relationship with an alleged felon in the past. There are some dirty lawyers out there, but I've known Robert for a few years and worked with him on some cases, and I know he's not one of the dirty ones. My opinion as of now is that he will follow the law and do the right thing. That could change, but I'm not going to change my opinion before the man even takes office.

Author

Tanner

Date

2007-10-18T14:36:15-06:00

ID

115156

Comment

My name is Bennett and I ain't In It. Lawyers are a dime a dozen! Let me calculate this for the first time. By my arithematic, two of us are worth zero with 10 more worth only a penny, or perhaps all 12 are worth something less than a penny individually! He, he. That's funny rat der. I like lawyer jokes. It was a joke, right? I'm going back to work and enhance my value.

Author

Ray Carter

Date

2007-10-18T14:38:05-06:00

ID

115157

Comment

When the JFP gets served with a subpoena, they get a prominent Jackson lawyer to represent them. I doubt he'd appreciate being told his services were worth "a dime a dozen."

Author

Jennifer2

Date

2007-10-18T14:47:18-06:00

ID

115158

Comment

My name is justjess and I'm in the mess. LOL Again I ask, where is the money????

Author

justjess

Date

2007-10-18T14:47:20-06:00

ID

115159

Comment

That was a joke, Jennifer. Haven't you heard it before?

Author

Ray Carter

Date

2007-10-18T14:50:39-06:00

ID

115160

Comment

Ray-I just want to pinch your cheeks I love you so much. Maybe I need to go back to work and "enhance my value". I'm pretty sure therapist are cheaper than lawyers these days. :) Tanner-I can respect that. I'm not going to form an opinion before he takes office either...but I do rather like to throw around "what ifs".

Author

Lori G

Date

2007-10-18T14:50:47-06:00

ID

115161

Comment

i'm not so concerned about his old caseload and switching sides as i am about his apparently close relationship with king frank. are he and recio going to use their positions of authority to pursue frank's personal vendettas? is he going to allow the king to interfere with witnesses, potentially tainting cases as he has previously done? will he refuse to prosecute franks henchmen...err..."adopted" sons when they commit crimes (i.e. michael taylor)? these are the real issues. this potentially opens the door for frank to really run rampant around the streets of jackson. police can arrest him, but it's ultimately up to the prosecutor to determine if he has to face charges. how convenient...

Author

eyerah

Date

2007-10-18T14:51:12-06:00

ID

115162

Comment

Ray Carter, you demonstrated some excellent mathematical skills in your blog computation of your numerical worth. That was funny. Now to change the tone, what about the MONEY? Isn't it a fact that most of these lawyers require a handsome retainer fee for some of these really tough cases, i.e., killing your woman/man, robbing a bank? WHERE IS THE MONEY, RAY?

Author

justjess

Date

2007-10-18T14:51:45-06:00

ID

115163

Comment

I wasn't talking about your comment, Ray. I don't think Ms. Ladd was joking.

Author

Jennifer2

Date

2007-10-18T14:51:57-06:00

ID

115164

Comment

She was joking!

Author

Ray Carter

Date

2007-10-18T14:53:48-06:00

ID

115165

Comment

Wasn't it Malissa Winfield of Butler Snow who recently represented the JFP? Correct me if I'm wrong, I just thought I remembered reading that somewhere in the not so past. I have a case against her right now. Other than one little spat during discovery, she's been a pleasure to work with, and certainly deserving of more respect than that.

Author

Tanner

Date

2007-10-18T14:53:56-06:00

ID

115166

Comment

We can all draw our own conclusions from the tenor of this exchange.

Author

Jennifer2

Date

2007-10-18T14:55:00-06:00

ID

115167

Comment

Were you going to weigh in on this whole non-issue or will you keep your opinion to yourself, Ray.

Author

Jennifer2

Date

2007-10-18T14:56:14-06:00

ID

115168

Comment

Thanks Lori. Glad to see you posting. I've got to stop before being given the old heave ho - the discharge from a job I like.

Author

Ray Carter

Date

2007-10-18T14:56:20-06:00

ID

115169

Comment

Good Lord, now I've offended lawyers. Calm down, counselors: Some of my best friends are lawyers. And I don't think a single one of them has ever tried to tell me not to be concerned about a public servant. There are lawyers, and there are lawyers. And I LOVE it when Lori shows up. ;-)

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2007-10-18T15:10:24-06:00

ID

115170

Comment

Jenn, I don't know anything, so I don't have anything to add. Since I like Ladd let me be the first to call off the boycott we had planned. Carry on everyone.

Author

Ray Carter

Date

2007-10-18T15:29:24-06:00

ID

115171

Comment

Little Tidbit

Author

Lori G

Date

2007-10-22T16:57:00-06:00

ID

115172

Comment

Sorry, I was just posting the link to the Michael Taylor story in this blog as well for some people that were following this one. Alas, I'm not quite talented at that. So, you know, go find it yourself....or something. :P

Author

Lori G

Date

2007-10-22T17:02:05-06:00