Judge holds 2 public defenders in contempt in dispute over representation of client
A Mississippi judge on Monday held the Hinds County public defender and an assistant in contempt in the latest salvo in an ongoing dispute over client representation.
Circuit Judge Jeff Weill made the contempt finding and imposed $100 fines after the two refused to stand down from representing a client for whom the judge had appointed private counsel, according to the Clarion-Ledger and WAPT.
“As you can see, I was forcibly removed from the court,” public defender Michele Purvis Harris told WAPT after the judge ordered a bailiff to take her out of the courtroom. “We will continue in our representation of our clients and do so in a zealous manner. We respect the court, but the court should also respect the rights of every individual that comes to court and that is not what is happening in this particular courtroom.”
Harris says the judge is violating her client’s Sixth Amendment right to counsel by transferring the representation of clients originally assigned to the public defender’s office to private counsel after arraignment, reports WJTV.
“These are folks that have been indicted on felony charges and we were there to represent our clients, clients that have been appointed to our office some months ago, said assistant public defender Greg Spore, who was held in contempt along with Harris. “We are here to continue that representation, as they absolutely deserve.”
A court administrator said Weill could not comment, WJTV reports.
Related coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “PD’s office asks state’s top court to tell judge not to transfer cases to private counsel”
