Thursday, June 9, 2011

Precious Martin was D.A.'s defense attorney

Remember this story on WLBT last week:



There is one little fact the District Attorney left out of his interview with Mrs. Lasseter: Precious Martin was his defense attorney a few years ago. Mr. Smith got in trouble with a Madison County Justice Court Judge in 2005 while representing a client. It seems Mr. Smith allegedly called the arresting officer a few cuss words during the hearing. Judge Carole Davis fined him $500 and threw him in jail for a few hours.

Mr. Smith appeared before the judge later that afternoon with attorneys Winston Thompson and........ Precious Martin. Yup. Mr. Martin represented him before the judge and then handled his appeal to county court. Mr. Smith seems to have forgotten his relationship with Mr. Martin when he talked to WLBT.

WLBT also reported two weeks ago the State Auditor discussed the Graham case with Hinds County District Attorney Robert Smith:

"Our investigation began on this case in 2008 when our office received the first complaint," said State Auditor Stacey Pickering. "The investigation indicated Graham's time and expenses to recreate training material were paid by the City of Jackson when Graham was clearly not doing City business. This case has been turned over to the District Attorney for review."

However, a little apparently was made in the discussions between the State Auditor and the District Attorney. State Auditor Stacey Pickering told JJ in a telephone interview this morning "to the best of my recollection, Mr. Smith did not disclose Precious Martin had previous represented him." Efforts to contact Mr. Smith this morning were not successful.

Editorial Section: That was the news portion of this post. Now for the opinion portion. It is clear Mr. Smith is compromised even if actually doing nothing wrong due to the fact Mr. Martin was his lawyer. Mr. Smith should do the right thing and appoint a special prosecutor from another county to handle all matters concerning the State Auditor and Hinds County. There is no way Mr. Smith can avoid an appearance of impropriety or conflict of interest if he continues to remain involved in any investigations of Hinds County officials.















Posted by Kingfish at 9:45 AM

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

You know King if the Hinds BOS was majority Republican, if Graham was a Republican, if Smith was a Republican, if Precious was a Republican and if any of them were remotely white we'd today have both the C-L and JFP going toe-to-toe in oneupmanship coverage about all of the Hinds mess you've unearthed.

Thanks goodness that between JJ, Cheryl, Marsha and the leadership at WLBT we have at two intellectually honest media groups left in Jackson. All my thanks and gratitude for your efforts.

June 9, 2011 at 10:06 AM
Anonymous said...

Tuesday of this week i was walking out of the Hinds County Courthouse when i walked by Robert Smith and Robert Graham having a conversation as i walked by i overheard Mr. Smith tell Graham QUOTE.... You need to come see me ....end of quote Make your own mind up on that conversation.

June 9, 2011 at 11:30 AM
Anonymous said...

I'm surprised the article about DA Smith's actions in Madison County did not come during his election/re-election campaign. I can still remember the commercials with Ed Peters endorsing Robert Smith.

BTW - read page 205 Curtis Wilke's Fall of Zeus book re: Peters/Smith. "It'll be good for you". Intresting conversations captured on the wire taps...

June 9, 2011 at 12:29 PM
Anonymous said...

Kingfish.. this if off topic but i dont know where else to address this... and you investigate things when you think something is wrong.. I would like to know why the McALISTERS on Northside only has Callaway stuff on the wall and no JA stuff? JA is around the corner! why not have both? It be interesting to know if JA has not approached Mc management or has Mc managment not reached JA? why Callaway and why not Callaway and JA??

June 9, 2011 at 2:07 PM
Anonymous said...

KF: What do you make of this quote from Smith re the stank emanating from Hinds County, courtesy of WLBT? I'll be polite and call him a coward.

"We are cooperating with other agencies in this matter. Not to duplicate any investigation. It would be more cost effective to work together as opposed to everyone doing a separate investigation on every aspect of this matter."

June 9, 2011 at 9:32 PM
Anonymous said...

Rock on... This needs to go to the end!!! And hopefully the correct actions will be taken...

June 9, 2011 at 9:41 PM
Kingfish said...

There can only be one.

June 9, 2011 at 9:47 PM
Anonymous said...

hopefully this federal ruling will set a precident in our state that the NAACP can no longer take advantage of our history and cry wolf every day to get what they want... if there is an injustice thats one thing... but the NAACP will just cry RACIST at every turn to get what they want and that bs will be shut down

June 10, 2011 at 9:35 AM
Anonymous said...

9:32 PM that is Smith mining the process for the benefit of other HindsCo politicos. He wants to "work together" for the inside information NOT because he intends to pursue and/or prosecute. ONLY when Smith senses that his own procratination and/or obstruction is going to get himself pinched will he act and then only to the minimum possible.

June 10, 2011 at 10:42 AM

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Trollfest '09

Trollfest '07 was such a success that Jackson Jambalaya will once again host Trollfest '09. Catch this great event which will leave NE Jackson & Fondren in flames. Othor Cain and his band, The Black Power Structure headline the night while Sonjay Poontang returns for an encore performance. Former Frank Melton bodyguard Marcus Wright makes his premier appearance at Trollfest singing "I'm a Sweet Transvestite" from "The Rocky Horror Picture Show." Kamikaze will sing his new hit, “How I sold out to da Man.” Robbie Bell again performs: “Mamas, don't let your babies grow up to be Bells” and “Any friend of Ed Peters is a friend of mine”. After the show, Ms. Bell will autograph copies of her mug shot photos. In a salute to “Dancing with the Stars”, Ms. Bell and Hinds County District Attorney Robert Smith will dance the Wango Tango.

Wrestling returns, except this time it will be a Battle Royal with Othor Cain, Ben Allen, Kim Wade, Haley Fisackerly, Alan Lange, and “Big Cat” Donna Ladd all in the ring at the same time. The Battle Royal will be in a steel cage, no time limit, no referee, and the losers must leave town. Marshand Crisler will be the honorary referee (as it gives him a title without actually having to do anything).

Meet KIM Waaaaaade at the Entergy Tent. For five pesos, Kim will sell you a chance to win a deed to a crack house on Ridgeway Street stuffed in the Howard Industries pinata. Don't worry if the pinata is beaten to shreds, as Mr. Wade has Jose, Emmanuel, and Carlos, all illegal immigrants, available as replacements for the it. Upon leaving the Entergy tent, fig leaves will be available in case Entergy literally takes everything you have as part of its Trollfest ticket price adjustment charge.

Donna Ladd of The Jackson Free Press will give several classes on learning how to write. Smearing, writing without factchecking, and reporting only one side of a story will be covered. A donation to pay their taxes will be accepted and she will be signing copies of their former federal tax liens. Ms. Ladd will give a dramatic reading of her two award-winning essays (They received The Jackson Free Press "Best Of" awards.) "Why everything is always about me" and "Why I cover murders better than anyone else in Jackson".

In the spirit of helping those who are less fortunate, Trollfest '09 adopts a cause for which a portion of the proceeds and donations will be donated: Keeping Frank Melton in his home. The “Keep Frank Melton From Being Homeless” booth will sell chances for five dollars to pin the tail on the jackass. John Reeves has graciously volunteered to be the jackass for this honorable excursion into saving Frank's ass. What's an ass between two friends after all? If Mr. Reeves is unable to um, perform, Speaker Billy McCoy has also volunteered as when the word “jackass” was mentioned he immediately ran as fast as he could to sign up.

In order to help clean up the legal profession, Adam Kilgore of the Mississippi Bar will be giving away free, round-trip plane tickets to the North Pole where they keep their bar complaint forms (which are NOT available online). If you don't want to go to the North Pole, you can enjoy Brant Brantley's (of the Mississippi Commission on Judicial Performance) free guided tours of the quicksand field over by High Street where all complaints against judges disappear. If for some reason you are unable to control yourself, never fear; Judge Houston Patton will operate his jail where no lawyers are needed or allowed as you just sit there for minutes... hours.... months...years until he decides he is tired of you sitting in his jail. Do not think Judge Patton is a bad judge however as he plans to serve free Mad Dog 20/20 to all inmates.

Trollfest '09 is a pet-friendly event as well. Feel free to bring your dog with you and do not worry if your pet gets hungry, as employees of the Jackson Zoo will be on hand to provide some of their animals as food when it gets to be feeding time for your little loved one.

Relax at the Fox News Tent. Since there are only three blonde reporters in Jackson (being blonde is a requirement for working at Fox News), Megan and Kathryn from WAPT and Wendy from WLBT will be on loan to Fox. To gain admittance to the VIP section, bring either your Republican Party ID card or a Rebel Flag. Bringing both and a torn-up Obama yard sign will entitle you to free drinks served by Megan, Wendy, and Kathryn. Get your tickets now. Since this is an event for trolls, no ID is required. Just bring the hate. Bring the family, Trollfest '09 is for EVERYONE!!!

This is definitely a Beaver production.

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Trollfest '07

Jackson Jambalaya is the home of Trollfest '07. Catch this great event which promises to leave NE Jackson & Fondren in flames. Sonjay Poontang and his band headline the night with a special steel cage, no time limit "loser must leave town" bout between Alan Lange and "Big Cat"Donna Ladd following afterwards. Kamikaze will perform his new song F*** Bush, he's still a _____. Did I mention there was no referee? Dr. Heddy Matthias and Lori Gregory will face off in the undercard dueling with dangling participles and other um, devices. Robbie Bell will perform Her two latest songs: My Best Friends are in the Media and Mama's, Don't Let Your Babies Grow up to be George Bell. Sid Salter of The Clarion-Ledger will host "Pin the Tail on the Trial Lawyer", sponsored by State Farm.

There will be a hugging booth where in exchange for your young son, Frank Melton will give you a loooong hug. Trollfest will have a dunking booth where Muhammed the terrorist will curse you to Allah as you try to hit a target that will drop him into a vat of pig grease. However, in the true spirit of Separate But Equal, Don Imus and someone from NE Jackson will also sit in the dunking booth for an equal amount of time. Tom Head will give a reading for two hours on why he can't figure out who the hell he is. Cliff Cargill will give lessons with his .80 caliber desert eagle, using Frank Melton photos as targets. Tackleberry will be on hand for an autograph session. KIM Waaaaaade will be passing out free titles and deeds to crackhouses formerly owned by The Wood Street Players.

If you get tired come relax at the Fox News Tent. To gain admittance to the VIP section, bring either your Republican Party ID card or a Rebel Flag. Bringing both will entitle you to free drinks.Get your tickets now. Since this is an event for trolls, no ID is required, just bring the hate. Bring the family, Trollfest '07 is for EVERYONE!!!

This is definitely a Beaver production.

Note: Security provided by INS.