Monday, March 5, 2012

Green backs down.. a little.

Hinds County Circuit Judge Tomie Green withdrew her request to speak to the Hinds County Board of Supervisors about her dispute with Sheriff Tyrone Lewis. Judge Green and Sheriff Lewis are battling over who has control over the bailiffs in Hinds County. Judge Green asked to meet with the board. Sources tell this correspondent the Senior Circuit Judge sought to have the funding for the bailiffs transferred from the Sheriff's budget to her office. Earlier post with copy of order.

Judge Green issued an order on February 17, 2011 blocking the Sheriff from demoting, transferring, or reducing the salaries of any bailiff. Judges Patricia Wise (Mother of the Board Attorney), Melvin Priester, and Bill Gowan (Formerly Sheriff McMillin's attorney)signed the order. Judge Green took the action after Sheriff Lewis attempted to transfer and demote some bailiffs who were not law enforcement certified.

Editorial: That was the news. Now for the opinion. Sheriff Lewis has every right to run the bailiff program as he sees fit. Judge Green has no business whatsoever issuing an order as she did. Before we go any further, here are the facts. There are 31 bailiffs:

2 Captains
5 Sergeants
3 Corporals
21 Deputies

Only one captain and two deputies have been through a law enforcement academy. The Sheriff sought to reduce the number of bailiffs and replace the non-certified bailiffs with certified law enforcement officers. Sheriff Lewis also sought to have the number of bailiffs present in the courthouse reflect the actual needs of the courthouse at any time. The Sheriff told me if there were no hearings scheduled on a particular day, then the bailiffs' supervisor should be able to send the bailiffs to other duty outside of the courthouse.

There are only one or two bailiffs working the door at the courthouses in Madison and Rankin counties and one bailiff is assigned to work the courtroom. Hinds County assigns two bailiffs to each judge. Everyone has seen the 3-4 deputies that are present at each door. Sheriff Bailey told this correspondent in Rankin County they used retirees for bailiffs, dress them up in blue blazes like the federal bailiffs, and it seems to work just fine. As Sheriff Lewis said in the interview, Captains and Sergeants should be out supervising deputies, not sitting in a courthouse all day.

It should also be pointed out the Attorney General has twice ruled only the Sheriff can hire and fire the bailiffs, transfer them, change their pay, or reduce their rank. The Mississippi Code states they serve at his will and pleasure- he can fire them at any time. Judge Green forgets she is a judge and thinks the courthouse is her fief and all those who work there are her servants. This is a legitimate separation of powers issue and Sheriff Lewis should take Judge Green's order down to the Mississippi Supreme Court. one can only imagine how Chief Justice Bill Waller will handle such an order from Judge Green. Judge Green is wrong. Period. Sheriff Lewis should ignore her order and the higher courts should put her in her place.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hinds and Jackson are the epitome of local government screwed up beyond dysfunction. Sheriff Lewis should quit dicking around and get this over with by taking Green to court.

Stop wasting time Lewis. If you aren't up to throwing some high heaters underneath her chin to accomplish change then why the hell did you run for the job?

Anonymous said...

What statute even give the judge the authority to hire law enforcement?

Anonymous said...

Mac was voted out! Lewis is just like him. Always political pandering, scared to step up to the plate, just like his old boss.

Anonymous said...

adjusting the budget is nonsense. doesn't matter, because the Judge cannot perform executive branch functions such as law enforcement.

Criminal court in Mississippi is already quite confused. Look up the Miss. Const. You'll find that the AG and District Attorneys are part of the JUDICIAL branch of government. That should make an interesting day in federal court someday.

Anonymous said...

Tomie Green is always SO controversial. Just wondering...has she ever done
anything positive for Hinds County?

Anonymous said...

well, she did give K. Irby 20 years.

Anonymous said...

mind bendingly bad poetry?

Anonymous said...

She's the Sheriff!

Anonymous said...

How could she on one hand tell all court appointed counsel that there is no money for representation and set an unrealistic ceiling on each case and then ask that the bailiff salaries be supplemented by her budget?

Anonymous said...

Hinds County Judicial is a J O K E!
The Judges make up rules as they go
and County employees walk around barefoot during work hours. Please, someone buy my house so I can get out of here!

Anonymous said...

find it intereseting that you are always on the Tyrone band wagon. You must be in his back pocket as well. why don't you talk about all of the issues going on in that sheriffs department. riots in the jail, people not coming to work, Marcus Wright heading the Internal Affairs division. Kinda like watching Frank Melton era all over. shhhh keep that quiet we dont want to talk about those things. Yes Hinds County has some issues and the sheriffs department is one of them.


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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).


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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.


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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.

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