Mississippi DA arrested for helping criminal defendants
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Hinds County District Attorney Robert Shuler Smith is accused in a six-count affidavit of providing information to assist criminal defendants.
He was arrested Wednesday.
The charges were filed by the state attorney general's office, whom Smith has accused of conspiring against him.
Smith, who is serving his third term as district attorney, couldn't be reached for comment. However, he previously told The Clarion-Ledger that his office is in a dispute with the attorney general's office.
Smith was arrested Wednesday following a joint investigation by the attorney general’s office and the FBI into allegations that the DA had illegally advised or defended individuals charged with crimes, Attorney General Jim Hood said.
Smith, 45, of Jackson, was arrested at his office by investigators with the attorney general's office and the Hinds County Sheriff’s Department. Smith is charged with six counts of violating Mississippi Code Section 97-11-3, a misdemeanor. That law states the attorney general or district attorney shall not “consult, advise, counsel or defend” a person charged with a crime or misdemeanor.
Hood said the joint investigation between the attorney general's office and FBI revealed Smith violated Mississippi law related to his involvement with two criminal defendants while serving as district attorney.
An affidavit filed Wednesday said Smith unlawfully advised and provided counsel to Christopher Butler, who had been charged with embezzlement, wire fraud and possession of a controlled substance, and Darnell Turner, who had received charges of aggravated assault and domestic violence. Smith represented Turner before he was elected district attorney, court records show.
All but one of the six counts focus on Smith’s actions related to Butler.
According to the affidavit, Smith gave Butler’s attorney, Sanford Knott a letter that outlined ways to attack the state’s case against Butler; met with Butler twice at the Hinds County jail without his attorney present; met with Butler’s family and referred to him as his client; and used the grand jury to pressure a circuit judge to dismiss drug possession charges against Butler.
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