Mississippi Lawyer Blog

College and pro athletes must get bored in the off season because that's when arrests rates climb. In fact, Sporting News put together the Top 5 College Football Arrests of the Offseason . From DUI to armed robbery, these young men didn't show good judgment to say the least. A few were from SEC schools (Alabama, Florida, Auburn) which is a good segue into my predictions sure to go wrong for the SEC East.

1. South Carolina Gamecocks: Slowly but surely the "Old Ballcoach" Steve Spurrier has built the Gamecocks into a nasty team. Wide receiver Alshon Jeffrey and running back Marcus Lattimore are good enough to make Stephen Garcia a serviceable QB. The Defense is equally nasty and many of those guys will be playing in the NFL very soon. The 'Cocks will meet Alabama in the SEC Title Game and I predict they will win it all.

2. Georgia Bulldogs: Head Coach Mark Richt is on life support. The first two games will determine his longevity. The Dawgs play big school killer Boise State in the Georgia Dome to open the season and then play the Gamecocks at home. If Richt can get past these two games the Dawgs are in good shape to run the table the rest of the way. I see them going 1-1 at best however.

3. Florida Gators: 2 years A.T (After Tebow) and the Gators have a new head coach and new offensive scheme. Gone is Urban Meyer's spread offense. In comes Charlie Weiss' pro style look. New head coach Will Muschamp will have the Gators competing for a national championship, but not this year. The schedule is simply too tough and the Gators are not talented enough. Yet.

4. Tennessee Volunteers: Beware of the Vols. [Cue "Rocky Top"] This team could be the Mississippi State of the SEC East. They have enough talent to pull some upsets (LSU and South Carolina at home) and QB Tyler Bray has the tools to be a great QB.

5. Kentucky Wildcats: John Calipari comes into this season after two straight trips to the Final Four...what? Ohhhh, UK has a football team? I did not know that.

6. Vanderbilt Commodores: Every time I see Vandy listed in the SEC football standings I ask myself one question: why? Get to the Ivy League fellas.

Continue reading "Top 5 College Football Arrests and More SEC Football Predictions" »

College football is just 10 days away! On Thursday night, September 1, the Mississippi State Bulldogs open up on the road against the University of Memphis Tigers.The Bulldogs come into the season with a ton of expectations so the fan base will show up in full force for this game. I predict a blowout win for the Bulldogs but how will the rest of their season be?

With college football you get tailgating. With tailgating you get "over served" your favorite beverage(s). As someone who has represented dozens of people in DUI's over the last 17 years, please designate a driver or take a cab. My fee is a lot more than a cab fare. If you forget this advice and get a DUI please call me. Remember, friends don't let friends plead guilty to DUI's.

Even though I'm just an attorney I do think I have some better than average knowledge about college and pro football. My partner, Merrida Coxwell the managing member at Coxwell & Associates, suggested I do a blog with some some fearless football predictions. So, without further adieu here are my predictions for the SEC:

SEC West

1. Alabama Crimson Tide: The Tide is trying to overcome losing first round picks A.J. Green, Mark Ingram, and Marcell Dareus not to mention two year starting QB Greg McElroy. Don't feel sorry for the Tide (and not many Mississippians do) because they're simply reloading and I think they will win the West. I'm giving them the edge over LSU simply because LSU plays a tougher schedule and has to travel to Alabama to play.

2. LSU Tigers: The only weakness the well-coached Tigers have is at QB with Jordan Jefferson. However, if he can just play average the Tigers may be able to win the West and head to Atlanta for the SEC Championship. I think LSU's schedule is too tough. They play Oregon on a neutral field (Cowboy Stadium), travel to Morgantown to play always tough WVU and then play the typically tough SEC games including Mississippi State and Alabama on the road. They could be a good team and end up with 3 losses.

3. Miss. State Bulldogs: Most experts have Arkansas penciled in here but I'm going with the Bulldogs. Chris Relf, Chad Bumphis and Vic Ballard running Dan Mullen's spread offense should be fun to watch. State has a legit shot at winning the West (hope I don't jinx it for ya Cook!) with both LSU and 'Bama having to come to Starkvegas to play. We'll know early on how State will do when they play Auburn and LSU in weeks 2 and 3 respectively.

4. Arkansas Razorbacks: Arkansas is trying to replace Ryan Mallet and now will have to replace the SEC's best running back, Knile Davis. Arkansas has a tough schedule and could very well lose 4 or 5 games this year.

5. Auburn Tigers: Oh how the mighty have fallen. The 2010 National Champs will be without the services of Cam Newton (NFL #1 overall pick) and Nick Fairly (#13 overall pick). They will also be hard pressed to qualify for a bowl game this year.

6. University of Mississippi Rebels, er, Black Bears: Ole Miss is supposed to be horrible this year and I can't find a reason to dispute this. Ole Miss can't schedule enough small schools to have a winning schedule. Their "bowl game" will be the Egg Bowl against Miss. State. Now, in typical Ole Miss fashion, watch them scrap together 5 wins and beat State in the Egg Bowl to become bowl eligible! Since I was so hard on the Rebs, I decided to use their cheerleaders' pic.

Continue reading "Fall In Mississippi Means College Football and DUI's" »

There is a great deal of confusion in Mississippi about whether a person can carry a concealed weapon on his person or in his car without a permit. Recently I asked the question on Facebook and there were many incorrect answers even from attorneys. I got interested in this topic after I spoke at a legal conference and I learned many of the attorneys present did not know the correct answer. The answer to this question is easy, though there is one grey area.

The relevant Law is found Mississippi Code Annotated, Section 97-37-1(2) which states as follows:

"It shall not be a violation of this section for any person over the age of eighteen (18) to carry a firearm or deadly weapon concealed in whole or in part within the confines of his home or his place of business , or within any real property associated with his home or business or within any motor vehicle."

You can immediately see that if you are over 18 you are allowed to carry a concealed weapon in your car at all times. Of course you may keep a weapon in your home. That was made clear by the United States Supreme Court when they struck down a Municipal Regulation barring the possession of weapon in a home. I question whether the 18 year old restriction would be constitutional, especially in a person's home, but that is not a discussion we need to delve into now. The same Code section goes on to state another exception for those engaged in "legitimate weapons-related sports activities." The law states:

"It shall not be a violation of this section for any person to carry a firearm or deadly weapon concealed in whole or in part if the possessor of the weapon is then engaged in a legitimate weapon-related sports activity or is going to or returning from such activity. For purposes of this subsection, "legitimate weapon-related sports activity" means hunting, fishing, target shooting or any other legal sports activity which normally involves the use of a firearm or other weapon."

So, what is the grey area from the above section? Well, it is obvious. If you are coming back from a shooting competition and you have a pistol in your belt and you go in a store a policeman is likely to arrest you for carrying a concealed weapon. If you are returning form a martial arts competition and you have small knives concealed on your body and one falls out in front of a law enforcement officer, he is probably going to treat it as a concealed weapon and you may be arrested. This happens every day all across Mississippi. The burden is put on the citizen to prove he/she was engaged in a legitimate sports related activity when his case comes up in court. Over my thirty (30) plus years practicing law I have had dozens upon dozens of cases where I defended a citizen for having possession of a concealed weapon. If you have it in your car you should not be arrested. If you get out of your car in an urban area you are probably going to have a problem if law enforcement sees you with the gun.

Is there anything you can do in order to carry a gun in public? The answer is yes. Mississippi allows an individual to obtain a permit to carry a concealed weapon. This permit will allow you to carry the weapon on your person all the time regardless of whether or not you are engaged in a "legitimate sports-related activity." You have to fill out an application form which is obtainable from the Mississippi Department of Public Safety. There are a number of prerequisites like being at least twenty one (21) years of age, not suffering from a mental infirmity, not being a convicted felon, ect. If you do obtain a license to carry a concealed weapon you will be happy to know that twenty five (25) other states will honor Mississippi's permit and allow you to carry the weapon. Of course as with any state or federal agency, there is a fee for obtaining the permit. That should come as no big surprise.

This is the basics of the law regarding carrying a concealed weapon. Perhaps the most important point may be your right to carry a concealed weapon while in your home or your car. This is very clear. I recommend you always keep your gun locked in a secure compartment in the car away from kids, that the gun not be loaded, and he bullets kept separately. I will blog sometime soon on the tragedy of kids deaths due to playing with weapons.

Continue reading "Carrying a Concealed Weapon in Mississippi" »

I normally don't write this type of blog but this has been one of the strangest weeks for legal news I've seen in a while. I don't know where to begin. How 'bout Burt Reynolds and his foreclosure woes? As many Americans face foreclosure due to predatory loans, Mr. Reynolds is looking at losing his Florida mansion. Bet he wishes he could do another Smokey and The Bandit sequel. If you have foreclosure issues, you need to call Frank Coxwell for advice.

You like hot sauce on your food? That's good but please don't use it to punish your children like this Alaska woman did. I just don't even know what this woman was thinking. Her trial is going on as I type this.

And what's up with Gerard Depardieu? The French movie star apparently had a bladder issue on a recent flight and, well, relieved himself on the plane. What's wrong with that you ask? Well, he relieved himself on the floor of the plane. Allegedly. He went oui oui oui all over the place! (You see what I did there? He's French so I used "oui" instead of "wee". Nevermind) Good thing he didn't do DeparTWO instead.

But what about the University of Miami athletic program? Nevin Shapiro, one of the university's biggest boosters has decided to blow the lid off all the money and other perks he has been showering on "the U's athletes for the last decade. Shapiro made his money defrauding investors in an elaborate Ponzi scheme. Well, at least he did reinvest some of his money back into the community, right?

Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg if facing a lawsuit by a former classmate who is seeking half ownership of the popular networking site. The former classmate, Paul Ceglia, claims that he has a contract signed by himself and Zuckerberg which shows that he gave Zuckerberg $1,000 in startup money to create his idea, which was Facebook. The man's lawsuit claims that when he hired Zuckerberg as a Harvard University freshman to work on the Streetfax business in 2003, he gave him $1,000 in start-up money for his fledgling Facebook idea with the condition he'd own half if it expanded. The problem? Facebook believes that for his lawsuit, Ceglia altered the Streetfax contract to insert references to Facebook. Ouch.

And then there's the crystal meth dealer. When police raided his California home they found...tombstones. And I'm talking about Tombstone Pizzas but real tombstones. Apparently he had taken the tombstones from a local cemetery. Why? I don't know and neither do the police but you kids out there can learn a lesson from this: doing drugs will make you steal tombstones so don't do it.

Late show host David Letterman received a death threat from a Muslim militant which the FBI is taken seriously. Apparently terrorists are not fond of Letterman's Top Ten Lists. Who knew?

Continue reading "Weird Legal Week in Review and the Chupacabra" »

Hinds County Circuit Court Judge Tomie Green tossed out a lawsuit filed by a former maid who alleged a character in the blockbuster book/movie The Help was based on her. The Help's author, Kathryn Stockett pictured above, denied the allegations. Her attorneys argued that the one year statute of limitations barred the lawsuit. Evidence showed that Ablene Cooper, the Plaintiff, obtained a copy of the book in January 2009, a month before it was published, but didn't read the book until 2010. The lawsuit was filed in February 2011. Judge Green agreed with Ms. Stockett's lawyers and dismissed the lawsuit.

Ms. Cooper's story is not uncommon. Many claims are thrown out of Court simply because they are not filed timely. Mississippi's laws require lawsuits to be brought within a certain time period. Some, like Ms. Cooper's, can be as short as one year. Other claims require Plaintiffs to follow strict pre-suit requirements such as sending the defendants a notice of claim. Failure to follow these pre-suit requirements could mean your case gets dismissed.

Continue reading "The Help Lawsuit Thrown Out of Mississippi Court" »

Kudos to Mississippi Secretary of State Delbert ("Dont call me Herbert") Hosemann for seeking additional money from Morgan Keegan for defrauding Mississippians. I was reading an article today in the Clarion Ledger about the hearing and this comment caught my attention:

"The proceedings before Jackson lawyer Cliff Hodge, appointed by the secretary of state as the hearing officer, is expected to last three weeks. The hearing is being held in the third-floor courtroom of the Mississippi College School of Law."

So what's the problem you may ask? Cliff Hodge and Secretary of State Hosemann worked together at Phelps Dunbar for years. I'm sure that this connection was disclosed to all parties before the hearing but nothing was mentioned about their connection in the article. Republicans are always accusing former Democratic Attorney General Mike Moore and current AG Jim Hood for associating their "friends" on cases so I think the issue needs to be brought out in this story. I'm sure Mr. Hodge and his firm isn't working for free in this case but it's on the taxpayer's dime.

Continue reading "Mississippi Secretary of State Seeks $65 Million from Morgan Keegan; Conflict of Interest?" »

If you have small children, boys especially, then you have no doubt seen one of the Mr. Bean movies. Rowan Atkinson, the Mr. Bean actor, was involved in a minor car accident recently when his McLaren F1 sports car spun out and hit a tree. (Dang, Mr. Bean is making some serious bucks to be able to afford a McLaurin. One F1 recently sold for $4 million!) Fortunately for Mr. Atkinson, and Bean fans everywhere, he only suffered minor injuries.

We get calls all the time from folks who have minor car accidents with no bodily injury. Their car, however, is totaled. The problem arises with their insurance company. I recently had a family friend tell me that one of their relatives was in a car accident which was clearly the other person's fault. The other driver's insurance company admitted this BUT said the accident was because of "bad weather" and would not pay anything!

Continue reading "What Mississippians can learn from "Mr. Bean's" Car Accident" »

A tragic police abuse death case which occurred In the college town of Fullerton, California caused a serious deja vu moment for me. In the Fullerton case, a young mentally ill man, Kelly Thomas, was sitting on a bus bench when he was approached by police. They were investigating a report of some cars being broken into in the area and they wanted to search his backpack. When Kelly asked what he had done wrong the police wouldn't tell him so he ran. He was after all suffering from schizophrenia.

The officers, six in all, gave chase and subdued him with tasers, baton strikes, and general roughing up which included kicks and punches. As he was being beaten, Kelly cried out for his father. Kelly was beaten so badly he was taken to the hospital and later died of these injuries. When his father viewed the body, he assumed that his son had been beaten up by a local street gang. His initial thought was to call the Fullerton police and report the crime. Little did he know that Fullerton police officers were responsible.

The City of Fullerton has become defensive. They claim that this was an isolated incident and that its officers are trained to deal with mentally ill persons. However, either the training these officers received was deficient or they need to be retrained.

Continue reading "California Police Brutality Death Case Causes Deja Vu Moment" »

I'm so happy to be living in a city like Ridgeland, Mississippi. We have beautiful homes and neighborhoods. Top notch recreational facilities for sports. Great folks, great shopping, great restaurants, and great infrastructure. We have a real strong sense of community. Heck, Ridgeland is even a target="_blank""bike friendly community". Which brings me to the point of this blog. You cyclists need to obey the &%#@ traffic laws too!

In Mississippi, cars have to give cyclists at least 3 feet when they pass them on the street. I totally understand this. Of course, cyclists really should have sense NOT to drive on busy highways during rush hour traffic but nonetheless I will give them their 3 feet or slow down until I can pass them safely. All I want them to do is stop at a freakin' STOP sign.

I cannot tell you how many times I will pull up to a 4 way stop sign and have a group (or is it covey? flock?) of cyclists blow through the stop sign like they're riding in the Tour de France. Well I hate to burst your bubble you wannabe Lance Armstrong but you're just a schmuck wearing spandex pants you don't need to be wearing breaking the law and endangering lives. You see in Mississippi, cyclists must obey all traffic laws just like us lazy overweight car drivers. You want 3 feet? You got it, now come to a complete stop! What, you're going to slow your heart rate if you do? You may slow your heart rate permanently if you don't!

Continue reading "Mississippi Cyclists Must Obey Traffic Laws" »

The Clarion Ledger had an interesting article this morning about immunity for Mississippi police officers who are involved in automobile accidents. The article mentions one of our previous cases, Harris v. City of Jackson which you can read about here.

It is truly a shame that police officers and other state, county, and city workers have immunity for car accidents for which you and I would be held responsible. The only way to overcome this immunity is to show the Government worker caused the accident by acting with "reckless disregard" to a person's rights. In the Harris case, the officer was speeding at 100 mph and ran a red light smashing into our client's son who was turning on a green arrow. This was held to be "reckless disregard".

Continue reading "Immunity for Mississippi Police officers nvolved in crashes upsets innocent victims" »