On Friday afternoon, The Dispatch received from Lowndes County Justice Court officials the affidavits from a criminal case against two local women charged with murder.
We are glad court officials finally made the affidavits available to the public. When we initially requested the documents, they were denied to us by court officials.
We had a problem with that.
Affidavits, except in rare cases, are public record. Once someone has been charged with a crime, the reason for the charges are public. Why? This country’s Constitution has a Fourth Amendment that protects its citizens against unreasonable search and seizure and also ensures no warrant can be issued unless probable cause can be shown. Probable cause is shown by an affidavit.
When our law enforcement officials — who we respect and appreciate, always — take someone before a judge and they are charged with a crime, the process must be transparent. This ensures accountability and it is a right afforded to the accused and the public.
So, again, we are glad Justice Court officials at last made public these public records.
But we are disturbed by how this situation played out.
When we first asked Justice Court officials for the affidavits and were denied, we were told by court officials that District Attorney Forrest Allgood, the local prosecutor, had requested they be sealed.
A local attorney — entertaining the possibility of representing the women charged with murder — says he was also denied the affidavits by Justice Court because Allgood requested they be sealed. That attorney subsequently filed a lawsuit against Lowndes County.
When we contacted Allgood about that lawsuit, he did not deny he asked Justice Court judges to not release publicly some material relating to the case. But Allgood said it was “discovery,” not affidavits, he wanted sealed. Allgood then contacted Justice Court and straightened it out.
Only after Allgood’s call did Justice Court judges release the affidavit to The Dispatch.
Allgood — an elected official who prosecutes alleged crimes for the people who elect him — should not control anything about how Justice Court operates. The court should act independently of both a prosecutor and a defense attorney. It should not follow the whims of either. An independent judiciary is one of the cornerstones of our rule of law.
Allgood should not be telling Justice Court officials at what temperature they should set their thermostats, and he most certainly should not be telling, or advising, them about what they may or may not release to the public.
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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