Mississippi
Man appeals 2008 conviction for
girlfriend's murder
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) -- The state Court of Appeals has scheduled arguments for March 31 in Jackson for Archie Hall, who was convicted of manslaughter in 2008 in the death of his girlfriend.
The case is among dozens the court will consider during its March-April term.
Hall was indicted for murder in the Aug. 30, 2007, slaying of Shirley Jobe. He was convicted in 2008 in Leake County Circuit Court of manslaughter and was sentenced to 18 years in prison.
Prosecutors said Jobe died from a gunshot wound in the chest. The incident occurred at the home she shared with Hall in Leake County.
Hall had contended the shooting was an accident.
The Appeals Court will decide a number of cases based on briefs filed by attorneys rather than oral arguments. Among them are:
-- The post-conviction appeal of Derek Brandon Conway, who was convicted of murder and given a life sentence in 2003 in Forrest County in the shooting death of Kenneth Mooney. Prosecutors said Mooney was shot at a car wash after he and others got into an argument with Conway.
Conway claimed that he shot Mooney because he feared Mooney was about to harm him, according to court documents. Prosecutors said evidence showed Mooney was in a seated and upright position when he was shot.
In a post-conviction petition, in which an inmate argues he has found new evidence -- or a possible constitutional issue -- that could persuade a court to order a new trial.
-- Jermorris Pilcher's appeal of 2008 murder conviction in Leflore County in the slaying of Michael Taylor. Pilcher was sentenced to life in prison. Prosecutors said Taylor was shot to death at Delta Apartments on July 14, 2006. Prosecutors said Taylor was shot in the back while walking up stairs to his sister's apartment.
-- Ricky M. Jackson's appeal of his 2009 conviction in Pike County for stabbing Willie Hayes in the face with a wooden shish-kebab skewer at a department store. Jackson was sentenced to 15 years in prison for aggravated assault. Prosecutors said the stabbing occurred in the women's clothing section of Wal-Mart on Aug. 8, 2008.
Missouri
Bar seeks public comments about appointed judges
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Missourians now have a chance to rate their judges.
The Missouri Bar says it's taking public comments on the performance of the 62 judges who will be up for retention votes this fall. The comment period will run through April 15.
The comment forms apply only to judges appointed under the nonpartisan court plan, not to judges chosen in partisan elections.
The public comments will be shared with special judicial performance evaluation committees, which also are surveying lawyers, jurors and judges.
The Bar has created a Web site -- http://www.mobar.org/comment-on-judges -- where comments can be entered.
Louisiana
Man gets 30 years in prison for drug overdose death
COVINGTON, La. (AP) -- A 28-year-old Slidell man has admitted giving an 18-year-old the methadone and benzodiazepine that led to his death.
Paul Leonard Burkholder was booked in July 2005 with second-degree murder in the October 2004 death of Nicholas Piro. He pleaded guilty on Friday to manslaughter, and state Judge Peter Garcia sentenced him to 30 years in prison.
Piro was found dead Oct. 8, 2004, inside his Slidell home. The St. Tammany Parish coroner's office determined he died from an overdose of methadone and benzodiazepine.
Mississippi
Pharmacist goes on trial in 'pill mill' conspiracy case
GULFPORT, Miss. (AP) -- The trial has begun for Nick Tran, the final defendant in an alleged prescription "pill mill" conspiracy involving a Biloxi medical clinic and pharmacy raided in May 2008.
Tran, who owned Tran's Pharmacy in Gulfport, and three others were charged in a 60-count indictment from a probe by the Drug Enforcement Administration. The others two doctors and their office manager have accepted plea agreements to a total of two felonies and three misdemeanors.
U.S. District Judge Louis Guirola Jr. is hearing the case.
The trial is expected to last two weeks.
Published: Wed, Mar 3, 2010
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