Mississippi Lawyer Blog

The City of Byram, MS is the newest city of Hinds County. Byram was officially incorporated in 2009 after a lengthy legal battle with the City of Jackson over annexation and incorporation. With approximately 11,500 residents, Byram rests comfortably to the south of Jackson, Mississippi. Byram has been referred to as a smaller suburb nestled to the west of the Pearl River, which ultimately feeds into the Mississippi River.

Between 2000 and 2010 the population of Byram grew by nearly 5,000 residents as citizens of Jackson and other surrounding communities made their way to a newly thriving area. Numerous local and national businesses make their home in Byram. The City of Byram sends its children to schools run by the Hinds County Public School District.
Byram is currently home to various small businesses, and if you have not driven through Byram in the last 6 months, you may not recognize parts of the city. Siwell Road is now the home to shopping centers, restaurants, and more neighborhoods than ever before. Byram continues its instant growth with new businesses expanding along Interstate 55, including Southpointe Drive.
The Byram Municipal Court, Byram Police Department, and other City Services are located on Southpointe Drive. The Honorable Dale Schwindaman sits as the presiding Municipal Court Judge in Byram. John Scanlon serves as the City Prosecutor. Byram has yet to appoint a public defender to the Court.
In March of 2011 Eric Brown of Coxwell & Associates had the privilege of being the first attorney to represent a criminal defendant in the Byram Municipal Court. As a member of Coxwell & Associates, Eric is just one of the attorneys there who are absolutely dedicated to the practice of law. The attorneys at Coxwell & Associates consider the practice of law as a constant career and not just a 9:00 to 5:00 job. Each of the attorneys is a resident of Mississippi, and all are devoted and interested in helping each and every client that is accepted by the firm. Coxwell & Associates is not a general law practice. Each attorney has had a diverse career and over the years each attorney has developed areas of practice. Though the attorneys at Coxwell & Associates will not accept every case, they do take the time to assist each and every person who makes contact with the office. Coxwell & Associates has a reputation of being truthful to clients, even if that truth is not what a particular client wants to hear.
From Byram the easiest way to reach Coxwell & Associates is to get on Interstate 55 North, headed North. You will come into Jackson and take the High Street Exit. High Street is one of the two exits used by most people when they come to the Mississippi Fairgrounds and the State Fair. After taking the High Street Exit go to the left and continue up the hill on High Street until you come to State Street. Turn left, and begin looking to your left after only a few hundred feet. There you will see the Historic Clifton-Burwell House, the office of Coxwell & Associates. The yard of the office is typically heavily planted with seasonal flowers and there is a black and white sign out front. As you come to the Coxwell & Associates office turn left on College Street. You will be able to park in the rear of the office. The entrance to the law firm is in the rear. Go up the steps and ring the bell. Our receptionist will allow you to enter and let the attorney know you are present for the appointment. If this is your first appointment you will be asked to fill out a brief information sheet.

In the late 1990's Mississippians were getting Fen Phen prescriptions left and right. The drug was hugely popular. Folks would car pool to their doctors to get these "miraculous" weight loss drugs. So-called "weight loss" clinics opened up all over the state and fen phen was being dispensed like Pez to second graders.

The problem for the most part is that the doctors dispensing these pills never bothered to advise clients of the dangers associated with these drugs like heart valve leakage and primary pulmonary hypertension (PPH) which causes death. Most of the doctors never monitored their patients while they were on the Fen Phen combination to make sure that the drugs were not adversely affecting their health. As a result, many Mississippians and citizens across the country, began experiencing serious heart and lung problems which were associated with Fen Phen. Doctors who failed to properly administer the drugs were sued along with the drug manufacturer. Long standing Products Liability law allowed lawsuits against the entity responsible for pushing the product out to the consumers.

This same pattern repeated itself with other drugs like Propulsid and Rezulin and doctors were sued along with the drug manufacturers. Well, the doctors did not like this to say the least. Tort "Reform" was making its way to Mississippi and the suits against the doctors provided tort "reform" advocates all they needed. There were media reports that lawsuits against doctors in Mississippi were driving doctors out of the state! Malpractice insurance premiums were skyrocketing and it was all because of lawsuits! Dogs and cats were living together, mass hysteria!

With the white jacked doctors out in front, lawmakers passed several pieces of legislation which greatly curbed lawsuits against doctors. This occurred in 2002 and 2004. Since that time, there have been numerous lawsuits against drug companies for creating dangerous drugs but none against the doctors who push the drugs.

A recent article in the Clarion Ledger stated that Pill MIlls were a national epidemic. Prescription drug usage in Mississippi (and across the nation) is staggering. In July alone in Mississippi, there were 536,630 prescriptions for controlled substances filled for more than 31 million pills, according to the Mississippi Board of Pharmacy. Wow.

Continue reading "Did Tort "Reform" Contribute to the Pill Mill Epidemic in Mississippi?" »

Suppose you are studying for a big test and you receive an email from the teacher supplying you with a copy of the test you will be taking the next day. It would make things a lot easier huh? Well, apparently that's what happened for some Mississippi State Troopers who were studying to take their promotion tests. As a result of the incident, 16 troopers and supervisors have been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation.

So, this got me to thinking. As a criminal defense attorney who routinely defends cases brought by Mississippi State Troopers, shouldn't I have access to which troopers were suspended? If a trooper would cheat or lie to take a promotion test then I think it greatly affects his credibility as a witness. In most DUI cases, the only testimony used by the State is that of the police officer. The officer will testify that the driver's car was "swerving" thus justifying the stop. The officer will then testify that the driver smelled of alcohol, had slurred speech, impaired coordination, and appeared to be drunk. If the driver refuses to take the test (which I recommend), then the only evidence of impaired driving is police officer's word. If it is then revealed that this same officer, sworn to uphold the law, stooped so low as to cheat on a promotion test I think it would result in a "not guilty" verdict in most DUI cases.

I would think that I'm not the only lawyer in Mississippi who has thought of this. I'm sure that we will see dozens of DUI tickets being dismissed because of what is being called "Troopergate". (Seriously, why can't the media be more creative? We still use "gate" at the end of almost every scandal. Why don't we use "water"? Trooperwater? Watertrooper? Oh, well I guess that doesn't make sense.)

Continue reading "How the Mississippi State Trooper Scandal Could Affect Crminal Cases" »