Nepotism questions raised about Adams County public defenders office

NATCHEZ, Miss. — Nepotism concerns are being raised about the newly established Adams County office of public defenders, where two attorneys are related to Circuit Court Judge Lillie Blackmon Sanders.

Adams County supervisors are seeking legal and ethical guidance from state officials on whether Aisha Sanders and Lydia Blackmon can serve in the public defenders office, which is headed by an attorney appointed by Judge Sanders.

At Sanders’ request, the Adams County Board of Supervisors in September agreed to create the public defenders office to replace the previous practice of retaining nine private attorneys the court randomly calls on to represent criminal defendants who can’t afford their own lawyers.

Meeting with supervisors Monday, Natchez attorney Kevin Colbert argued that the judge’s daughter and sister can’t legally serve as public defenders in the new office. If not unlawful, it presents an “appearance of impropriety” and “doesn’t pass the smell test,” Colbert said.

He had been representing indigent clients for about 20 years but was not among the four attorneys new Adams County Chief Public Defender Jeffrey Harness selected last month to work in the new office.

Harness did say in October that Blackmon and Sanders will not be representing clients in cases being heard by Judge Sanders. However, the county board is seeking legal opinions from the state Attorney General’s Office and the state Ethics Commission on whether Sanders and Blackmon can legally serve as public defenders. This is being done “to make sure everything is legal and being done like it is supposed to,” said county board attorney Scott Slover.

In addition to Sanders and Blackmon, Harness selected Natchez attorneys Tim Blalock and Zach Jex to staff the public defenders office.

As the circuit court’s senior judge, Sanders appointed Harness as the county’s chief public defense attorney. Circuit Court Judge Debra Blackwell also hears criminal cases in Adams County. Public defenders also represent indigents in Adams County’s lower courts (county court and justice court).

Colbert said the county’s criminal caseload doesn’t justify the establishment of an office of five attorneys to represent indigent clients. He recommended a system much like previously used, with six attorneys being on call for judges to select when needed for defendants without the money to pay their own lawyers.

He said this would be cheaper than the costs of paying the five attorneys and other administrative expenses that’s projected at about $300,000 or so a year.

The new office of attorneys is considered a better way to ensure accused criminals’ rights to effective legal representation are secured. County board President Ricky Gray said Adams County indigents “were not being (adequately) defended” with the old method of having a list of lawyers to call on.

While they await the attorney general’s opinion, Gray said supervisors are “going in the right direction to get some accountability in this office.”