Prolific circuit judge relieved of duty

Opinion

May 16, 2012

Prolific circuit judge relieved of duty

By Wyatt Emmerich, Syndicated columnist The Picayune Item Picayune Item Wed May 16, 2012, 10:49 AM CDT

PICAYUNE — Relieving the best criminal judge of all his criminal cases is not the way to exercise responsibility as senior circuit judge. What on earth is Hinds County Senior Circuit Judge Tomie Green doing?

Green has averaged one criminal trial per year. Judge Jeff Weill tried 15 cases in his first year on the bench. Why would Green remove the most effective criminal judge?

Weill has filed an emergency motion with the state Supreme Court. Let’s hope cooler heads prevail.

Perhaps Green is embarrassed by Weill’s 15-fold increase in productivity. Removing Weill might eliminate a glaring black eye on Green’s performance.

Trials are where the rubber meets the road. If a judge isn’t willing to roll up his sleeves and try cases, then plea bargains get the upper hand. That means punishment of crimes becomes lax, sending precisely the wrong message to criminals.

If defense attorneys know a judge doesn’t like to try cases, they will plea bargain harder. The punishment ends up not fitting the crime.

There are other red flags concerning Green’s actions: She made her order with little input from other factions of the criminal justice system, such as the district attorney’s office. The DA believes Green’s action will further bog down the criminal justice system in Hinds County. Green’s response to Weill’s motion indicate emotions rather than logic are motivating Green. She wrote, “While the character and integrity of the undersigned senior judge (herself) has been much maligned throughout the herein petition for relief, the undersigned refuses to be baited into following suit. . .

“The undersigned judge respects each jurist elected to the circuit bench in Hinds County and is disappointed with the personal attacks, mischaracterization and hostility directed at the senior judge. . .

“During her tenure on the bench, the undersigned has not resorted to vicious personal attacks against a colleague, has not misrepresented the intentions of a colleague to the Supreme Court, and has not challenged the integrity, competency or work ethic of a fellow judge. Although a victim of such abuse in the herein petition, the undersigned chooses not to indulge in such tactics.”

Say what? I believe she just did so indulge. Her statements could be rephrased as such: My adversary is a lowly dog but I am too honorable to say so!

Many may recall my stories about the poor mother of three who was jailed over a wetlands violation in south Mississippi. The woman had never been in trouble with the law. She was represented by the former head of the Mississippi Department of Natural Resources. She was winning her civil actions in the lower courts when the EPA suddenly charged her with far more serious criminal violations. The EPA made an example of the poor woman: Don’t even think about contesting our arbitrary rulings or we’ll throw you under the jail. Many readers had a hard time believing such a thing could happen in America.

Well it can and does. The latest proof comes from Texas, where that state’s head EPA official had to resign over statements about how the EPA policy was to “crucify” anybody who stood up to them.

Al Armendariz resigned amid a firestorm over his comments made at a public forum which was recorded by video and widely circulated.

In the video, Armendariz stated, with a smile, “I was in a meeting once with my staff and I gave an analogy about my philosophy of enforcement. It’s probably a little crude and maybe not appropriate for the meeting but I want to tell you what I said. It’s kind of like the Romans when they conquered little villages in the Mediterranean. They would go into these Turkish towns, find the first five guys they saw and would crucify them. That’s how it’s really easy to manage for the next few years. . .

You find people who are not complying with the law and you hit them as hard as you can. It’s a deterrent thing.”

After Armendariz resigned, there were dozens of top lawmakers who argued that Armendariz’s comments were genuinely reflective of the EPA’s fascist approach to environmental protection. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. It is time to force the EPA to abide by the laws of this country and quit willy nilly throwing people in jail. The EPA rules are vague and arbitrary.

This my first Mother’s Day without my mother. It’s still hard for me to wrap my mind around that reality. Time stops for no one. It marches on relentlessly, steered only by the hand of God.

Though my mother is gone, there is still a mother in my life. My wife Ginny is very much in the thick of motherhood with our three children, ages 15, 13 and 9.

I hope one day my children realize the extent to which their mother has sacrificed for them. There is nothing she won’t do for them. I’ve never seen a heart so full of love for others. It’s too bad young children often take this for granted.

It may be too much to ask that one day my children appreciate the discipline I have attempted to impose for their own good. But surely time and wisdom will one day fill their hearts with an appreciation for the unconditional love that Ginny has given them from the day they were born.

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