Oxford Trial Lawyer Fundraiser for Jim Kitchens

If you've got a few thousand to spare for a Supreme Court Justice, and you happen to be in Oxford, stop by the Tollison Law Firm on Thursday. Some trial lawyers are still raising money for Jim Kitchens.

Mo money, mo money, mo money

Trial lawyers continue fundraising for Supreme Court Justice Jim Kitchens who won his seat last fall (after spending nearly $1 million on the campaign) and now sits on the Court. It is to pay off a loan Kitchens took out a week before the election. So, if you want to give money to a sitting Supreme Court Justice to pay off a loan, its legal, and you can do it at Hal and Mal's with the following hosts:

Bob Arentson (Baker Donelson), Jack Dunbar (Holcomb Dunbar), Christy Jones (Butler Snow), Charles Wright, Rick Nelson (Bryan Nelson), Sam Thomas (Underwood Thomas), and Merrida Coxwell (Coxwell & Associates).



Just remember, you can't give more than $5000. Because this is good government, but $5500 goes too far for judicial ethics. More than $5000, and someone might think you're trying to buy the court.

Oil-yez, oil-yez, Jim Kitchens presiding

As you might remember, during his campaign Jim Kitchens attacked Jim Smith for taking money from "Big-time oil and energy executives." We revealed his hypocrisy by noting: "Kitchens caught with oil on his hands."

Now it seems this very same money oiled the gears of his campaign. On October 28 - exactly a week before the election - Jim Kitchens took out a $250,000 loan for his campaign from Pike County National Bank. The security for the loan was the assignment of proceeds of an oil, gas, and minderal lease owned by Kitchen's wife. The lease is held by Questar Exploration and Production company.

Kitchens criticized Smith for connections to oil and energy, but then funded his own campaign with oil and energy resources. Hypocrisy. I guess he would say, its just oil in the family.

Furthermore, on Kitchen's latest campaign finance report, Carroll Hood of Hazelhurst is listed as giving Kitchens an $1800 In-Kind contribution by hosting a fish fry and reception. (It was actually listed as a disbursement. Maybe the campaign gave an in-kind contribution to him. Or maybe he gave an in-kind contribution but the campaign decided to pay for it. Of maybe he gave it as an in-kind contribution and the campaign disbursed money to someone else. I don't understand; maybe you do.)



Carroll Hood has served as chairman and vice-chairman of the Mississippi State Oil and Gas Board:

Hood is also on the board of directors of the Mississippi Economic Council and serves as president of Hood Petroleum Company Inc., Copiah Oil Company Inc. and HICO Inc. General Insurance Agency. In the past he has served as a commissioner of the Mississippi Employment Security Commission.

He currently has a nomination from Attorney General Jim Hood for another term on the Mississippi State Oil and Gas Board.

A Golden Parachute for Jim Kitchens

"A candidate shall not use or permit the use of campaign contributions for the private benefit of the candidate or others." - Code of Judicial Conduct of Mississippi Judges: Canon 5(C)2

"Campaign committees...should manage campaign finances responsibly, avoiding deficits that might necessitate post-election fundraising, to the extent possible." - Code of Judicial Conduct of Mississippi Judges: Canon 5(C)2 [Commentary]

Trial lawyers are seeking to raise $300,000 for a personal loan Jim and Mary Kitchens took out. If a judicial candidate pays a personal loan with campaign contributions, he is in violation of the Code of Judicial Conduct of Mississippi Judges. The punishment can be as severe as removal from office. That is very severe, but we're talking about $300,000. We'll see if the Commission on Judicial Performance takes action.

On the other hand, perhaps this is a campaign loan. In which case this was a campaign ignoring the ethical encouragements of the judicial canons in an attempt to win. I guess that happens all the time. Nothing to complain about, but nothing to brag about either for the incoming justice.

The Clarion Ledger reported today that the campaign manager said, "There is no fundraiser. What we are having is normal campaign business." Yet, according to campaign finance reports, one week before the election the campaign had more than a $50,000 surplus. Add another $300,000 to that and you have a campaign that spent more in the very last week of the campaign than many candidates spent the entire year.

Kitchens: Pain and Suffering Caps "Unfair"

Let there be no doubt, Jim Kitchens is a trial lawyer. He served on the American Trial Lawyers Association Board of Governors for 17 years. He served on their Executive Committee. Trial lawyers all over the county know he will be on their side if he gets on the Supreme Court.

Jim Kitchens believes the medical malpractice reform the legislature passed in Mississippi is unfair. How do we know? He said so.

Jim Kitchens, a trial lawyer in Jackson, warned the committee that tampering with contingency fees charged by lawyers would ultimately hurt poor clients who couldn't afford to hire attorneys on an hourly basis. And, he said, capping how much a victim could collect for pain and suffering was unfair. - Commercial Appeal (June 21, 2002)

Connecting Kitchens and Diaz

Jim Kitchens and Oliver Diaz are both running for the Mississippi Supreme Court. Diaz was acquitted of charges involving a judicial bribery scheme in which trial lawyer Paul Minor, former chancery court judge Walter W. Teel, and former circuit judge John H. Whitfield were convicted. Also wrapped up in that trial was Oliver's wife Jennifer Diaz. He is proud to have been acquitted, she pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of tax evasion. Her attorney was Jim Kitchens who said she, "did what she did for her family.” Just an interesting connection.

Kitchens Negative Attacks

Used to before the election, desperate campaigns would circulate a scandal sheet with false or scurrilous allegations against their opponents. They'd end up on cars or in your yard or handed out right before the election. The Jim Kitchens Campaign has done the online version (which they are free to do). I won't bother linking it, but in their news release the Kitchens campaign says "We have said from day one that this race should be about the issues, about a person’s record and not about personal attacks." Except none of the Kitchens false allegations are about Jim Smith's record. None. They don't show where he ruled incorrectly in a single case. They are all personal attacks. Desperation.

The Kitchens campaign did have the courage to sign their name to the attacks. So they also deserve the credit for their negativity.

Today the Neshoba County Democrat endorsed Jim Smith. The endorsement says in part:

Smith has run a strictly positive campaign and worked to earn every vote, visiting every cabin and camper at the Neshoba County Fair....Kitchens' campaign has festered with negativity and attacks against Smith.

The endorsement also says:

Chief Justice Jim Smith has a proven record of fairness on the Mississippi Supreme Court. Under his leadership, the Court has cleared all its backlogs and is current for the first time in decades. He administers the Court with professionalism and respect for the dignity of the law that is sorely needed in Mississippi's legal profession today...Smith is known in his community as an intelligent jurist and a humble man of faith...Mississippi will benefit from the re-election of an honest and fair man of integrity like Jim Smith.

Honor. Fairness. Professionalism. Dignity. Not negative attacks.

(Truth is, RespondMississippi enjoys watching campaigns get rough and tumble. We like the attack ads and the quips and the partisan rhetoric. We want more, not less. We don't believe the press does its job at exposing records, and so the opposition campaigns must do it instead. And Smith may need to respond to Kitchens aggressively. But let it be known the first shots were fired by Kitchens.)

Litigation Addiction

It is clear that plaintiff attorneys around the country are pumping in money to change the Mississippi Supreme Court. They are funding Jim Kitchens in hopes to defeat Chief Justice Jim Smith.

But litigation addicts in Mississippi are helping, too. Just looking at the big names on his most recent report. David Baria, former Mississippi Trial Lawyers Association president gave $1000. Shane Langston sent him $1200. The Mike Moore Firm gave $1000. Ed Williamson of Philadelphia and Isaac Byrd of Jackson each gave $1000.

But of course trial lawyers will fund his campaign. The funny part is the litigation addiction mindset. Ole Kitch's campaign is upset at people exercising their free speech. An organization apparently took photographs off of Jim Smith's web site and used them. Kitch's campaign said, "Surely Mr. Smith, a judge, knows that he could file suit against those groups for stealing or copyright infringement."

Like an addict facing his drug of choice he can't believe someone else would turn down the opportunity. Look! You can sue! Why don't you sue? For the love of man, don't you see you can sue!

I'm sure Jim Smith knows anyone can sue anyone for just about anything. But his first reaction is different from Kitchens. But then, that is what Kitchens does for a living.

Alston and Kitchens

Ole Kitch has a friend in Alex Alston. Alston, is the unofficial Clarion Ledger judicial correspondent. He has written numerous pieces for the Clarion Ledger based on his own research attacking the Supreme Court. The Ledger uses his "research" in its editorials as facts. Whenever his information is challenged, the Ledger allows him additional space to respond. He might as well be a contributing columnist.

Well, the Ledger has never disclosed Alston's motivations. Alston is the guy who lost millions because the Supreme Court overturned (7-2 decision) a jury verdict in a life insurance case (Stewart vs Prudential). His client hid the fact he suffered a stroke and was nearing death while negotiating a life insurance policy. Once that fact was revealed to the insurance company, they refused to write a policy under the previously negotiated conditions. Basically, Alston sued a company to claim a policy that didn't exist. He won with a Hinds County jury. The Supreme Court overturned it. As the lawyer, his share of the take would have been millions of dollars.

Hey, I'd be upset if I lost millions of dollars. I understand. Give me someone to yell at and a platform. A Court and a newspaper? That works fine.

But that doesn't mean the Court isn't right. And it doesn't give the Clarion Ledger license to hold up a disgruntled attorney as an authority on the Court. But then, the First Amendment gives the Ledger that license, and fair treatment is not a precondition for free speech.

Anyway. In addition to his public attacks on the Court, Alston is now supporting the guy who wants to take out Chief Justice Jim Smith. The latest campaign finance report of Jim Kitchens shows contributions from Alston on August 19 and September 30 for a total of $1000. I wonder if the Ledger will continue to give Alston carte blanche to opine now that his motivations are both personal and political.

Kitchens Leading in Beverly Hills, New York City, Chicago

Jim Kitchens is a man of the people - the people of Beverly Hills, New York City, Chicago, Miami, Washington D.C., Honolulu, Massachusetts, Los Angeles. His latest campaign finance report shows he raised greater than $80K from out of state, mostly trial lawyers. There isn't anything wrong with out-of-staters supporting a Mississippi candidate. But the question is, "Why?" I'm sure these out-of-state trial lawyers just want good government. They aren't interested at all in putting someone on the Court who could serve their interests - the interests of big trial lawyers coming to sue in Mississippi. Let me repeat, these are not Mississippi trial lawyers battling it out for their ideology. That's politics. No big deal. But when you combine the latest report of Jim Kitchens with his past reports, you find that $150K has been pumped in from out-of-state trial lawyers. Why? You can decide.



(Thanks for the email with the tip. YOUaretheresponder.)

Kitchens - The Joke is on Mississippi

Jim Kitchens wants to be on the Mississippi Supreme Court. The key word there is Mississippi.

Kitchens, leaving worry behind, joked that if he could include the territory of a few other surrounding states it would be to his benefit. Kitchens said he is pleased with his campaign's progress. "The district touches Arkansas, Louisiana, and Alabama, and I think I'm running way ahead in all those states," he joked. (Madison County Herald, October 9, 2008)

About half of all of Kitchen's fundraising came from out of state, no joke. His campaign brought in more than $86,000 from outside Mississippi, where he apparently is doing very well, no joke. Today we should see his next finance report and see if in this election, the joke is on Mississippi.

Kitchens caught with oil on his hands

Jim Kitchens is running for Supreme Court. On July 10, Kitchens' campaign blogged against his opponent (Jim Smith) for taking money from "Big-time oil and energy executives".

In a time of $4-per-gallon of gas, perhaps Smith’s financial backers should think more about finding ways to cut the cost of gasoline for the consumer than backing a Supreme Court justice who has, for more than a couple of these donors, ruled on their behalf.
- Sam Hall, Kitchens Campaign Manager

Also on July 10, Kitchens' campaign reported a contribution from

Carl Bozeman
$500
May 30, 2008
Owner, Bozeman Chevron Service Station, Inc.
Hazlehurst, Mississippi

Now there is nothing wrong with Kitchens getting a contribution from someone in the oil business, but his hypocrisy stinks like bad gas.