Louisiana Court of Appeal Grants Continuance in Trial of Waterproof Mayor

The Louisiana Second Circuit Court of Appeals has granted an a continuance in the trial of Mayor Bobby Higginbotham of Waterproof, Louisiana.

Mayor Higginbotham requested the continuance on the first day of trial, complaining that he had just received records he had requested from the state, and had not had time to go over them, and in addition needed additional time to find a lawyer. His request was not granted, and the mayor represented himself in the opening days of the trial. Now, in an apparent victory for the mayor and his allies, the appeals court has interrupted the trial and overruled that decision.

In a decision handed down at 4:30pm today, the court said it had reviewed the minutes of the court, a transcript on of the hearing on motions for discovery, a transcript of the hearing on a motion to continue, and copies of charges. The courts decision reads,

We have now carefully reviewed all these items which include an amended indictment accepted by the trial court; we have also reviewed additional memoranda from the state and the applicant.

Based upon the foregoing review, we hereby grant the writ with regard to the motion for continuance and direct the trial court to grant a recess of the trial for a minimum of 30 days to allow the defendant an opportunity to fully review the materials provided in response to the motion for discovery and prepare a defense to the indictments charging public contract fraud and felony theft.

We will continue to watch this case as it develops.

Day One of Trial in Tensas Parish

Today in St. Joseph, Louisiana, the trial of Waterproof mayor Bobby Higginbotham began. As we reported last week, Tensas Parish Sheriff Rickey Jones and District Attorney James Paxton have accused Higginbotham of various charges of corruption. Bobby Higginbotham and his supporters, including Police Chief Miles Jenkins and school board member Annie Watson, say that Paxton and Jones are attempting to carry out a coup against Black political leadership in the parish.

Mayor Higginbotham, who is not a lawyer, represented himself at the trial today. Displaying confident knowledge of the law and an array of legal precedents and statistics to back him up, the mayor brought motions to have DA James Paxton removed from the case for conflict of interest, as well as for change of venue and for a continuance. The presiding judge ruled against Higginbotham on all counts, and jury selection began.

A six person jury was selected, with five white members and one Black member. According to the 2000 Census, the parish is 55% African American.

Several supporters of Higginbotham came to the courtroom to observe the trial, including Chief Jenkins, Ms. Watson, and Concordia Parish NAACP President Justin Conner.