Chief Justice: Judges Should Be Appointed

WLBT, 1/23/8

If the chief justice of the Mississippi Supreme Court has his way, appellate court judges will be appointed and not elected to office.

Jim Smith wants the change in light of a bribery scandal involving high-profile attorneys and judges. Federal indictments were handed down in November against multimillionaire trial lawyer Dickie Scruggs and others accused of trying to bribe a north Mississippi circuit judge.

It was embarrassing for the state’s legal system, and it’s time for change, according to Smith.