Upholding the law

Before I was 25, I had been court-appointed to represent poor people in two separate murder cases. It was the most hands-on trial experience you can get, and it prepared me well for things to come.

In 1971, I entered the world of politics when I ran for the district attorney’s office serving Copiah, Lincoln, Pike and Walthall counties. It was the first of three successful races I ran for that position.

Being a district attorney in rural Mississippi in the 1970s is a bit different than what you might see on Law & Order. There were no assistant district attorneys, we had $300 per month for a secretary and the individual counties rarely had county prosecuting attorneys. As district attorney, I handled all the youth court cases, drunk driving and other serious misdemeanors and civil child support cases — in addition to prosecuting the murderers, rapists and drug dealers.

As I’ve often told young attorneys, a good supply of midnight oil was an absolute must. I burned my share of it as district attorney, and my wife tells me I still use a good bit now.

But being district attorney gave me a career-long passion for training prosecutors. In 1973, I graduated from the career prosecutor course at the University of Houston Law School. In 1977, I completed a renowned prosecutor training course at Northwestern University School of Law in Chicago. After that, I became the first chairman for a project that created the Mississippi Prosecutors’ Association Trial & Training Manual. I’m proud to say that I was a key author of the first manual.

This year I have again assisted in training Mississippi prosecutors, teaching young prosecutors tricks of the trade. In April, I did a presentation on jury selection. In my opinion, we must train our young lawyers to be good stewards of the justice system. That includes teaching young lawyers about their ethical, as well as legal, obligations.

I never sought a fourth term as district attorney. My youngest son was diagnosed with cancer, and while the state provided good health insurance, we still had hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical bills. So I entered private practice so that I could pay these bills and provide for my family.

My work with prosecutors, however, has never ceased.

Here’s a short list of some of my work as a prosecutor:

• Former board member of the Mississippi Prosecutors Association.
• Served pro tempore district attorney or special prosecutor in Marion, Jefferson Davis, Lawrence, Simpson, Rankin, Warren, Winston and Harrison counties.
• Drafted a multi-count indictment against a director of the Mississippi Highway Commission, the first prosecution of a state official undertaken by a Mississippi Attorney General in modern times. The case ended in the official’s conviction.
• Appointed by Gov. William Winter to draft Mississippi’s statutes requiring minimum standards for law enforcement officers.
• Originated the concept of judicial candidates having to complete courses on campaign practices, finances and ethics, now required by the Mississippi Code of Judicial Conduct.
• Was appointed by the Mississippi Supreme Court to serve on the Mississippi Board of Bar Admissions.
• Frequent seminar and law school speaker throughout the United States on civil and criminal practice topics.