How the Webster County saga impacts court cases

CLAY COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – The ongoing saga in Webster County not only impacts the docket, but prosecutors, defense attorneys, and their clients.

As the department seems to grow smaller, problems with court cases seem to grow larger.

Every sheriff’s department has a structure with the sheriff on top, then the chief deputy, and head investigator.

Here at the Webster County Sheriff’s Department, the people who’ve been serving in those positions are no longer in the mix.

That puts new pressure on the department and the courts.

“That does put their cases kind of on hold, at least temporarily, until the district attorney or prosecutor, or the investigating officer can take a look at it and see what do we have that we can really go forward with, if you take out that suspect investigating officer?” said Clay County Prosecutor Michelle Easterling.

When you add those missing people and upcoming court cases together, it creates even more delays.

“Backlog is going to be there, regardless, based on the fact that we have more people committing offenses and we have attorneys on both sides, who are trying to get to the heart of the case and make sure that the evidence they have us good.”

When the person in charge of gathering evidence for a conviction is now under a cloud of suspicion, everything changes.

“When as a prosecutor you find out that your key detective or key investigator is wrapped up in some criminal conduct, it makes you as a prosecutor want to really evaluate his or her cases to make sure that they’re solid.”

While prosecutors have to regroup, defense attorneys may find themselves armed with a new weapon.

“When you have an investigating officer, who has brought a case, and that officer is implicated in wrongdoing, criminal acts, a defense attorney is going to immediately zero in on that and that weakness. How do you know the facts that he’s presented are reliable? Are truthful? Are credible?” Secondly, the defense lawyer can argue that, you know, this case needs to be thrown out. This was a corrupt law-enforcement officer and you can’t trust anything he or she brings.”

Easterling said this also impacts people of the community who have other matters that need legal attention.

She also said these types of situations weaken the public’s confidence in the legal system.