UPDATED 25 Sep 2015: DEC to Appeal to the Supreme Court of MS

UPDATE: 25 Sep 2015

And here is another source and a quote from the 22 Sep 2015 hearing.  This source is the Tunica Times dated 25 Sep 2015 with a by line for both Brooks Taylor and Meg Coker.  The last line of the article is quoting Judge Lackey and his position that Boykin was not on the 4 Aug 2015 ballot.  We all know this is not true because Boykin's name did appear on the ballot.  So, here is Judge Lackey in his own words:

"The court finds that Ms. Boykin is entitled to sanctions for the willful disregard of this court's orders and the Supreme Court's order to put her name on the ballot."

Begin Original Post:

I am  so proud of this group of private citizens who have stood up for what is right.  They have been working tirelessly to make elections in Tunica County fair and honest.  They have been working for you and for me and I am grateful.

This morning, Judge Lackey ruled against the DEC and charged members of the DEC personally to cover sanctions he imposed to the tune of $15,000.00.  As a part of his ruling, Judge Lackey stated that there was a letter, signed by DEC Vice Chair Mark Hudson.  This letter supposedly stated that the DEC had hired Willie Griffin to represent them in the Boykin case.  This is not true.  Willie Griffin was hired by Sonny Nickson and McKinley Daley for their cases only.  The following is a reprint of a section of an affidavit signed by Hudson and other DEC Members:

"4. At no time did the Tunica County Democratic Executive Committee pay and/or retain Attorney Willie Griffin to represent the Tunica County Democratic Executive Committee.

5. At no time did the Tunica County Democratic Executive Committee ever authorize Mr. Willie Griffin or any other attorney to enter into any agreement to have Ms. Jacqueline Dishmon-Boykin's name placed on the primary election ballot."

Judge Lackey also stated that the DEC prevented Boykin from being placed on the ballot.  That is not true and we all know that Boykin appeared on the 4 Aug 2015 Primary Ballot.

Then Judge Lackey thanked Kenneth Grigsby for representing the DEC pro-bono.  Mr. Grigsby stood and told Judge Lackey that he was not working pro-bono; he was being paid by members of the DEC. Where did Judge Lackey get the idea that Attorney Grigsby was working for free?

Then Judge Lackey stated that the DEC had used the Tunica County Courthouse as a play ground and that the DEC had used him.  What?  Citizens have a right to redress in the Courts.  What the heck is Judge Lackey talking about?

It appears to me that Judge Lackey had it in for this group of citizens.  It is my understanding that the two attorneys had reached an agreement to settle this case this morning and Judge Lackey would not accept their agreement.  None of the facts in this case have been heard by Judge Lackey.  Last week, there wasn't a Court Reporter and this week the DEC was not allowed to present their evidence.  Just how is this fair in the United States of America?

The facts remain: On 4 Nov 2014, Jacqueline Dishmon-Boykin voted in TN.  Therefore, her claim that she was a resident of Tunica County for 2 years prior as is required to run for Justice Court Judge in the State of MS, is not right.  If it is true that she was living in MS and voting in TN, this would be an even bigger problem for her and I would not want to be standing in her shoes.

The next time you meet up with a member of the Tunica County Democratic Executive Committee, tell them thank you for standing up for fair and honest elections.  And you might think about giving them a donation to help pay their costs in standing up for all of us.