Thursday, July 10, 2014

Judge Tomie Green orders county to give raises to her bailiffs.


Hinds County Circuit Judge Tomie Green ordered the county to provide raises to her two bailiffs.  Judge Green stated her bailiffs make less than the bailiffs assigned to the other circuit judges, and thus should be given raises of $411 per month.  She claimed Sheriff Tyrone Lewis refused to provide raises to the two bailiffs when she requested him to do so.

Deputy Roderick Thompson was hired in 2009 and earns a salary of $2,043 per month, while Deputy Bill Queen was hired in 2008 and makes $2,261 per month.  Judge Green states the average monthly salary is $2,445 for the circuit court bailiffs.  However, Judge Green does not state the average salary for all bailiffs.  Deputies Thompson and Queen are not certified law enforcement officers.

The Hinds County Board of Supervisors reviewed the request in executive session at the July 7 meeting but took no action.

Judge Green and Sheriff Tyrone Lewis have been engaged in a protracted court battle over control of the bailiffs for several years.  Judge Green asserts the Sheriff cannot fire or transfer bailiffs without her consent.  The Sheriff argues Mississippi law gives him sole authority over the bailiffs and that they serve at his will and pleasure.

Earlier post on Judge Green attempts to take control of bailiffs.
2012 post: Sheriff responds

Kingfish Note: Judges can interfere in budget matters? Is there a separation of powers issue in this case?  Then there is the fact a judge is telling the county to issue raises. Perhaps someone should watch this video of then-supervisor Phil Fisher setting one judge straight on budget matters:




16 comments:

Anonymous said...

This does seem like a separation of powers problem. Seems like it should be up to the sheriff to decide if they need a raise (assuming that the bailiffs are sheriff dept employees). And is this a proper use of a judge's order? If it is, looks like a judge can "order" any public official to do anything.

Anonymous said...

So the guy hired earlier makes more than the guy hired later? Shocker.

Anonymous said...

If she treats the bailiffs as badly as she does attorneys appearing before her, they probably deserve a whole lot more.

Anonymous said...

@10:21 nailed it. This is no surprise to anyone who has appeared before her.

Anonymous said...

Maybe Judge Green would be more effective if she wrote a poem about it. Perhaps a rap song this time...

Anonymous said...

I wish someone would investigate/address the fact that every single defendant out on bond assigned to her courtroom is forced to pay for electronic monitoring through her best friend/boyfriend/lunch buddy (Dennis Grant) or whatever you want to call him. I know of no other court in the state that requires every defendant to pay $ to be on house arrest while awaiting trial. Shady.. Shady..

Jackson voter said...

We DESPERATELY need a strong candidate to run against and unseat Tomie Green.

She is one of the most dysfunctional parts of the incredibly dysfunctional Hinds County court system.

She seems to think she holds a dictatorship and can just make up rules as she goes along.

I'm beyond sick of it.

Anonymous said...

Allow me to suggest a poem especially for the Sheriff for this situation

An Ode to the High Sheriff

Oh, Sheriff Tyrone with your glittery star.....
I have admired you......but only from afar.
My Bailiffs surely need more money...
So cough it up...what say you honey?

Anonymous said...

The Mississippi Supreme Court has ruled that a Circuit Judge can order the Board to spend money if they have refused to provide minimally necessary facilities for the court to function. [courtroom air conditioning was damaged BOS refused to repair, hot summer, criminal trial with windows opened for ventilation, loud traffic outside disrupted the trial. Circuit Judge ordered BOS to fix the AC, Supreme Court affirmed.]

Anonymous said...

@12:34

Your facts are not correct. Only defendants who are on bond for serious crimes against the person and sex offenses are required to be on house arrest. Defendants who are on bond for property crimes are only required to "check in" with Dennis Grant on a continuous basis while they await disposition of their case.

Judge Green sets lower bonds than any other circuit court judge. Should the defendant decide to post bond, reporting to Dennis Grant is a "condition" of their bond, and this is 100% acceptable under the law.

Defendants would much rather have a lower bond set so they could actually post that bond during pretrial detention.

Defendants who are on bond for cases in Judge Green's court have the lowest recidivism rate while on bond than any other Judge in Hinds county. I would think Hinds county residents would like this fact.

The law does not favor pretrial detention, and it's kinda the reason we have a Constitutional Amendment that addresses this issue.

I'm no apologist for any judge out there, but when comments are left that are simply untrue, those with information and facts have a responsibility to inform everyone that these are simply lies.

Anonymous said...

Hey 12:34 do the people who "just have to check in" with Dennis Grant pay a fee for that? Or just the "serious cases" on house arrest pay.. Once you have "all the facts" is like that answer..

Furthermore, can you send a link to where you got the information on recidivism rates per judge? Is love to see those "facts".. Ha!

Lastly, shouldn't there be transparency since only one judge requires defendants to "check in" with Dennis Grant and that one judge is routinely seen in public with him?

Anonymous said...

Last post ^^^^ meant 2:55 not 12:34

Anonymous said...

@2:55 You said:

Defendants who are on bond for cases in Judge Green's court have the lowest recidivism rate while on bond than any other Judge in Hinds county. I would think Hinds county residents would like this fact.

Can you give a source for this? I would like to know what data exists for Hinds County judges such as what you are stating. Thx.

Anonymous said...

Judge has no authority to do this.

Anonymous said...

Hearing Phil Fisher laying down the law gives me thrills up my leg.

Anonymous said...

It costs money every time you see Dennis Grant. And if you can't pay, you go to back to jail, whether you've committed another crime or not.


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