Mississippi Litigation Review & Commentary : Mississippi Personal Injury Lawyer & Attorney : Phillip W. Thomas Law Firm : MS Litigation Review & Commentary

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Hinds County Circuit Judge Swan Yerger retired effective the end of 2011. Former Jackson City Councilman Jeff Weill was elected to replace Judge Yerger and inherited his docket.

On January 4, 2011–-the day of Judge Weill's investiture—Eaton Corporation moved to have Judge Weill recuse himself from the Eaton v. Frisby case. Eaton filed its motion under seal even though Judge Yerger lifted the seal in the case. Frisby did not file its response under seal. Here is Frisby's response. [Here is page 5, which was not in my initial posting.]

According to Frisby's response, Eaton contends that no judge in Hinds County can be fair due to Judge Yerger's finding that Eaton used Ed Peters to improperly influence Judge Bobby DeLaughter in the case.

Frisby responds that there is no legal or factual basis for recusal of Judge Weill. Frisby also contends that Eaton's motion constitutes improper judge shopping.

Eaton's request to recuse Judge Weill is bizarre. Judge Weill is conservative and is expected to be a detail oriented trial judge. That would seem to be the type of judge who you would want on the case if it's your position that the last judge got it wrong.

Eaton, on the other hand, wants the judge behind door number 2.

Should Judge Weill recuse himself, Eaton has no idea whether it will like the judge who the Supreme Court assigns to the case. I do not know exactly how that system works, but it appears random. That means that the Supreme Court could assign any current Mississippi Circuit Judge. Although it is more likely that it would be one from an area surrounding Jackson, that is no guarantee.

The uncertainty about what judge might be assigned to the case is what makes Eaton's request bizarre. How do you move to recuse a new judge who is a blank slate, but who no one has any real criticism of, in order to get a random draw that could be much worse? A lot of people will probably question that strategy if Judge Weill grants Eaton's motion and Eaton draws a judge who is perceived to be bad for Eaton in the case.

But that is probably a moot point since it appears unlikely that Judge Weill will grant Eaton's motion.      

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Incumbents--many unopposed--were the big winners in Tuesday's judicial elections in Mississippi. The best site I found for vote totals in all the races was on the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal's website.

Judge Donna Barnes defeated challenger Kelly Mims for the Court of Appeals. Mims ran a hard race, but voters did not have much of a reason to vote Barnes out of office.

In local judge races, Jeff Weill won Swan Yerger's seat on the Hinds County Circuit Court with over 60% of the vote. Whoever Governor Barbour appoints to replace Justice James Graves on the Mississippi Supreme Court should fear Weill. I believe that Weill can beat anyone else who runs for the seat.

Bill Gowan defeated Malcolm Harrison by 700 votes for the other contested Hinds County Circuit Court seat. Gowan won on the strength of a bunch of Malcolm McMillan TV commercials. Harrison had been appointed to the position by Governor Haley Barbour. Rain on Tuesday may have been the deciding factor in Gowan's win.

On the Coast, Gulfport native Jennifer Schloegel beat four other candidates to win the Chancery Judge seat being vacated by Margaret Alfonso, who won a county court judge seat. Schloegel, her husband Mark, and both their families are well known and popular on the Coast. Schloegel's father-in-law is mayor of Gulfport.

Like Weill, Schloegel probably could also win an election for the Court of Appeals or Supreme Court. She would also be a candidate for an appointment to replace Justice Mike Randolph on the Mississippi Supreme Court if he ever acts on rumors that he is interested in running for state wide office.

There will be an interesting runoff between Melvin Priester and Brent Southern for Hinds County County Court judge. Priester got over 5,000 more votes than Southern. But Southern will pick up all Frank Farmer's supporters and a lot of Trent Walker's in the runoff. I expect the runoff to be close and would not be surprised to see Southern win based on better voter turnout by his supporters.

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A few weeks ago I ran into Ashley Ogden and asked him about his decision to not run for Judge Yerger's Circuit Court Judge seat. Ironically, the place where I ran into Ogden was at a fundraiser for Jackson City Councilman Jeff Weill, who is running for the seat and is likely to win.

Ogden stated that instead of running for judge, he plans to do some work as a special prosecutor for the Hinds County District Attorney. He hopes to get heavy sentences imposed for crimes such as robbery. Ogden believes that Jeff Weill will be a good judge and he plans to work with Weill in his capacity as a special prosecutor.

Ogden stated that he still has aspirations to be a judge. He believes that at some point in the future Weill will be appointed or elected to higher office and that the Circuit Judge position will be open again. I tend to agree with Ogden's assessment that Weill may end up in higher office.

Bruce Burton and Ali Shamsiddeen have qualified to run against Weill.

I expect Weill to win going away and to be an excellent judge.

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Jackson lawyer Bruce Burton has qualified to run against Jeff Weill for Hinds County Circuit Judge for the seat being vacated by Judge Swan Yerger. Burton's profile is much lower than Weill's and I don't think that he can beat Weill.

The deadline to qualify to run is May 7 (I think).

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There is a rumor circulating that Jackson lawyer Ashley Ogden has decided not to run for Hinds County Circuit Court Judge. In an article as recent as two weeks ago, Ogden was quoted as saying that he intended to run for the seat being vacated by the retirement of Judge Swan Yerger:

 Jackson lawyer Ashley Ogden, who ran against Yerger four years ago, told The Clarion-Ledger in January he is preparing another run.

"I have an interest in Jackson's crime problem being solved, and that's why I ran in the first place," he said then.

But now comes word that Ogden will not run, effectively handing the seat to Jackson City Councilman Jeff Weill.

Weill is the only person who has qualified to run for the seat. The qualifying deadline is May 7.

There will be a lot of people disappointed by Ogden’s telling people for four years that he is running and then backing out at the last minute. As of yesterday, Ogden even still had his campaign web site running on the Internet. Some will argue that this kept other candidates out of the race.

Ogden’s decision, however, is not a big surprise to many Jackson lawyers. Ogden’s law firm occupies a large building on Capital Street and has numerous employees, including former Supreme Court Chief Justice Jim Smith. The future job prospects of Ogden’s employees in a down legal market could have weighed on his decision to not run.

As for Weill, I have been impressed with him on the City Council and expect him to be a good judge.

In other Hinds County Circuit Court races, Judges Green and Kidd are not expected to have opponents. Judge Malcolm Harrison, who was recently appointed by Governor Barbour, is expected to be opposed by Bill Gowan.

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Kingfish has the story on Jeff Weill's announcement that he is running for the Hinds County Circuit Court Judge seat that is being vacated by Judge Swan Yerger:

Jackson City Councilman Jeff Weill of Ward 1 announced his candidacy for the Hinds County Circuit Judge position currently held by Swan Yerger. Yerger announced he is retiring from the bench. Weill made the announcement before a gathering in front of the Willie Morris Library on Old Canton Road. Weill is a lawyer and former prosecutor.

Weill has done a good job on the city council and is a viable candidate. Jackson lawyer Ashley Ogden is also expected to run for the seat. Some Jackson lawyers doubt that Ogden will run due to the size and success of his private law practice, which includes former Mississippi Supreme Court Chief Justice Jim Smith.

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The Clarion-Ledger ran this article on Monday about the upcoming elections to fill the seats of retiring Judge Yerger (Hinds County Circuit) and Barnett (Hinds County County). The article was largely a repeat from an October article that quoted Ashley Ogden and Jeff Weill stating that they would probably run for Judge Yerger’s seat. I wrote about and Ogden v. Weill race here.

On the County Court side, Jackson attorneys Trent Walker and Melvin Priester have qualified for Judge Barnett’s seat. Walker is a Brandon native and Jackson State graduate who lives in South Jackson. He has extensive experience on both the plaintiff and defense side in civil litigation as well as in the criminal defense arena. He recently obtained an acquittal in a murder trial in North Mississippi that sounded a little like the trial in My Cousin Vinnie. He currently works for Schwartz and Associates in Jackson.

Priester is a special circuit court judge and practices law in Jackson.

The Ledger article does not identify the date of the election or the deadline for qualifying for the races. I believe—and I am not certain about this—that the qualifying deadline is in May and the non-partisan elections are in November.

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Today's Clarion-Ledger contains this article about Jackson city councilman Jeff Weill considering running for the Circuit Court seat that Judge Yerger will vacate with his retirement at the end of next year. The article states:

"It's definitely on my radar," Weill said. "The current plan is to look hard at this opportunity - it's a once-in-a-decade opportunity - and to make a decision after the first of the year."

So far, Weill said his interest has been limited to a few conversations with supporters. But he said he believes he could make more of an impact from the bench on public safety, a key issue in his recent Ward 1 re-election campaign.

"I think I could do more to protect the citizenry as a judge than as a councilman," said Weill, who was re-elected in June to a four-year term on the council. "One of the things Yerger has done is move the criminal docket forward. That's a problem we have and I would like to continue the work he has done."

I can't argue with anything Weill says here, but as a Jackson resident, I would hate to see him leave the city council. I have been impressed with his demeanor and attention to detail on the council.  

Jackson attorney Ashley Ogden also plans to run for seat:

"I have an interest in Jackson's crime problem being solved and that's why I ran in the [last election]," he said. "I would expect a minimum of six to seven people running for that seat, and I'll be one of them."

Ogden will be a formidable opponent for anyone. He garnered 42% of the vote against Judge Yerger and campaigned very hard. Retired Supreme Court Chief Justice Jim Smith now works for Ogden's law firm and will probably be an asset to an Ogden campaign.

Weill is a republican and is probably the hand-picked choice of the the republican party. He has proved that he can win an election and would be a challenge to Ogden. It would not be surprising to see Judge Yerger retire early so that Governor Barbour can give Weill a head start by appointing him to fill the remainder of Yerger's term.

Republicans might not support Ogden because his law practice focuses on representing injured victims instead of insurance companies and big business. While this does not necessarily mean that Ogden would be a bad judge for big business, his background might scare them. Average citizens will love Ogden's tough on crime message and Weill will look like a copy-cat if he uses a similar theme. It promises to be an interesting race.

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According to Matt Eichelberger at Ipse Blogit , Rep. Phillip Gunn of Clinton will be appointed to fill Judge DeLaughter's unexpired term. This would be a smart choice by Governor Barbour. Gunn has a good reputation as a lawyer and politician. He would presumably get a ton of votes in the Clinton area when he has to run against a challenger.

It's my understanding the Malcolm Harrison is viewed by many to be the favorite to take the seat in an open election. A Gunn v. Harrison match-up would be an important race that attracts a lot of attention and money. Racial demographics in the district will be important. The plus side is that either of these two would probably make a fine circuit judge.

Meanwhile, there has been no announcement of who may run against presumptive favorite Ashley Ogden to fill Judge Yerger's seat when he steps down. Barbour will probably fill Yerger's position before an election with someone like Jeff Weill who the Republicans think has a chance to win an election. Ogden will be the favorite if he campaigns as aggressively has in his past campaign. Ogden's plans are unclear, however, and his Take Back Jackson web site appears to have expired. 

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Ipse Blogit has this post today speculating on possible candidates to run for the Hinds County Circuit Court Judge seat held by soon to be retiring Judge Swan Yerger. The following potential candidates are listed:

Ashley Ogden - successful trial attorney; ran a close second last time; campaign website already up

Special Circuit Judge William Gowan - currently sitting as a special circuit court judge in Hinds County under the DOJ's Jackson Enforcement Team ("JET") grant

Joe Nosef - former Chief of Staff for Gov. Barbour

Wilson Carroll - former GOP candidate for Hinds County DA

Jeff Weill - current Jackson City Councilman from Ward 1
 

That is an interesting list. Ogden almost unseated Judge Yerger in the last election. Weill has proved that he can get elected, but I am not sure of his credentials to be a trial judge. Nosef has prior campaign experience, but as far as I know, virtually no litigation experience.  Gowan could tout his experience as a judge in Hinds County. As a former DA candidate, Caroll could run on a tough-on crime platform. Of course, Ogden has taken ownership of that plank. I do not believe that all of the above will run. If they do, it will probably be good for Ogden, who figures to be the favorite no matter what.