Warren County Judge Gerald Hosemann walks into the Hinds County Courthouse in Raymond Monday with his mother, Dot Hosemann, left, and his sister, Doris Hosemann Davidson.(The Vicksburg Post/MELANIE DUNCAN)

[03/169/02]RAYMOND Judge Gerald Hosemann read his apology to court and law enforcement officials here Monday, then accepted a 15-minute lecture during which he agreed to remain silent until a grand jury addresses the case against him.

Before the brief hearing ended, Hosemann also won a hearing on a new motion to dismiss the aggravated assault charge he continues to face although the victim in the case says Hosemann is innocent.

“It would be the height of stupidity if the grand jury returned a no bill, but you lost your seat on the bench due to your mouth and your conduct,” Hinds County Judge Bobby DeLaughter, reading from a 12-page script, told Hosemann, county court and youth judge in Warren County since 1986.

Hosemann, 50, was ordered to appear after he made widely reported comments about DeLaughter, Hinds County investigators and the prosecuting attorneys. He was arrested Dec. 28 and charged with beating former court reporter Juanita “Nita” Johnston who was found Dec. 6 on land he owns.

A grand jury has not yet heard the case and if one does, a March 7 letter signed by Johnston and saying Hosemann is not responsible for her injuries will likely be part of the evidence.

When the letter became public and the assault charge was not dropped, Hosemann gave several print and television interviews. In those interviews he said DeLaughter’s Feb. 19 order, reinforced by a Feb. 27 order, that all people involved in the case adhere to court rules limiting comments, did not apply to him.

“You aren’t just anyone,” DeLaughter told Hosemann. “You aren’t just any accused person. You are, for the time being, a sitting judge of this state. And as such, there are additional responsibilities and duties placed upon your conduct.”

If Hosemann disagreed with the order, he should have appealed it, not defied it, DeLaughter said. DeLaughter indicated Hosemann’s comments could sway potential grand jurors. “Someone in the system has got to have the integrity and guts to step forward and bring this to a halt by whatever means is lawfully necessary,” his statement said.

After his comments were reported last week, Hosemann issued a written apology, much of which he read to DeLaughter as Monday’s hearing began. He said he had failed to reflect on the consequences of his actions in advance.

DeLaughter could have fined Hosemann $100 and sentenced him to jail for six months had he been deemed guilty of contempt. DeLaughter also had the option of revoking Hosemann’s $25,000 bond.

Instead, he asked Hosemann to agree publicly that he was bound by the court’s orders and to pledge he would remain silent. Hosemann did so as about two dozen people watched from seats in the courtroom.

Hinds County Sheriff Malcolm McMillin and Investigator Pamela Turner, who signed the sworn statement upon which Hosemann was arrested, sat in the jury box, facing Hosemann and his attorneys. DeLaughter pointed out they had abided by his order.

Johnston, hospitalized more than a month, also spoke with the press starting March 8, and DeLaughter closed by asking both sides if they wanted her admonished. Neither did.

As the hearing ended, Hosemann attorney William Kirksey presented a new motion to dismiss the charge. He asked for an immediate ruling and said prosecutors should have the courage to admit the charge was invalid.

Although Circuit Judge Ann H. Lamar has been appointed by the state Supreme Court to hear an earlier motion to dismiss the charge, DeLaughter agreed to hear the new motion Friday at 10:30 a.m. in the same courtroom. “Even if there was probable cause on Dec. 27, Kirksey said, “there no longer is.”

The next grand jury session in Hinds County starts on April 15. District Attorney Faye Peterson said that when the investigators’ case file is forwarded to her office, it will be presented. Even if the charge is dismissed before then, the case may still be reviewed by grand jurors.

Contacted the day after Johnston, 48, was found outside the mobile home on his Puckett Road ranch property in Hinds County, Hosemann said he had no knowledge of how she got there. He has repeatedly said he did not injure her and called the case a hoax. Kirksey has also said Hosemann passed a polygraph exam.

Johnston, who was in intensive care and not formally interviewed by investigators until Dec. 27, told Hinds authorities she and Hosemann, who were having a sexual affair, went to the mobile home Dec. 4 and argued before he became enraged.

Her March 7 letter says Hosemann’s “name, reputation should be restored immediately” because, she has said, she remembers that he left during the argument. She said she doesn’t remember what happened after but is sure Hosemann did not inflict the injuries that led to abdominal surgery and her continued use of a walker.

Hosemann took a 30-day leave from some of his judicial duties, but has returned to hearing all cases. His current term, to which he was elected without opposition, ends Dec. 31 and he has said he will make a statement about seeking re-election “at the appropriate time.”