Mississippi Lawyer Blog

Bloomberg News has issued a story reporting that several Congressmen have asked Congress to investigate the safety of metal on metal hip implants. The ASR metal hip implants by Johnson & Johnson have been recalled due to failure of these implants.

There is substantial evidence mounting to prove that the metal on metal hip implants are not functioning as predicted and that they are actually failing at a greater rate than anticipated. This hip implant and its recall may turn into yet another health disaster like so many before.

Eventually, people are going to want to start asking why there is such a rush to place products and drugs on the market without adequate testing. Congress once held a hearing on what it perceived as the Food and Drug Administration's delay in placing drugs and products on the market. Apparently some Congressmen and women thought it took too long to get something on the market. Well, keep in mind people are being adversely affected when drugs and products are rushed to market without adequate testing.

Continue reading "DePuy Hip Implants Raise Serious Health Questions!" »

I am in the middle of litigating a very serious truck accident which cost a truck driver (our client's husband) his life. As I was preparing some discovery answers which included providing documents to the defense, I noticed how many times my partner, Merrida Coxwell, and I were in the pictures taken by our accident reconstruction expert. (That's me in the photo accompanying this blog). I never thought about it much but litigating truck accidents requires the attorney to be more hands on than most other civil cases.

For instance, when our expert went to the accident scene, Merrida was with him to get a better understanding of what happened. I went to view the trucks with the expert so I could gain more knowledge on downloading blackbox information and any other tidbits.

Of course, Merrida and I have always been "hands on" attorneys when it comes to trying cases. From investigating crime scenes to viewing autopsies, we prefer to be there in person rather than have someone interpret results for us. I would like to believe it is this kind of dedication that helps us serve our clients better.

Continue reading "Truck Accidents in Mississippi Require Hands On Attorneys" »

Lately I have been receiving a lot of calls from people who have been terrified by debt collectors. The collectors pretend to be police officers or make threats to have you arrested today you if you don't send them some money right now. They won't give you an address to mail in money because they want access to your bank account.
Read this carefully - You will not go to jail for an ordinary debt like a credit card, personal loan, internet loan or even a payday loan. Don't believe the tricks and lies of these debt collectors. This is a scam. These are not real police officers or law enforcement organizations. They will try to get you to give them personal information about yourself. Do not give them any information. They may already have information about you and the name of a debt you might actually owe, but they may not have any connection with the original creditor. Even if you do owe the money, it is against the law for for creditors and collectors to make threats or to threaten to have you arrested.

Although this is not related to any legal issue, please allow a proud Dad to share some news about his son. The Mullins family (me, Wendy and Gavin) recently attended a Cleveland Browns football game in Cleveland. I am a lifelong Browns fan as was my Dad, Jake. Gavin started liking the Browns when he was probably 3 or 4. Wendy had arranged to have Gavin go onto the field and retrieve the kicking tee after the second half kick. It was also a treat for me as I got to accompany Gavin through the players' tunnel and out onto the field. It was a great experience and Gavin was written up on the Browns' team website.

In today's Clarion Ledger, Ed Peters' grand jury testimony was discussed. Peters was the long time Hinds County District Attorney whose office prosecuted all felony crimes in the county. After retiring as a prosecutor, Peters then went into private practice. He was hired by Dickie Scruggs who had a case pending in front of Hinds County Circuit Court Judge Bobby DeLaughter, a former long time assistant under Peters. (Peters and DeLaughter are in the picture to the left).

According to Peters' sworn testimony, he visited privately with DeLaughter on several occasions to discuss Scruggs' ongoing case. Peters was trying to influence DeLaughter to find in favor of Scruggs. This type of communication with a judge, known as ex parte communication, is prohibited by court rules. Peters also testified that DeLaughter longed to be a federal judge and that former Senator Trent Lott called DeLaughter to tell him his brother-in-law Scruggs had suggested his name for a federal judge position. Even thought DeLaughter didn't get the position, he was advised that Scruggs had put his name up for consideration.

We all know the rest of the story. Scruggs and his attorneys were caught up in this judicial bribery case as well as one in LaFayette County. Several lawyers and one judge (DeLaughter) plead guilty and were sent to prison. Of course, Peters somehow avoided a conviction by cutting a deal to testify against the others, including DeLaughter, with whom he said he had a "father son relationship". Gee, thanks Dad.

I started practicing in 1994 at a time when both Peters and DeLaughter were two of the top dog prosecutors in the state. I tried my first murder case against DeLaughter in February 1995 (my client was convicted of a lesser included offense). Both Peters and DeLaughter prosecuted Byron De La Beckwith, a case which my partner Merrida Coxwell was appointed by the court to defend Beckwith. Merrida also had several other high profile cases against Peters and DeLaughter over the years. Peters and DeLaughter seemingly had a habit of hiding favorable evidence which should have been turned over to the defendants. Most of the cases were overturned for these discovery violations on appeal with Beckwith being the notable exception. (Let's face it, no elected judge was going to vote to overturn Beckwith's conviction). The Mississippi Supreme Court even scolded Peters' office for repeated discovery violations.

When the Scruggs bribery scandal broke out, my mind immediately began to think that this is not the first time this has happened in Hinds County. How many other cases, civil and criminal, have been compromised? We know that Peters and DeLaughter have been accused of running a similar scam in the Eaton v. Frisby case in which it was claimed that Eaton hired Peters to influence DeLaughter. How many other cases were there? How many criminal defendants have been denied a fair trial by similar tactics? Did Peters and/or DeLaughter have similar ex parte communications with judges when they were prosecutors? Well, we'll probably never know because the investigation into these shady tactics went no further. It's as if no one really wanted to know.

Continue reading "Was Ex-Hinds County DA Peters Corrupt while he was a Prosecutor?" »

The City of Ridgeland has been searching for months for a man suspected of shoplifting from area businesses. The man was recently apprehended after a video was played on local television stations and someone called in identifying the man. Mr. Dunson was arrested and called Coxwell & Associates attorney Eric Brown. Mr. Brown is a native of the Terry/Byram, area. He teaches part-time at Mississippi College and is employed full-time at Coxwell & Associates. Mr. Brown went to the immediate aid of Mr. Dunson and secured his release on bail.

Shoplifting is simply taking property from a store without paying for the merchandise. If the value of the property is under $500.00 then the crime is a misdemeanor, and if the value is over $500.00 the crime is a felony. If a person has two prior misdemeanor convictions for shoplifting then the 3rd offense can be treated as a felony. Shoplifting is one of many crimes that are called "property crimes."

Though shoplifting is a property crime one should make no mistake about one thing-Madison and Rankin County usually push for stiff punishment for shoplifting. Ridgeland has the several major upscale shopping centers. These shopping centers are the tax base for the City and draw thousands of people to the town. Rankin County has extensive shopping along Lakeland Drive. Shoplifters are treated very harshly and it is not unlikely to see a person get 10 days in jail for a first offense in some of the cities.

These days most stores have some type of surveillance cameras and the bigger stores also have security guards disguised as shoppers. If a person gets caught and convicted of shoplifting a judge's order will often forbid the person of every going back into the store again. Shoplifting is a serious crime. Before you take anything that does not belong to you consider the consequences.

Continue reading "Suspected Ridgeland Shoplifter Apprehended." »

Coxwell & Associates' attorneys practice all across the State of Mississippi, from their home office in Jackson to their Gulf Coast Office, over through the Delta and up into the northern hills. On a daily basis the attorneys are called to help people in The City of Madison, Ridgeland, and Madison County, Mississippi. Last week managing partner Merrida Coxwell was called by a mother and father who were arrested for allegedly contributing to the delinquency of a minor. The allegation is that their son met a girl out of state and brought her back to Mississippi without the girl's parents' permission. Some of the evidence indicated that the girl's mom and step-dad had a drug problem and the girl did not want to stay with them anymore.

The charge of contributing to the delinquency of a minor can be a misdemeanor or a felony. One should always remember that a misdemeanor is called a "petty" crime and can result in up to a year in the county jail but a misdemeanor conviction does not result in the person going to prison or losing any civil rights. A felony carries the potential punishment in the State Penitentiary and can cause the loss of civil rights and benefits. (See this handy chart or "cheat sheet" for the punishment for misdemeanors and felonies.)

This story was reported in several news outlets including both the newspaper and television. The Ridgeland Police Department acted swiftly in this case taking possession of the minor child. There were rumors that the almost 16 year old child had not been attending school back in her home state and that her mom and step-dad were serious drug users. There were also numerous incorrect rumors swirling around about the young man arrested in this case. Managing Partner Merrida Coxwell was hired by the mom and dad to represent them on the contributing charge and on other charges that were being pressed by law enforcement. Merrida went to work immediately and obtained the parents release and worked with law enforcement so that no additional charges were brought at this time. By avoiding more charges the mom and dad were able to avoid very costly bail bonds on suspected charges that the Madison County Grand Jury may find are not valid.

This case established that there is nothing better than a law firm who will get right to work when a person is in trouble. Law enforcement sometimes overcharges when it comes to crimes. Other times they may charge a crime and upon reflection see that what they thought was a crime is not. This is where it helps to have an experienced, respected, and dedicated lawyer on your side.

Continue reading "Coxwell & Associates Hired to Help Mom and Dad." »