JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - Much of the third day of the criminal trial of Hinds County District Attorney Robert Shuler Smith has focused on a former Smith assistant.
The Clarion-Ledger reports (https://on.thec-l.com/2hJ57Fp) that former Assistant District Attorney Ivon Johnson - an informant against Smith - testified Wednesday about infighting between the state Attorney General’s Office and Smith’s office.
Smith is accused in felony charges of conspiring with Johnson to hinder the prosecution of a criminal defendant named Christopher Butler, whose innocence Smith has maintained.
Much of the state’s evidence against Smith hinges on Smith’s attempts to indict officials who prevented him from dismissing charges against Butler.
“We’ve got the attorney general accusing the D.A. of effectively obstructing justice and we’ve got the D.A. accusing the attorney general of obstructing justice,” the special judge presiding over the case, Judge Larry Roberts, said Wednesday. “I guess the jury is going to have to resolve that dilemma in their verdict.”
On the day Smith planned to present cases against Circuit Court Judge Jeff Weill, presiding over Butler’s case, and two assistant attorneys general prosecuting one of Butler’s cases, Shaun Yurtkuran and Patrick Beasley, the attorney general’s office had Smith arrested.
Smith’s attorney Jim Waide cross examined Johnson for much of the day Wednesday, attempting to show that Smith did not know about a bribery scheme Johnson admitted to carrying out between 2013 and 2016.
Johnson testified that Smith knew he had been taking bribes in exchange for lowering the bonds of criminal defendants.
“He knew, but I’m not going to say he approved,” Johnson said, adding that when Smith found out what Johnson had been doing, he responded, “’We all mess up sometimes.’”
Johnson said he has worked with the assistant attorneys general prosecuting Smith’s case, helping them determine the relevance of the evidence they gathered against Smith.
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Information from: The Clarion-Ledger, https://www.clarionledger.com
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