Jackson Jambalaya

Apparently, the Supremes didn’t read the Writ. If they had, they would have realized that the DA’s Office DIDNOT have the Coats file until three weeks ago. Where did they get 4 months from??? Makes you wonder if Waller and Kitchens aren’t covering for their girl, “Green.”
Everyone knows they are close friends. They should NEVER hear any matter against her!
God bless the Kirschten family and ALL of HINDS COUNTY!

Welcome to Hinds county, where if you're a black guy you can murder a white girl without repercussions, but if you are a white male such as Wayne Parish defending your oil business or Ben Allen charging a cell phone bill, that's a hangin'

Looks like Kitchens and Waller didn’t address one issue in the State’s Writ. And the DA’s Office did a darn good job with articulating all the issues. Something definitely smells funny.

Green just got a green light for all of her bizarre schemes...

No conspiracy. Everyone knows the Supreme Court doesnt cover for Judge Green. Theses are the people elected to the highest court in a majority republican state. They followed the law. Justice Kitchens is a former district attorney so he knows how it should go. Saying they only got the file 3 weeks ago is not correct as the d.a's office presented the case at the grand jury back in October.

I don't see what is so confusing - there's no hidden agenda here. Skinner's order clearly said "bring it to a grand jury within 120 days or he's released". At that time, DA was on notice of 120 days to bring it to a grand jury. DA didn't, so he has to be released.

Some of y'all should leave the lawyering to the lawyers. We have a Constitution for a reason.

I am confused.
One person says the case was never brought to the grand jury.
Another says it was presented to the grand jury back in October.
Is there anyone in Jackson that knows their ass from a hole in the ground?

Can the defendant be brought before a grand jury at this point? Double jeopardy does not apply since there was no conviction or acquittal.

Uh, please review the attachments in the Writ. The DA’s Office didnot recieve the case until January 2018. January 22nd to be exact. So, please read and know what you’re talking about BEFORE commenting. The last Grand jury (set by Green) was set for January 10th and the next Grand Jury (set by Green) isn’t until April.
What I find interesting is that instead of doing what the law and her own order says she must do, she tries to first, force the DA’s Office to reconvene a Grand Jury. And, after they don’t do it, SHE reconvenes it and tries to force the DA to present the case. That’s CRAZY. She can’t reconvene a Grand Jury every time somebody is released improperly??? Really???
Say whatever you want, but the Supreme Court appears to be protecting Judge Green.
She has always boasted about her relationship with Kitchens. And I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that she and Waller have a similar kinship.
Those two should recuse themselves from her cases.

The problem is people on here commenting as if they are experts who dont understanding how the process works. Look at the October order. An assistant district attorney presented the case at the preliminary hearing. The DA office now says they didnt receive the file until January. True, they didnt recieve the entire case file from JPD until January. However, they had sufficient information about the case in October to present for a preliminary hearing. Thus, they had sufficient information to present to a grand jury and did not have to wait to receive the entire file in January.

If we think the supreme court got this wrong, we need to open the door of Parchman and let out everyone who has been convicted and their case was denied by the supreme court. We cant pick and chose when they get it right and when they get it wrong based on how we feel.

The preliminary file from October was just after the incident in September. That is NOT a Grand Jury file. The Supreme Court knows that. The investigation was Not completed until January.

Ha! It’s an election year! Everyone knows how strongly Judge Green and her peeps campaigned for Kitchens. I guess it’s time to return the favor. Hinds County Politics at its Finest!

Let’s all take legal advice from morons in these comments who think the State or DA’s office can file “the writ”.

way to go Supreme Court. squarely puts the blame on the Hinds DA's office. The judges (all of them) gave adequate time. Too bad that the voters of Hinds either don't have a better DA candidate OR can see through the incompetence of the current DA staff.

What would you do if your daughter's killer was walking the streets of Jackson?
I know what I'd do.

Not even trying to practice criminal law here, but have a few questions in trying to figure out who all is culpable in this massive screw-up: Judge Skinner?; Judge Green? MSSC Justices?; DA Smith?; JPD?; any or combination of all of the above?

1) If perp was arrested on October 2nd and released by Skinner on January 2nd, was there a Grand Jury paneled during that time? If so, it appears to my little eyes that it would have been in early October based on the schedule of January 8-10, and April 2018. If the only GJ was in the week or so after the event, it appears obvious that there would be no way for a case such as this to be presented for indictment even in the best of jurisdictions. Could DA reconvene the GJ in the holiday weeks of December to beat the arbitrary timetable set by Skinner?

2) Next question: Skinner ordered that perp be released if not indicted within 90 days (not 120 as said by 1:00 above, but what does detail matter in this hellhole jurisdiction) - because Skinner had required perp held without bail. Could the order have been that if not indicted, then bail would have been allowed and set? In other words, was the only choice indict or set free?

3) MSSC's ruling was against the Mandamus motion of DA Smith. Was that the best route for Smith looking for mandamus, or just a shot at Green? What of Smith's claim regarding MRCP requirements ignored by Green?

4) Why did/does Smith not follow suggestion of Green and reconvene the GJ and present case now? Does this indicate he doesn't have an adequate case to present, or doesn't have adequate/competent staff to prepare a case for the GJ on short order?

Anybody got any real life idea about any of these questions?

Moreover, it doesn't really matter when the DA's office got the file. That isn't an excuse, in my experience. The police and DA are all on the same side. If the order says indict in 120 days or be released, then the police and the DA are required to get together and put together the case for presentment to the grand jury in that time frame.

5:23, the order said 90 days, not 120. Question is, whether 90 days is adequate for any and every case, no matter how complicated.

Appears to me that there is a much more pressing, and significant, problem with the jail full of indicted folks that sit for year or more without a trial. If the courts want to focus on times, they should be moving court cases on those indicted individuals that are sitting around in the Raymond pokey.

I am surprised at Waller. He bills himself as a fine Christian man

Everybody commenting is completely ignoring 1) Judge Greens OWN order stating there MUST be a review by her before release and 2) no notification to the victims family. The collusion is glaring, but apparently the people of Hinds county are happy with the status quo and are perfectly happy being sheep. "Green" sheep

This DA’s Office is incompetent. Judge Green gave them the opportunity to present the case to the grand jury, and they complained. Here’s an idea: put up the evidence that you have and seek an indictment. The “we don’t have the file” excuse won’t work. It is the job of the DA to get what they need from law enforcement. Why did they not do that or ask for an extension of Judge Skinner’s order before the deadline? They either didn’t remember the deadline or didn’t care. Neither scenario is good.

As for Judge Green’s order about review of unindicted cases: that doesn’t come into play here where Judge Skinner ordered release if no indictment. If that wasn’t in there, then review under her order would commence.

The Rule of Criminal Procedure, as well as Judge Green's OWN order states that EVERY defendant SHALL be brought before the Senior Circuit Judge before release.
It doesn't matter how many times you get on here, 8:46 spouting that nonsense. It will not change the law. Judge Green had the authority to bring him back before her for being improperly released.
And how do you know that the DA's Office has NOT gone ahead and presented the case for indictment???
It's fine, going forward, Judge Skinner has changed his order to reflect what the LAW says regarding the release of defendants. Let's see if Green will bring EVERY defendant back for review before release from here on out.
I personally think, for her, this was less about trying to make the DA's Office look bad and MORE about trying to make Judge Skinner look bad. It's just not working out the way she planned.
Everyone knows she detests Skinner.

It is absolutely idiotic to believe that every investigation in HINDS County ( especially MURDER investigations) will be complete in 90 days. And the Supreme Court knows that. I’m not buying it. They’re covering for Green and spitting in the faces of the victim’s family.

8:36, it's idiotic to think an investigation needs to be complete before an indictment is obtained. So that dog the DA's bots on here keep throwing out as an excuse doesn't hunt. An indictment requires only evidence showing probable cause for the charges (not an investigation that is complete and supporting prosecution of the charges before a jury at trial beyond a reasonable doubt), and since probable cause is necessary for the initial arrest, it shouldn't be too hard to present that evidence to a grand jury within 90 days of the arrest. Quit making excuses.

9:12 if that is your stance then why did Judge Green find the need for her order to begin with? As well as the Supreme Court with the MRCP? What purpose do they serve? And this adopted 80 day rule supersedes all of the above?