Published: May 07, 2008 12:59 am            

Should corporations seek across the board recusals from Diaz?

Memo to Mississippi's 65,009 corporate taxpayers - you might want to steer clear of having state Supreme Court Justice Oliver Diaz rule on a case that involves your business because he says corporations have "no interest in the rights of individuals."

That outrageous, biased statement plus clear signals that Diaz's opponent in the November state judicial election is running on a "pro-business" platform sets the stage for yet another political showdown between the state's trial lawyers and the business/medical interests.

Southern District Mississippi Supreme Court Justice Oliver Diaz Jr., who was acquitted of bribery charges in 2005 after a high-profile federal trial, announced last week that he's seeking re-election to the high court from the state's Southern district.

In making that announcement, Diaz said:

"The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other front groups will spend millions in Mississippi to influence this election on behalf of big insurance, big oil and other huge corporations who have no interest in the rights of individuals.

"I am confident, however, that voters will not be fooled by the negative messages these enormous corporate entities will produce on behalf of their hand-picked candidate," Diaz said.

Diaz and his wife, Jennifer, were indicted in 2003 along with two other Gulf Coast lower court judges and wealthy attorney Paul Minor, who was accused of bribing all three judges.

Oliver Diaz was found not guilty of all charges. Jennifer Diaz pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of tax evasion. Minor and the two lower court judges - former Harrison County Chancellor Wes Teel and former Harrison County Circuit Judge John Whitfield - were convicted the next year and are serving federal prison terms.

Oliver Diaz was later indicted and acquitted on federal tax evasion charges. The justice didn't duck that reality in his campaign announcement:

"My lengthy trial and subsequent acquittals, followed immediately by the horrors of Katrina, have strengthened not only my personal faith, but my professional resolve to continue to be a fair and honorable jurist," Diaz said. "I am grateful for, and humbled by, the support many of you have given me over the past few years."

In November's non-partisan (wink, wink, nudge, nudge!) judicial elections, Diaz will face Chancery Judge Randy "Bubba" Pierce of Leakesville, in his re-election big. Pierce, a former Democratic state legislator, was appointed to the state court bench by Republican Gov. Haley Barbour - a move which raised eyebrows among state Democrats since Pierce had been a former key lieutenant of Democratic House Speaker Billy McCoy.

Pierce's Web site carries this business-friendly rhetoric: "As a Supreme Court Justice, I will ensure that our laws protect our families and businesses and that Mississippi is a place where fair and swift justice prevail."

It's true lawyers, lobbyists, doctors and insurance companies consistently top the list of donors to Mississippi judicial races.

It's also true that the Minor-Diaz case has drawn congressional scrutiny on the political charge that a GOP U.S. Justice Department went after wealthy Democratic trial lawyer political donors while ignoring similar behavior from lawyers who gave to the Republicans. No one trial lawyer battled the U.S. Chamber of Commerce harder than Paul Minor.

So Diaz's indignation against that group and the corporations who fund it is understandable. But a blanket declaration by a judge that big corporations have "no interest in the rights of individuals" is a dangerous, irresponsible one that communicates clear bias.

It shakes the confidence of smaller, family-owned corporations that they'll get either fairness or justice from this obviously angry Supreme Court judge.



Contact Sid Salter at

(601) 961-7084 or e-mail

ssalter@clarionledger.com. Visit his blog at http://www.clarionledger.com.

        

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