Friday, August 20, 2021

Judge Seals Bully Case

Special treatment for Greta? 

You can watch the prosecution of Greta Bully in court if you actually know when it takes place.  Special Circuit Judge Forrest Johnson sealed the court file of the accused killer after a reporter appeared at a hearing.  WLBT reported last night: 

During Thursday’s pre-trial hearing for Greta Bully, the prominent Jackson business owner accused of shooting and killing a man last year, a specially-appointed circuit court judge heard motions from both sides in the case, motions previously kept from public scrutiny because the case has been sealed.

Special Circuit Court Judge Forrest Johnson initially made the decision four days after a WLBT reporter attended Bully’s arraignment on May 10, subsequently extending the seal to the entire case file weeks later.

Last year, a Hinds County grand jury indicted Bully on charges of murder by deliberate design, drive-by shooting and evidence tampering, which stemmed from the killing of 65-year-old Larry Lee outside Bully’s liquor store.

That indictment, which had been public for several months, also remains sealed without explanation...

Johnson gave no public reason for the decision, and both documents related to sealing the case have also been retroactively sealed as well.

The public was, however, allowed inside the courtroom Thursday.

Bully’s attorney, Dennis Sweet III, argued several motions before Johnson, including two that ask the court to dismiss the drive-by shooting and evidence tampering charges.

Sweet said the only evidence the state has to support the drive-by shooting charge is gunshot residue from what he called a “contaminated” crime scene.... Rest of article and video.

Judge Johnson has no right to seal the case.  Ms. Bully is a semi-public figure in Jackson and is the daughter of a prominent local politician.  The decision smacks of special treatment. 

Apparently what drove the decision was the reading of several documents in the court file on The Cipher's radio show.  However, there is a simple procedure that can protect Ms. Bully without compromising the public's right (and it is a right) to see a suspect prosecuted.    Ms. Bully can simply file a motion for a protective order for specific documents.  The Court can examine the documents en camera and make the appropriate ruling without placing the entire case behind closed doors. 

Being accused of murder is no fun for anyone, guilty or innocent.  However, Ms. Bully is no different than any other murder suspect and should be subjected to the same public scrutiny.  

The sealing may not even be legal.  The Mississippi Supreme Court ruled in Gannett v. Hand that a judge could not close a courtroom without notice and a hearing for the media.  The Court stated in the 1990 case: 

The interests of the public will not necessarily be represented either by defendants or prosecutors. The defendant's interests will obviously not coincide with that of the press. The Government, quite properly, has the duty to ensure a fair trial and has an obvious interest in securing a conviction that will withstand appeal; reversal of a conviction because of prejudicial publicity, though perhaps rare, poses a risk to a successful prosecution. We therefore cannot expect the Government to vindicate the public's first amendment rights....

 Beginning with the principle that the press and public are entitled to notice and a hearing before a closure order is entered, we hold that any submission in a trial court for closure, either by a party or on the court's own motion, and be it a letter, written motion, or oral motion either in chambers or open court, must be docketed, as notice to the press and public, in the court clerk's office for at least 24 hours before any hearing on such submission, with the usual notice to all parties. This requirement should not be taken to mean that a greater notice period may not be afforded where feasible. Preferably the submission should be a written motion if time and circumstances allow. 

A hearing must be held in which the press is allowed to intervene on behalf of the public and present argument, if any, against closure. The movant must be required to "advance an overriding interest that is likely to be prejudiced, the closure must be no broader than necessary to protect that interest, the trial court must consider reasonable alternatives to closing the proceedings, and it must make findings adequate to support the closure.... Opinion

The shysters will point out the opinion only applies to the courtroom and they would be correct.  However, one gets the sense from reading the opinion the Court will not look kindly on sealing the entire court file without notice.  Indeed, how is the public supposed to know when hearings take place if the file is sealed? 

Don't be surprised if WLBT takes this one to Court and wins.  Earlier post with part of court file. 


24 comments:

Anonymous said...

No its cause ur racist ass will try to sensationalize every revelation on this blog and she won’t get justice. You can’t go a single day without writing clickbait headlines and approving the most outrageous hateful comments your sick supporters can dream up.

The Fix is In said...

Defense Attorney: "Motion to fix, your honor."
Judge: "Motion approved."

Kingfish said...

Go get a five-point suppository.

Anonymous said...

lol @ 10:21am

Hey Greta, stay off the Internet.

Anonymous said...

@ 10:21 - weird, didn't see this kind of comment being made on any of the News' articles...

Kingfish said...

or Alston.... or Frazier....

Anonymous said...

Free Greta Bully.

Dennis Sweet is one of the best attorneys in the State of Mississippi.

Anonymous said...

What happened to Dennis Sweet's bar complaints from the Clarksdale jury issue? Is there another cover-up underway?

Anonymous said...

11:55

I don’t care who you are….that’s funny.

Anonymous said...

@11:55am - Thanks for stopping by Dennis.

Anonymous said...

When this judge is through with Dennis Sweet, he will congratulate him on a job well done as Miss Billy goes to the penitentiary. Ain't no blessings from this Judge.

Anonymous said...

KF, you are a wanna be lawyer/journalist. Judge Johnson has been on the bench for decades and has way more knowledge and experience than you ever will. What is your beef with Bully and why you always trying to stir up your racists readers for? You mad bro?

Anonymous said...

Forrest Johnson is trying to prevent a media circus folks. I know the news people such as King Fish want that but it ain’t happenin with this judge. It’s all about preventing the defense from having any grounds to appeal later.

Kingfish said...

A judge is going to school me on public records laws? Seriously?

Bully is a murder suspect who is well connected. Her father is known for getting his scumbag family members off the hook when they get in trouble.

If she is innocent, by all means she should go free. If she shot in self defense, she should go free. Is she murdered him, she should pay the price.

You don't like it because someone dares to report on your crew. Get over it.

Anonymous said...

While I understand that it is unnerving to have Ross Adams or CJ Lemaster show up in a court room, there is a public right to know. My family member was the victim in a similar case, and it made me upset that certain details were aired in public. The fact remains that we got a conviction because they were guilty as sin, but also because it was followed in public which placed pressure on the DA's office.

Anonymous said...

Some of you commentators ack like you committed a crime. This blog is for information. I like reading the message. If you don’t like it, read something else. Let’s quit hating!

Quit the name calling and go take your pills before you spaz out over a blog!

Now if you want to contribute to Ms Bully’s defense, I’m sure you know where to find her/attorney.

Anonymous said...

Where would we read news if Kingfish didn’t report it?
RMQ

Anonymous said...

We are in sad shape as a community when a liquor store owner cant murder someone and keep it out of the news! what's our legal system coming to when a Judge can't do a criminal a favor?

Anonymous said...

@5:09PM
If you were Greta Bully on the night in question, what would you had done?

Anonymous said...

Kingfish’s comment section = a bunch of Internet trolls.

Anonymous said...

I'm always appreciative of judges with low self-esteem shutting out the general public.

This judge should resign immediately and schedule a vacation in Afghanistan.

All cases should be tried in triple-top secret.

Anonymous said...

Sounds like Daddy got her the best judge money could buy!
Well played John!

Be Gentle I'm Ignorant said...

Two very serious questions:

1) What or who is RMQ?

2) What or who is Al?

I see both mentioned repetitively in various posts.

Kingfish said...

Guess y'all are accusing me of racism so much that you forget the deal cooked up in Union County in the Alston case. Notice of the change of plea hearing was not placed in the court file. Thankfully, a tip ensured yours truly could be up there to see a sweet deal given to the accused in what was some home cooking. That's why those files should be open to the public. A judge can seal individual documents to protect the accused.


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