Jackson Jambalaya

The DA is off his rocker. No bill list are public record, and I do believe that an AG's opinion on this is in the record.

Schuler Smith can't run his office worth a damn but sure as hell is quick to punish those who shine a light on his incompetence.

The SO is provided the "no bill list" for one purpose: letting people out of jail that don't get indicted! It is not a public record. ALL matters considered by a Grand Jury are secret for six months subsequent to the discharge of said Grand Jury.

This is a ham-handed attempt to retaliate for the GRAND JURY that dared challenge the management of the downtown jail. The DA isn't even allowed to be present during Grand Jury deliberations. A vast majority of 20 ordinary citizens made that report, not the DA. Tyrone should be explaining on live radio why he fired, and has not preplaced, experienced corrections officers that knew how to operate a facility.

hey D.A. Smith, if you're gonna charge someone with contempt, you should at least spell their names correctly. As far as incompetence goes, the list for Hinds County is mind-boggling......
Judge Green
Tyrone,
Graham (the legend),
Stokes,
Kidd,
Fair,
..............I could go on and on.

12:30

You are obviously not a lawyer and have no idea what a No Bill list even is. Of course its public record. Please consult any judge, prosecutor or defense lawyer you want on this fact. DA Smith has never had a clue what he is doing. The guy is just in over his head.

We also have a right to know if suspected murderers are put back out on our streets. Not six months later.

Damn right, Kingfish. Damn right.

Rule 7.04
GRAND JURY SECRECY
A grand juror, except when called as a witness in court, shall keep secret the
proceedings and actions taken in reference to matters brought before the grand jury for six
months after final adjournment of the grand jury and the name and testimony of any witness
appearing before the grand jury shall be kept secret. No grand juror, witness, attorney
general, district attorney, county attorney, other prosecuting attorney, clerk, sheriff or other
officer of the court shall disclose to any unauthorized person that an indictment is being
found or returned into court against a defendant or disclose any action or proceeding in
relation to the indictment before the finding of an indictment or within six months thereafter
or before the defendant is arrested or gives bail or recognizance. No attorney general, district
attorneys, county attorneys, or any other prosecuting attorneys or any other officer of the
court shall announce to any unauthorized person what the grand jury will consider in its
deliberations. If such information is disclosed, the disclosing person may be found in
contempt of court punishable by fine or imprisonment.

That that applies to indictments, not no bills. There is a difference.

KF is correct.


"that an indictment is being
found or returned into court against a defendant or disclose any action or proceeding in
relation to the indictment before the finding of an indictment or within six months thereafter
or before the defendant is arrested or gives bail or recognizance."

Apparently commentators on this blog can "copy & paste" but cannot "read & interpret."

There is a practical problem to releasing the "no-bill" list. Most defendants charged with serious crimes know when their case is coming before the grand jury. If the no-bill list is published, and his/her name is NOT on it, then she/he will assume an indictment is forthcoming and may well flee the jurisdiction. Yes that is a violation of their bond, and a warrant can be issued for his/her arrest. But much of that could be avoided if publication of the no-bill list is withheld for some period of time.

The greater good of public knowledge far, far outweighs the potential that someone out on bond, will violate that bond and flee.

the "no bill" list is not required by rule or statute. it is a courtesy to the sheriff so they know who to let out of jail. it is not clear if it was "filed with the clerk" as it is not "file stamped" on the image in this thread.

statutes specify that ALL grand jury actions are secret for six months; the rules specify indictments only.

much ado over anthills...

Smith needs to start doing ACTUAL work.

5:49, you must be auditioning to be Obama's next appointment to the Supreme Court, because you can evidently read into statutes words that are not there.

Please show where the "statutes specify that ALL grand jury actions are secret". Not there. But thanks for trying.

And besides, a 'no bill" would be an inaction, not an action. But that's just gravy.

6:31 - I like how you managed to bring Obama into this discussion. Must be on your mind a lot.

3:08, actually yes it is. With elections in three weeks, am concerned over a change in the US Senate. Look to see two or maybe three Supremes (not Dianne) vacancies - and with their ability to do what 5:49 did with reading into statutes (Supremes read into the Constitution) the concern over the next federal election is on my mind. Is it on yours?

9:04 Is one of the voices you hear named "3:08"?

Because there's none on this page, which is on a totally different topic from what you seem to think we're discussing. I'll resist the Temptation to make my own bad Motown pun (oh wait....)

This is a local story. Stick to it.

To avoid selective prosecution will the District Attorney request the party releasing the Grand Jury report regarding the jail be held in contempt?

Can anyone explain why it would be contempt to release the no bill list and not be contempt to release the report citing no confidence in the Sherriff?

I was very underwhelmed by the grand jury "report" about the jail. There were some observations -- all bad -- and then a conclusion that the sheriff was unfit to run the place. I'm not saying that was the wrong conclusion, but there was absolutely zero analysis in the report. It was like two pages long and rife with typos. I thought it was a pretty poor job.

I see in the Clarion Ledger where the DA made a statement to the press, that one of those on the no bill list was indicted on another charge,(ie: possession of opium), and has not yet been served with the indictment.
That being the case, the DA has violated the law by making the Grand jury action public.It would certainly stand to reason that the person who was indicted on that charge would be forewarned and possibly flee to avoid arrest and prosecution.Maybe Sheriff Lewis needs to file charges on the D.A.

12:36 the grand jury report doesn't have any detailed analysis because they basically hand yellow legal pads to a group of folks and they take notes as they walk through the facility. They do the same thing at the courthouse. When it's over the secretary types it up and the foreman signs off on it. It's basically just a walk through.

He did the same thing to JPD when I was on Grand Jury. Police chief had to come testify in front of us. Don't think anything ever came of that though. The AG wasn't too happy though. I had two officers from the state AG office come to my house looking for me. My room mate told me and I was worried I did something wrong. I went to meet them in the parking lot of Kroger on I-55 and they just wanted to know what the DA told the Grand Jury about the JPD.

Don't forget that the NEJammers played a large role in getting Smith elected.

Whatever. Faye was pretty incompetent.

Peterson wasn't more incompetent than Smith.

you're right. they're both equally incompetent.

The NEJammers played a huge role in getting Faye Peterson unelected because she was incompetent as hell. There was no way to know Smith would be equally incompetent. Now we know.

Well at least Smith isn't banging any bail bondsmen.

And you know that how?