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Holmes County Editor Adjudged Guilty Of Court Contempt By Judge S. F. DavisJudge Expresses Futility Of ''Cleaning Up Holmes CountyBy Kenneth TolerStaff Correspondent Commercial AppealBrushing aside an apology and expressing futility of “cleaning up Holmes County,” Circuit Judge S.P. Davis Monday held Miss Hazel Brannon, attractive law enforcement crusading editor, guilty of contempt of court for checking testimony with a witness still under his jurisdiction.He fined her $50. and sentenced her to 15 days in jail after “splittingthe maximum sentence,” but suspended both for two years, ‘pending good behavior’, so if you run in with the court again we won’t have to try you next time.”Questioned Negro Witness Miss Brannon offered Judge Davis a “lull and sincere apology”* and assurance she had no intention of violating rules of his court or em-barassing it in the performance of its duties. But the 72-year-old Jurist waved it aside in ordering the case tried on its merits.The 32-year-old editor and publisher of two weekly newspapers in Holmes County, through which she had been crusading for three years for stricter enforcement of the prohibition and antigambling laws, was cited by Judge Davis after she had interrogated a negro woman witness following her appearance in court. Miss Brannon explained she did not know the witness was not supposed to talk with anyone; that no one told her so, and that she was merely checking some of the testimony uttered in open court for accuracy before reporting it to the Commercial Appeal, for which she is special correspondent. She was covering the Leon McAtee flogging case at the time.In rejecting Miss Brannon’s apology and ordering the case tried, Judge Davis said she had shown disrespect for the court “by cussing it out” That charge, however, did not appear in the contempt citation.An appeal to the Supreme Court was taken by Miss Brannon's counsel, Vaughan Watkins, Jackson attorney and president of the Mississippi Publishing Co., and Ben Wilkes of Greenville.Judge's Remark ScoredThey also filed a bill of exceptions to the remarks made by Judge Davis on passing sentence on Miss Brannon . _Judge Davis told Miss Brannon he realized she was putting on a “great campaign for law and order,” but reminded her that “if you read history you will see that the only perfect being didn't make much of a hit with His reforms.”“He reformed a few and left this advice: ‘Before you clean up someone else, clean up yourself,’ ” Judge Davis said, adding, “so few of us pure are left.”Explaining he had been circuit judge for 27 years, Judge Davis said: “I've been around here a long time and know the job it is to clean up j Holmes County. I don’t believe you i can do it. I am of the opinion that when Gabriel blows his horn and rolls back the scroll of Heaven, he . will find the world like it is today. I am sorry Uiat is the situation.” Informing Miss Brannon that he derival no pleasure out of sentenc-• ing her, the judge expressed the I wish that “you had stayed out ofthis mess.”“It reminds me of what the Irishman said when he saw the bull rua headon into a train; ‘I admire your spunk but doubt your judgement* m “You have run headon into thi* court. When called up you proceeded to give the court a curt lecture as to his duties.”'Sympathetic, But—'Stating it to be the opinion of the court that Miss Brannon was guilty as charged, Judge Davis told her that he sympathized with her.“But,” he added, “you brought it on yourself.”Mr. Watkins in presenting hie client’s answtr to the contempt citation, enterad an apology for “any action the court feels' was contempt.”In support of the statement, he recalled Miss Brannon's three year crusade for law enforcement to show she had “respect for the court and law enforcement.”Basis of the contempt citation waia statement made to Judge Davis by W. H. Nabors, Holmes County deputy sheriff, that Miss Brannon was interrogating the witness despite hi* caution that she (the witness) was under the rule and instructed by the court not to talk with anyone about the case.District Prosecuting Atty. Howard Dyer Jr.., of Greenville handled the case for the court. He did not cross-examine Miss Brannon when she was called to the witness stand by her attorneys.Deputy Sheriff Nabors said he was returning the witness to the witness room and had stopped momentarily. He said next thing he knew, Miss Brannon was talking to her. That occurred out of the courtroom and downstairs near the sheriffs office which was used for state witnesses, he said.Didn't Know SituationMr. Nabors said he told the witness to go into the sheriffs office^ and that Miss Brannon asked why she could not talk to her. He said he informed her of the rule, and that the editor countered that “she is not under arrest, is a free woman, and you, the sheriff or no one else can keep me from talking to her.”Miss Brannon explained she wat not present when the trial opened and therefore not appraised of tha witness being put under the rul* She said she came in while tha woman was on the stand and left shortly after she completed her testimony to telephone her story to The Commercial Appeal at Mem* phis.“She was alone as I walked downstairs, and I presumed she was on her way home,” Miss Brannon Sai “I told the witness I had to quota her in the newspapers, and wanted to check one or two statements.” “We had been talking one or twg minutes when Deputy Sheriff Na« bors passed by. I didn't know ha was acting in his official capacity when he told the witness to get in the sheriffs office. He never addreg-sed me, directly or indirectly, that the court had ordered the witness not to talk with anyone. I had no knowledge of the rule.”In his argument, Mr. Watkin* said, had the deputy sheriff not “turned his back on his sworn duty* Miss Brannon could not have talked to the witness.”“His duty was to escort the worx^ an to the witness room and ha wouldn't have walked away in tha face of a defiance of this court if there had been a defiance,” Mr. Watkins said.
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Durant News
Durant, Mississippi, US
Thu, Oct 31, 1946
Page 1
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Ayesha L.
USA 31 Jul 2022
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