Jackson Jambalaya

The only name I recognize is Mary Helen Wall, who should be an excellent choice.

An official SG is a good idea. Pizetta’s been the de facto SG; will he be tapped for the post?

These all appear to be good hires. A little on the young side all in all, but they appear well-qualified to hold the posts indicated. My friend at 11:31 misunderstands the role of a Solicitor General. The Solicitor General would have authority or ALL appeals coming to the AG's Office, both civil and criminal, if that post is a true Solicitor General post. While Harold Pizetta is a fine civil litigator and appellate lawyer, to my knowledge he has not handled any criminal appeals whatsoever. Whoever is tapped to be Solicitor General should be well versed in criminal and civil appeals.

I’m more interested in how Fitch will decorate her office. If it’s anything like her past public positions, it will be only the finest.

12:05—nice to find such a person, just as it’s nice for a judge to be a lawyer who’s practiced in both those fields.

In practice, many judges haven’t, and a good appellate lawyer can handle either kind of appeal.

So maybe I just disagree, rather than misunderstanding?

12:12 - One thing for sure...the carpet will NOT be red and beige. If it were and she fell down and couldn't get up, they'd never find her.

She takes Jesse Graham with her everywhere she goes. He was with her at MDES, Treasury, and now AG. Apparently he is great grant writer who pulls in tones of money from the Federal Government.

She was barely at MDES long enough to learn where the powder-room was. Never even knew what the mission was or the scope of work.

I assume Tony Geiger will be responsible for carrying her purse

Why does she need a Director of Communications? Can’t she speak directly to the people and hold her own press conferences? Why a spokesperson?

Who will now give us twice a month commercials for college savings programs?

3:11 every agency has a director of communication, they communicate to the public per the director, they also do newsletters and stuff like that! You know what I mean. Every politician needs a mouth piece. Rays Coleman a good choice, adds a little color to the mix. You must never worked in state government!

“We’re from the Government and here to help you”!!!

1:57
I think it will be Deez !

Sad day for the state. Had an opportunity to elect a qualified attorney and blew it. Now comes an 'agency bouncer-around', a Barbour 'shove', who has never actually practiced law who is in charge of our government legal department.

Why would the creation of a position of solicitor general be a good thing? The AG's office has had for many years a criminal division that handles all appeals from convictions in criminal cases originating State courts. The civil litigation division handles appeals in civil cases. I'm wondering why it would be necessary or simply a better thing to place all appellate work under a solicitor general, unless to relieve the civil litigation division from handling appeals in civil cases. It probably would be difficult to find a lawyer to fill the position who would be well-versed in criminal law and also in the areas of civil law the civil division works with.

Has Fitch alreay bought her furniture ($30,000 or so?) and got her portrait taken (another $6000?).

She can't assume the position until the furniture trips to Atlanta with her girlfriends and the portrait is taken. She should just use the camera on her cell phone.

She has scads of fifteen year old pics in her carousel. She's been using them for years. Quite vain. Well, vanity seems to go with that particular job, no?

The Solicitor General would be over all of the criminal and civil cases, but would also seek to have amicus (friends of the Court) briefs filed in support of the State's position in cases, as well as file amicus briefs in cases that are important to Mississippi in the U.S. Supreme Court and other state courts.

The criminal appellate division is a bunch of complete morons with the exception of one or two people. The civil division is much, much better, but has its hands full already. A Solicitor General would bring continuity to appeals to which the State is a party, as well as dramatically improve the quality of the State's appellate litigation.

I know of several attorneys who are well-versed in both criminal and civil appeals, and who would be an excellent choice for the position.

Did Hood have all the hard-drives replaced like Moore did on his way out?

Pizzetta is really good. Justin Matheny and Krissy Nobile are great too. I’ve heard them all argue. There are many good lawyers in civil.

I'm curious to know why you think the AG's criminal division is staffed with morons, excepting one or two people. Have you had any dealings with the lawyers of that division, know any of them? There seems to be a bit of hostility against them. I think it would be more helpful for us to know why you say that an entire division of the AG's office is so deficient. If what you say is correct, then the incoming attorney general has a real problem on her hands. If you are correct, then you really ought to explain why they are or what makes them so since what you are saying is that the State is not being well represented in appeals from criminal convictions. That would be a real problem if you are right.

I hope you will explain your reasons for describing the lawyers of the criminal division as being morons. I figure that a number of Lynn Fitch's people read this blog. If you do not explain why you have described a group of lawyers as being "morons", it is wrong of you to possibly put their positions at risk by an unexplained, unsupported opinion that may make her people question the competence of the staff she has. That division is the largest one in the AG's office, so you are potentially affecting quite a number of lawyers. In any event, if you read the annual reports by the attorney general to the legislature you will see that the criminal division wins about 90% of the cases it handles. One would not think a division of morons would be capable of such a level of success year in and year out. I regularly read your blog, enjoy it, and agree with much of what you write. But, unless you can explain the reasons for your opinion, I think you have unjustly maligned a group of lawyers, and without cause.

I would assume that January 7, 2020 at 9:00 AM is either a) an attorney who did not have the research/writing chops to make the cut for the criminal division or b) an attorney (Capitol PCR, State Public Defender, Zealot Criminal Defense Attorney, etc) who regularly loses cases to the division.

The Criminal Appellate Division is packed with former Clerks from MS COA, MSSC, and the Federal Courts, and enjoys the best win percentage in the office. Ask any DA's office what they think of the Appellate Division.

I’ve never heard anything bad about the criminal division at all. And the civil litigation attorneys I’ve seen are top notch. Krissy Nobile argued in October during the Fifth Circuit conference, and it was one of the best, if not the best, Fifth Circuit outings I have seen or heard.