Hosemann ordered off the bench

Published 12:00 am Thursday, April 25, 2002

[04/25/02]Judge Gerald Hosemann won’t be deciding anymore cases until a criminal case against him, already looming for four months, is resolved.

Wednesday, six members of the state Supreme Court ordered the suspension of Hosemann, 50. He will continue to be paid $94,000 per year, however, and the court said it may modify its order once briefs are filed.

Earlier on Wednesday, Gov. Ronnie Musgrove indicated he thought the 16-year-judge should be relieved of duty, despite statements by Hosemann and his alleged victim that he is not responsible for the injuries with which she was found on Dec. 6.

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“Given the situation and the indictment, I think it would be in the best interest of the administration of justice for Judge Hosemann to step down,” Musgrove said when asked about it in a teleconference with reporters.

The suspension order for the Warren County Court judge came the day after the state’s Commission on Judicial Performance recommended it and over the objection of three justices who wanted first to see briefs from Hosemann’s attorney and the commission.

Hosemann was informed Monday of the Hinds County grand jury indictment that formally accuses him of beating his former court reporter, Juanita “Nita” Johnston, 48, who said in March she is in love with him and has been for a long time. When Johnston was found on Hosemann’s ranch property near Utica, she had been missing since Dec. 4.

A Hinds Sheriff’s Department affidavit says she was interviewed in a hospital and identified Hosemann as the person who assaulted her and, she believed, left her to die. Her March interviews and letters to officials say the couple went to a mobile home on the property and that she doesn’t remember what happened after they argued and he left.

Hosemann was arrested Dec. 28, charged with felony aggravated assault and released on bond the next day.

The Supreme Court will appoint someone to take Hosemann’s role in administering youth court and misdemeanor criminal and some civil cases. That person could serve until January, when a person chosen by voters starts a new term, or until Hosemann is cleared of the charge.

If convicted of a felony, he cannot return to the bench or seek re-election for the job he’s had since 1986. Hosemann was out of town today, reportedly at a judicial conference with other state judges.

In January, the Commission on Judicial Performance filed a formal complaint against Hosemann at the request of state Attorney General Mike Moore’s office.

“Having a judge charged with a crime like this certainly erodes the trust that the public has in the court system,” Moore said then.

On Feb. 12, the commission declined to recommend that Hosemann be suspended since he had not been indicted.

The commission’s complaint accuses Hosemann of “judicial misconduct,” saying he violated two Canons of the Code of Judicial Conduct of Mississippi Judges.

“We’re glad the Supreme Court followed up on the complaint that we filed,” Moore said Wednesday.

Hosemann’s attorney, William Kirksey of Jackson, could not be reached. He had responded to the indictment by saying he hopes a trial date is set quickly.