The odds of the continuance of Hinds County District Attorney Robert Shuler Smith's trial scheduled to take place next month just increased. Mr. Smith filed a notice of appeal with the Hinds County Circuit Court Friday. Special Circuit Judge Larry Roberts denied the defendant's motion to bar a retrial due to double jeopardy. Mr. Smith was indicted for improperly helping criminal defendants. His January trial ended in a mistrial. However, Mr. Smith has not yet filed an actual appeal.
The mistrial occurred because a JPD employee did not tell the court her true employment when questioned during jury selection. The D.A. asked the court to bar a second trial in a January 17 motion. He argued:
Thus, if the juror’s actions were intended either to obtain a conviction based upon improper practice or to provoke a mistrial, a new trial should be barred under the double jeopardy provisions of U.S. Const. Amend. 5 and by Miss. Const. § 22. See Oregon v. Kennedy, 456 U.S. 667, 669 (1982) (“a defendant may invoke the bar of double jeopardy in a second effort to try him . . . [in] those cases in which the conduct giving rise to the successful motion for a mistrial was intended to provoke the defendant into moving for a mistrial”).....
Judge Robert denied the motion. Mr. Smith asked him to reconsider in another motion filed on May 22. Judge Roberts denied it as well.
Kingfish note: It will not be surprising if the appeals courts stay the proceedings while it considers the interlocutory appeal when it is actually fied.
10 comments:
He can file a "Notice of Appeal" in the trial court all he wants but unless he files a petition for permission to file an interlocutory appeal in the Miss. S. Ct., he hasn't done anything to actually obtain an interlocutory appeal.
And he can file a petition for permission to file an interlocutory appeal a thousand times on this argument if he wants. The argument is a load of horse shit and will be dismissed more quickly than it was raised.
I don't see this interlocutoraly appeal going anywhere. Doubt it delays the retrial at all.
I don't know why he would want it delayed. The AG's office has the worst conviction rate of any prosecutorial organization in the State. They can't convict anyone. Every press release begins "so and so going to prison after pleading guilty to ..." When was the last time they took a case to trial and won (and let's include actual cases in the responses). Take the Butler case last week, they couldn't win even with Judge Weill bending over backwards to call their ball as strikes.
Jim Giddy and Larry Baker got a murder conviction in Lincoln County in 2014 or 15. Did a good job.
Yes, the AG's Office has a HORRIBLE conviction rate in Hinds County. I find it so very interesting how the DA's losses make the news
( Jimmy Gates!!) and none of the AG's Office losses make it! Hinds County politics and corrupt cliques are the reason they're in the mess they're in. I pray for DA Smith...
The AG's conviction rate isn't just horrible in Hinds, it's a statewide joke.
The Office's trial stats are terrible because Hood pays his people a pittance so it's a revolving door. There hasn't been a pay increase since Moore was AG.
Alexander and Buckley had a pretty good trial conviction rate for a while. Also Beasley.
It all ain't bout Hinds County.
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