Jackson Free Press

Jackson attorney Dennis Sweet claims Hinds County Senior Judge Swan Yerger violated the U.S. Constitution when he barred the county's black circuit court judges from hearing more serious cases.

"White judges take the most serious issues, and black judges take the less serious criminal cases," Sweet said.

Last November, Yerger divided the court's criminal cases into two categories. Category 1 includes homicides, assaults, robberies (simple, armed, carjackings and others) and property crimes, such as receiving stolen goods, grand larceny, motor vehicle theft and other felonies. Category 2 includes sex crimes, DUI (felony and aggravated) automotive crimes (such as leaving the scene of an accident) altering vehicle identification numbers, chop shops, and white-collar crimes, including embezzlement and false pretense, and drug crimes.

Yerger then handed Category 1 cases to himself and Judge Bobby DeLaughter and Category 2 cases to black judges Tomie Green and Winston Kidd. Kidd said he protested the categorization back in November.

"We have a problem when six appointed judges can hear cases that the elected judges are excluded from hearing," Kidd told the Jackson Free Press. "I had voiced my objections to Smith, but he has the authority to make those assignments, and he is adamant."

Sweet said the scheme is about power: "Majority African Americans in the county live in Green's and Kidd's sub-districts. Judges elected by African Americans under the Voting Rights Act have to have the same authority and power as the judges elected by white citizens."

Sweet's accusation follows his July motion to dismiss the indictment of Jackson resident Lawrence Epps on the basis that the defendant's case was unconstitutionally re-assigned to a white judge. The Epps motion accuses Yerger of violating the Voting Rights Act. Epps' motion states that there is "no race-neutral reason exists for such a distinction" in case loads.

"It appears that the two African American judges … are being restricted … from hearing greater criminal matters solely on the basis of race, not experience," it states, adding that Green's previous experience as a Hinds County criminal prosecutor should speak to her abilities to address Category One.

Kidd said Yerger's move makes no sense based on the black judges' records. "I know my decisions have never been overturned by the Supreme Court on criminal matters since I've been elected," he said.

Green and Yerger did not return calls.

In the Epps case, the grand jury first returned an indictment in May, under Judge Tomie Green, for robbery. But then, in June, a jury issued a second, more serious, indictment against Epps for strong-armed robbery, though Sweet argues the essential elements in the case had not changed, other than to have the case re-assigned to Yerger.

Sweet added that the six special judges Mississippi Supreme Court Chief Justice Jim Smith recently appointed to Hinds County to help with the "backlog" of cases have more variety in cases than the county's rightfully elected black judges—which he believes also violates the Voting Rights Act. Those judges are not elected, but have authority from Yerger to preside over Category 1 cases.

"This situation already violates 'one man one vote,' but then when you appoint six special judges, it dilutes the vote even further," Sweet said.

"Take those two judges and move them away from the serious cases, and then take the special judges, put them all under Yerger's control, and that dilutes their power."

Sweet plans to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Justice and petitioned U.S. Rep Bennie Thompson in his endeavor.

Thompson did not return calls.

Previous Comments

ID

133009

Comment

If he has evidence and time, feel free to complain. Otherwise, do we really need the government running our state for another hundred years because of crap like this?

Author

Ironghost

Date

2008-08-12T20:30:24-06:00

ID

133011

Comment

One of your more predictable responses, Iron. What kind of evidence are you looking for? It's a fact that Yerger has done this—given the "hard" cases to white judges (including DeLaughter) and unelected ones appointed by Jim Smith and easier ones to black judges. It's really hard to see a justification for it.

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2008-08-12T20:40:02-06:00

ID

133013

Comment

It's one man's complaint. Let's investigate and see if this is actually a conspiracy to defraud people of justice. Let's find evidence. Let's tell Sweet his system doesn't look fair and reeks of genteel paternalism run amok. Let's not run to Uncle Sam and complain yet again. Can't we solve this "in house" for once?

Author

Ironghost

Date

2008-08-12T20:51:07-06:00

ID

133016

Comment

We know hwat in house means in MS. I agree with Ladd. Everyone knows that this was wrong when he first did it. It seems that ony when the feds get involved does this state do the right thing.

Author

jada

Date

2008-08-12T21:07:54-06:00

ID

133017

Comment

Could it have been that Judge Yerger did the assignments base on seniority? Green (she has an impressive bio on the Hinds County website) was elected in 1999, DeLaughter was appointed in 1999 and Kidd was elected in 2001. Are the appointed judges all white? Do they have more experience than Kidd and Green? What does it really matter if the judges are black or white? Are the defendents still getting fair trails? What does it matter to a defendent if the judge is elected or appointed? Weren't the 6 judges appointed to help relieve the backlog of cases? Is there a larger backlog of Category 1 cases, and is that why the appointed judges are getting those cases? And my final question, what does it matter what judge hears what case, major crime or minor crime other than to look good on his or her judical record because its big case?

Author

BubbaT

Date

2008-08-12T23:41:38-06:00

ID

133018

Comment

Forgot one question, Aren't Category 2 crimes, sex cases and drug cases just as "Hard" as Category 2 crimes of murder and robbery?

Author

BubbaT

Date

2008-08-13T00:02:33-06:00

ID

133019

Comment

Swan yerger is the same judge that let the white boy go free for shooting that black kid in the back. He also is the same judge that gave a black young girl years in prison for fighting a white girl and it was her first offense. So i think anything yerger does should be questioned. And iron the federal government wouldn't have to come into mississippi if the citizens get a backbone and stand up for whats equal and right. So mr sweet is just a race agitator. dont get mad at him because he standing up and speaking out, were tired of this racist mess and mississippi.

Author

NewJackson

Date

2008-08-13T01:11:56-06:00

ID

133020

Comment

Given how it looks, it seems reasonable to me for Sweet to question whether Yerger had a racial bias in making his assignments. I'm curious to see how the DOJ will react to it.

Author

Jeff Lucas

Date

2008-08-13T07:21:07-06:00

ID

133023

Comment

One aside that's irrelevant to most of this, but worth mentioning: Tomie Green wrote the state marital rape law while she was serving in the legislature. It was a very unpopular idea at the time (occasionally you'll still hear the "if you're married, it's not rape" argument resurface), and a lot of men still hate her for proposing it and getting it passed. In fact, I have a theory that the main reason she gets so much flak on talk radio and so forth--more than Kidd, an equally "liberal" judge, by a long shot--is because she was such a gutsy advocate for women and families before she moved on to the judiciary, and elephants never forget.

Author

Tom Head

Date

2008-08-13T09:13:00-06:00

ID

133028

Comment

Tom head whats your point?

Author

NewJackson

Date

2008-08-13T09:54:55-06:00

ID

133029

Comment

NJ, just something very positive about Green that explains some of the very negative responses to her. Whether it played any role in Yerger's thinking is anybody's guess, but the fact that she's unpopular in certain quarters due to her courageous work as a legislator probably hasn't helped her career as a judge.

Author

Tom Head

Date

2008-08-13T10:12:22-06:00

ID

133030

Comment

Mississippi we cant get mad when the feds come in and have to straighten out our responsibilities, do it right ourselves. We wonder why people say we are backwards and slow

Author

NewJackson

Date

2008-08-13T10:17:06-06:00

ID

133031

Comment

Amen, NJ. Frankly, this isn't the only area where the feds really should be stepping in. They abandoned the people of Mississippi, especially black folks, when they gave up on Reconstruction...and they still haven't done enough to make up for that. I'm in sympathy with your assessment of Swan Yerger, by the way... I don't pretend to know what his motives were but I know what the effects of some of his decisions (including this one) have been, and they've been unacceptable. Believe it or not, we're on the same page here... Just saying also that Tomie Green is treated with so little respect by some folks because of the good work she's done over the years. And because she's a successful black woman in a position of power, of course.

Author

Tom Head

Date

2008-08-13T11:26:42-06:00

ID

133035

Comment

The authority of elected representatives has clearly been diluted. Ironghost's comments sound like that old neo-Confederate crap. Why have a federal government if the principle of one man, one vote can be violated whenever neo-confederate local officials feel the whim? The answer is the neo-Confederates would still like to abolish the federal government! They have not gotten over the Civil War. Thankfully, they are literally a dying breed.

Author

FreeClif

Date

2008-08-13T12:28:45-06:00

ID

133038

Comment

I've known IG for 16 years, and he's no neo-Confederate. He's more of a devil's advocate. If we were all supportive of Yerger's decision, I'm pretty sure he'd be calling us to task for it; since we're all critical of Yerger's decision, he's taking the other view.

Author

Tom Head

Date

2008-08-13T12:46:05-06:00

ID

133039

Comment

Despite Propaganda to the contrary, I'm very much pro-justice for all. I'm just anti-federal government. I think we have come to rely on the "Feds" to do too much for us in this state.

Author

Ironghost

Date

2008-08-13T12:46:38-06:00

ID

133040

Comment

O.K. When I hear barking, I think "dogs". when I hear quacking, I think "ducks". When I hear complaints about the prospect of federal intervention on behalf of concerns about a lack of equal treatment and unbiased behavior in the court system in Mississippi, then I may have an unjustified reflex reaction to think, "neo-confederate" when it may simply be someone posing as such. Usually, my reflex reactions are not totally off the mark, but there are exceptions to every rule.

Author

FreeClif

Date

2008-08-13T14:26:58-06:00

ID

133041

Comment

In many instances in Mississippi history there would not have been any "justice for all" without federal intervention. This is too simple and there is TOO much history in support of this fact that I will not insult you with examples unless you insist.

Author

FreeClif

Date

2008-08-13T14:32:59-06:00

ID

133042

Comment

I could agree with you Iron, if your statement were: "We have HAD to rely on the "Feds" to do too much for us in this state." Hopefully, we will one day have a Mississippi where federal intervention will not be necessary, where we do not have to be concerned about sentencing disparities based on the race of the defendent or of the judge; however, research bears out that there ARE sentencing disparities correlated with the race of the defendents. It is within that context that our concern in highlighted. We must always be aware of the context to interpret events and statements.

Author

FreeClif

Date

2008-08-13T14:50:47-06:00

ID

133043

Comment

My point is we don't "have to rely on the Feds". Why can't we take care of this? Raise enough hell and someone will notice. Make it a point in the next election of the Governor. I didn't think I had to say much else. If Yerger's having flashbacks to the old days, then he does need reminding his generation is gone. ...and I thought Tom and I had known each other longer. Has it only been that long? :)

Author

Ironghost

Date

2008-08-13T15:14:44-06:00