The family of the late Mark Mayfield endured double defeat as their lawsuit against the Madison Police Department and Madison Mayor Mary Hawkins-Butler went down in flames yesterday in U.S. District Court. Mark Mayfield was an accomplice in the infamous nursing home scandal that took place in the Senate race. Madison police arrested him at his office in Flowood on May 22, 2014, on a charge of conspiracy. He died by his own hand on June 27, 2014.
Mr. Mayfield's wife Robin, and their two sons, Owen and William, sued the city of Madison, investigators Vickie Currie and Chuck Harrison, Butler Snow (Cochran Campaign's lawyers), Amanda Barbour, Esq., and Madison Mayor Mary Hawkins-Butler in 2017 in U.S. District Court.
All government officials were sued individually as well. The lawsuit claimed the defendants were guilty of kidnapping, false imprisonment, depriving the late Mr. Mayfield of his civil rights upon arrest, and other torts. The case was assigned to U.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves.
The case dragged on as the two sides waged trench warfare, the protracted kind, for years. Judge Reeves dismissed Butler Snow and its associated personnel. The Court dismissed the lawsuit against the city of Madison, Investigator Harrison, and Mayor Mary Hawkins-Butler in May.
Judge Reeves said Madison police did not arrest Mark Mayfield in retaliation for his political activities. He decreed in the Madison dismissal:
The City, in turn, has articulated a legitimate, non-retaliatory reason for Mayfield’s arrest. Based on the evidence gathered during its investigation, the City had probable cause that Mayfield conspired with others to trespass onto St. Catherine’s Village property.
An examination of the evidence adduced in this case satisfactorily answers these questions. Instead of rounding up the most vocal McDaniel supporters, city investigators followed the evidence from Kelly to Mary to Mayfield. The police were given free rein to conduct their investigation as they saw fit, without direction from the Mayor, a Cochran supporter. There is no evidence that before the Rose Cochran incident, the City of Madison was itching for an excuse to go after McDaniel supporters. And there is no evidence of differential treatment of McDaniel and Cochran supporters....
The Mayfields have also pressed that, in their minds, the City brought a series of cases against McDaniel supporters that lacked probable cause. Those arguments, however, are generally foreclosed by the guilty pleas of two of the conspirators, as well as the fact that it is the law of the case that the City had probable cause to arrest Mayfield.
The Mayfields did not take their ball and go home after this devastating defeat but instead appealed to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. The Fifth Circuit dismissed the appeal on August 12:
The district court has dismissed all claims against the defendants with the exception of a single claim for unlawful arrest that remains pending against a single defendant. The court has not entered the certification required by either Rule 54(b) or § 1292(b) for any of the dismissals.
Thus, the notice of appeal filed before all claims and all parties were disposed of is premature. We are without jurisdiction over this appeal... Accordingly, the appeal is DISMISSED for want of jurisdiction.
That single defendant is Vickie Currie. She was the Madison Police investigator on the Mayfield case. The Mayfields argued Mark "lacked intent to trespass because he believed anyone could enter St. Catherine's Village" and that he did not intend to invade Rose Cochran's privacy.
However, Judge Reeves said Ms. Currie was entitled to qualified immunity as he knocked down the Mayfields' arguments:
it is difficult to accept the proposition that Mark Mayfield lacked the requisite criminal intent. The allegations of the complaint set forth that Mayfield voluntarily helped the co-conspirators take a photo of Rose Cochran in a place where she was entitled to privacy. That place, St. Catherine’s Village, is open for family members to visit their loved ones, not to the general public. Mayfield knew that because his mother was a resident. Entry to the premises was gained by a co-conspirator pretending to be a family member visiting on a holiday. And that the ensuing picture was not to anyone’s liking does not mean Mayfield did not help them capture it in a private place. From all of the circumstances gained during the investigation, Mark Mayfield’s criminal intent can be inferred.
What the order does not mention is that St. Catherine's video showed Mayfield visiting the facility after his mother passed away to ostensibly thank the staff for taking care of her. The visit was actually a recon mission of sorts.
Judge Reeves dismissed the case with prejudice. Since Ms. Currie's case is adjudicated, the Mayfields will probably resubmit their appeal.
40 comments:
I couldn't remember who Mark Mayfield was. So I looked it up:
Mayfield, vice chairman of the Mississippi Tea Party, was one of three men charged with conspiring with Clayton Kelly to photograph U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran's bedridden wife in her nursing home to use in a political video against Cochran in the Republican Senate primary against state Sen. Chris McDaniel.
4 years of litigation in a Wingate court? That's record time.
the lengths that group would go to get their man elected. They set the bar to a new level of bottom feeder
Correct, he was one of Chris McDaniel's cronies. Wonder why she isn't suing his crazy pine belt ass?
Not much for attention to detail, huh?
Wingate had to step up his game since The Queen Mother was involved.
Do y'all actually read these posts?
The Judge was REEVES!!!!!!!!!!
The Queen's day is coming.
She is an evil psychotic bitch that once again has evaded having her "don't f--k with me attitude" exposed.
But, time is running out.
9:10 and 9:42 are exactly the reasons I pay no attention to the brain dead, inbreds that post here.
10:01 Though part of your characterization is correct, you're delusional if you think anyone is ever going to get to Mary. I don't know how she's done it - and done it for so long - but she's clearly untouchable! All the way back to when Judge Tony told her to let Steve Bryan build apartments on correctly-zoned property - to which she said no....and that was the end of that, to having the only brick interstate overpass I'm aware of in the country, to.....well, pick your issue, she does what she wants, and no one makes her do otherwise. The only time of I'm aware she was thwarted is when she was told she couldn't pick the tenants she wanted on some of the properties on Grandview Blvd. Other than that, she's golden...........
Whether we like it or not, if you live in Madison, that's what you live with
It saddens me greatly that the Mayfields continue this hopeless, baseless effort. Their blame is misguided and misplaced.
I'm disgusted by any attorney(s) helping them as they should have advised them that they had no case and would be wasting their time and money. To not do so means the attorney(s) either incompetent, delusional or corrupt.
Frankly,that they haven't been disbarred is very troubling. To many judges in this State let frivolous or bogus lawsuits and motions delay cases for years unnecessarily.
And, that causes a loss of faith in our judicial system.
@Kingfish - No we don’t read the posts, unless they’re about three sentences or less. I just come here to complain in the comments section.
Obligatory tl;dr
Attn 10:31 You had to pat attention to the posts at 9:10 and 9:42 to be able to fraudulently say that you “pay no attention to the brain dead…..”
@10:01 AM you are lucky that your "contribution" is anonymous. If it wasn't, I would watch with joy a libel suit with you as the defendant.
I feel sorry for the Mayfield family. I realize they suffered a terrible and embarrassing personal loss, but they are misguided to think Mark's death at his own hand was anything more than HIS realization that HE had just ruined his life with criminal activity and his incredible lack of empathy for Mrs. Cochran. He had a screw loose.
Maybe that family can now move on to something of value.
Wrong about the judge in this matter but correct on the 4 year comment.
Mary Hawkins Butler with yet another "W" on her litigation record. Damn, her legal prowess is outstanding. Whether you're a plaintiff or a defendant, you want her on your team!
463@51 is soon going to be renamed “Cannibis Corner”.
How would you like to continue paying attorney fees to defend yourself from this crap. Mayfield killed himself when his business went down the tubes as a result of helping someone locate Cochran's wife's room. This is the same as showing a person which door gets you into the safe and then getting pulled into the crime. He is the person responsible here.
@11:31AM
Does Kingfish really believes anyone reads the entire post? Hilarious. Who clicks onto a blog and reads the entire post? Kingfish thinks he’s a critically-acclaimed journalist.
10:57am seems you left some stuff out. Mary had to fight the apartments all the way to the Supreme Court and had to use her own money since the city board wouldn’t back her. She fought a court battle and won and Madison property values are better off for it.
@1:37 PM - true, and the other plus is that we don't have a bunch of Section 8 low life apartments with thugs spreading their criminal activities/violence to our beautiful city.
So many tragedies and unfortunate deaths in the Mayfield family.
SWAT teams, guns drawn and pointed at secretaries, para-military operation, screaming and yelling and Mark wasnt even in the office! All because he challenged the RINOs. Kindest, meekest, mildest-mannered guy ever.
The whole thing was just dirty from the get go. On both sides there was sh!t.
3:38 That's tough S..t. How would you like for them to be trying to take pictures of your mother in a nursing home and having someone point out the room for the photographer? So what if a SWAT team showed up, you shouldn't have done it PERIOD. You wouldn't have had a problem if you had stayed out of it.
3:38. do all the regular factors apply here?
great guy, loved his mama, sang in the choir..
12:32, she got her clock cleaned by an incompetent state auditor. But when she stays in her little pond, she does fine.
11:39. I didn't "pat" anything, stupid.
Judgmentalism runs rampant when this topic is raised.
May Mr. Mayfield Rest In Peace.
May all Mayfields be shown grace.
May we treat others as we wish to be treated.
RMQ
Little man syndrome is a bitch.
Judge Reeves is wrong - there is no crime for taking a photograph in Mississippi law.
There is a law for trespass.
@10:37
Depending on where the photographer was standing when the picture was taken... you could be looking at a voyeurism charge, which is a felony.
"@10:01 AM you are lucky that your "contribution" is anonymous. If it wasn't, I would watch with joy a libel suit with you as the defendant. August 18, 2021 at 11:42 AM"
Look, Dumbo - criticizing an elected official is not libel, even to the point of (correctly) referring to said official as an 'evil psychotic bitch'. You're obviously not on Mary's crack legal team or you would have known that.
I can't think, off-hand, of the name of the witch who was running roughshod over all the Madison residents who were members of an HOA situated on the lake she pretended to own - But Mary, an evil psychotic bitch, runs just ahead of that woman in every respect. She will one day (sooner rather than later) run up against one that she cannot win. Then, perhaps, she will disappear into the sunset humming 'Happy Trails'.
The most horrific political crime since Watergate.
8:08 pm
If your friends or loved ones or neighbors or members of your community are engaged in self-destructive behavior or behavior which hurts or damages others, you are complicit in ( or the '70 pop psych term " enabling") those behaviors.
There is a broad choice of reactions between hate/anger/vile treatment and the assumed approval your ignoring of the destructive behaviors allows.
When the person is engaging in good behavior, encourage it. When they are not , say it upset you to hear/see the behavior and walk away.
It's also not good for your peace of mind to stand silently and watch a disaster unfold.
@6:12 AM - Your wishing doesn't make it true, Mr. Jailhouse Lawyer. Read up on New York Times vs Sullivan, and other cases. Can you say "malice?" Cha-ching.
Why were guns drawn at Mark and why was he given a $250k Bail? ALL BECAUSE HE OPPOSED THE GOP ESTABLISHMENT AND THE COCHRAN CRONIES. And I can say that cause I voted for that crook. Never again will I vote for the establishment.
"[I]t is difficult to accept the proposition that Mark Mayfield lacked the requisite criminal intent."
Two phrases excerpted in the post may well come back to haunt everyone involved if this is pursued further. Political "rough and tumble," in and of itself, isn't criminal, however distasteful it often is (although the actions committed in furtherance of it can and often do violate criminal statutes). There are a lot of moving parts here, built and set into motion for a variety of reasons, including distasteful politics. While Reeves didn't directly rule in that statement that Mayfield had the "requisite" (a key word) criminal intent, he certainly signaled that he inferred it with this one, "...Mark Mayfield’s criminal intent can be inferred." Add the pretty clear, er, exuberant (or heavy-handed) reaction of those opposed to McDaniel and "inferring" (probable) criminal intent might not cut it at the 5th.
Another thing that this could raise is that "it is difficult to accept the proposition" that the Court didn't conflate criminal standards of proof with civil standards (or it could be "inferred" that it did so).
I have a feeling it might not be over quite yet.
All Mark Mayfield had to do was say NO.
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