Wednesday, May 27, 2015

Criminal lawyers hold fund-raiser for DA

See for yourself.  Noted criminal defense lawyer Merrida Coxwell held a fundraiser for Hinds County District Attorney Robert Schuler Smith last week:



Liberals are fond of using the term "regulatory capture" to describe regulators or government officials who are "captured" by those they regulate.  What does one call such when it happens in the office of criminal prosecution?

25 comments:

Anonymous said...

How is this not a conflict of interest?

Anonymous said...

Did Smith come out of hiding long enough to show up?

Anonymous said...

Not sure what the big deal about that is. That is pretty standard and occurs in every jurisdiction. I am sure someone on the defense bar will host something for Mr. Alexander. It's a professional courtesy. This is not television. In real life, the prosecution and defense bar have good relationships since they work together every day.

Anonymous said...

Moderator, I meant to publish that last comment re: not sure what the big deal is anonymously. I ask that you please publish it anonymously or not at all. Thank you.

Kingfish said...

I was actually working on something else. I'm sorry I wasn't able to post your comment within 120 seconds after you submitted it, spoiled brat.

Anonymous said...

KF,
I apologize, but I was not attempting to comment on the speed of the posting. I was not sure whether I clicked anonymous or if it defaulted to google id. I was only attempting to prevent the latter if that was the case.

Anonymous said...

That last comment certainly satisfies the jackassery test.

Anonymous said...

........"I was actually working on something else. I'm sorry I wasn't able to post your comment within 120 seconds after you submitted it, spoiled brat.".....

Who says 120 seconds? Most folks refer to that as 2 minutes.

And I'm sorry I didn't read it 120 seconds after it was posted.

Anonymous said...

ah, but who will refund me the 130 seconds of my life wasted reading these inane comments?

Anonymous said...

Once upon a time, in a galaxy far, far away, professional courtesy existed. Now it's dog eat dog. Most of the lawyers under 55 could not define professional courtesy.

Anonymous said...

JJ, as an unlicensed attorney, has little understanding of the real legal system. He is not a reliable reporter on these topics.

He is slightly better than the CL reporter, but not much. The CL reporter has no degree from a law school.

Anonymous said...

The lawyers help get the DA elected and the Judges. Happens everywhere. All the time. They know just enough about the law to evade it, rig the system in their favor, and charge ridiculous amounts of money for clients.

In the normal world, we call this corruption and price gouging. They call it a 'professional relationship'.

The bar isn't about how smart you are. The bar is a test to see if you'll play their game and how well you'll play to further advance the 'professional relationship' and submission to the God of the court ( the judge).

Take that you little sellouts.

Anonymous said...

If I were a criminal defense lawyer I would be holding fundraiser after fundraiser for Smith. He is great for business! Lax plea deals and then they get out and commit more crimes, so you have repeat customers.

Criminal defense lawyers would be foolish to support Alexander.

Who Names A Kid Merrida said...

"If you are unable to attend, please send your support to....".

I like that.

Anonymous said...

7:12, KF has championed the reporting on the DA's office. Relentless reporting. This post doesn't seem to define the flaws that exist, but I read it simply as coloring a portion of an entire picture of the politics of that office, well, more precisely the office holder. Are these common? Sure. But a DA who is notoriously soft on crimes who receives support from his professional opponents is not irrelevant.

Also, there are a lot of smart people who aren't members of the bar that have a deep understanding of the law. It's not all that hard to figure out, and I say that as a member of the bar. I disagree with at least 50% of his opinions and get berated on here for doing so, but he does a hell of a lot better job reporting issues (particularly legal issues) than most.

Merrida Coxwell said...

This is Merrida Coxwell. I did host a fundraiser. I also attended a fundraiser for Rankin/Madison District Attorney Michael Guest. I made a small contribution to two (2) other District Attorneys in other parts of the State. I made contributions to both the Rankin and Madison Sheriffs when they had findraisers. I offered to help with Take A Tastey Bite Out of Crime next year to promote it more. I believe good law enforcement and prosecutors are absolutely necessary for the system. Good law enforcement and good lawyers make the system better. You can go on line and see other contributions I make to support Senators and House members who support a free and open legal system. I am more closely associated with democratic politics because many Republicans have engaged in systematic attacks on the legal system which I believe, even with its flaws, is the best in the world. I do however support individual Republican candidates but they sometimes ask me to do it quitely. I abide by those wishes. In this country now one size "does not fit all" so I cast votes as I feel appropriate. Back to the fundraiser, I know Stanley Alexander. I consider myself his friend and I hope he feels the same way. He called for my support early on and we talked. I told him where I stood and why and that is between us as two lawyers and men.
This must have been a slow news day for you to need this as a topic.
Secondly, some of the people who post anonymously on this site have so many mean and hateful things to say. Is that because you can hide your name? You would you speak that way to another person to his face? I know this is America and we can all say about anything we wish, but did your mom never say to you if you have nothing nice to say about a person say nothing.

Anonymous said...

Mr. Coxwell,

Can you tell us why you support Mr. Smith? I think it is readily apparent to most people that he isn't doing his job. Why isn't it time for a change? Smith has had nearly 8 years and these are the results that he has produced.

Do you live in Hinds County and is that why a strong DA is important to you?

MC Law said...

Merrida:

I find it interesting that you said you support some republicans but they have asked you to keep that quiet. Can you explain that claim?

Since you have publicly owned up to supporting a totally corrupt and ineffective D.A., can we assume that you also supported the corrupt and ineffective woman who preceded him in office?

Anonymous said...

Merrida,

Josh Lyman found out the hard way about those who post on the internet: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAB858elJOw

Anonymous said...


That Lyman thing is dead on. Targets of posts only respond when they know they have been called out for something bad. Like supporting an inept DA only because it supports their own financial interests while the community burns.

Anonymous said...

@11:21

Whoever you are posting under the name "MC Law":

I can guarantee no one from MC Law authorized you to post anything here under the guise that you might even be close to affiliated with the school

Your second question is not even a question, but filled with opinion and rhetoric. You obviously watch far too much Nancy Grace, which is actually kinda par for the course for some posters on this here website.

John Helmert said...

I'll tell you this much for sure. If you are a lawyer and Merrida Coxwell asks you for money so he can spread it around to the politicos, you better give if up. Or else he'll accuse you of not caring about your clients or the legal system as a whole--even if you get good results for your clients and fight zealously for justice. Merrida cares, and he knows where your money should go, so just pay up. Sarcasm intended for those who can't read between the lines.

Anonymous said...

That last comment certainly satisfies the jackassery test.

NOPE. Jackassery is not buffoonery.

Anonymous said...

Merrida -
*state
*fundraisers
*Tasty
*online
*candidates,
*quietly
*country (omit "now")
all", so
"friend, and
*on, and
*why, and
*name? Would you speak
*say anything
*say to you "If you have…"
Sincerely,
the (cringing) Grammar Police

Kingfish said...

I highly respect Mr. Coxwell and if I was in dire streets needing a lawyer in Jackson, he is one of three I would pick. The others being Mr. Blackmon and Mr. Kirksey. He is dams sure welcome to post his opinion here in this forum

It is true Mr. Coxwell made a donation to the campaign of Mr. Guest. However, there is a difference between going to a football game, buying a ticket, and watching the game in the stands and being a big time booster a la Logan Young who gives money, goes to the closed practices, gets to travel with the team, and gets sideline and locker room passes because he is the big booster. ;-)



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