At the February 2000 pretrial conference, Mr. Minor once again  blamed the delays in my case on my second judge, Jerry O. Terry, who Minor claimed had been “bribed twice” to send my case to Mississippi Supreme Court.  At no time did Minor tell me that he was giving large sums of money as “gifts” to Judge Whitfield.

A few days later, Paul Minor failed to show up at the docket call for my case. Judge Whitfield waited almost six hours, until the courtroom had cleared, then called my husband and me up to the bench.   I knew he was lying when Judge Whitfield told us our trial would take place the following week.  I had already discovered that no witnesses had been called and no trial preparations had been made.

I told Judge Whitfield that Mr. Minor was continuing to refuse us an financial accounting. Judge Whitfield lowered his voice and said something that would haunt us, a warning,  “Let me share this with you.  There’s nothing you can do.  If they want to do this to you. If they want to do this to you - there’s nothing you can do individually . . . I want you to understand you can’t deal with them in your life - It’s going to take other people raising the issue, in other to deal with them, in other parts of the country.”

On the eve of my trial date in February 2000, Judge Whitfield met in secret with Paul Minor and allowed him to withdraw from our case.  Judge Whitfield signed the court order he knew to be false and which did not provide substitute counsel as required by Mississippi ethical standards.  Judge Whitfield then released Minor from all responsibility to provide us with vital case documents and the accounting for over $200,000 in missing funds.   

I was devastated.  Paul Minor had betrayed my trust in the legal system, then Judge John Whitfield had betrayed my trust in the court system.   Minor had  habitually lied to me and to others involved in my case, to the Mississippi Bar and to the court.  Aside from the cryptic warning, John Whitfield had also lied, signed court records he knew to be false and slanderous, then lied to the Mississippi Commission on Judicial Performance.  Both Minor and Whitfield then  concealed their crimes and unethical actions in my case with theft of my court documents, sealing court records, threats, lies, and other vengeful acts.

Your Honor, this court has heard evidence that by 2000, Paul Minor had given large sums of money to Judge John Whitfield.  By summer of 2000, both men knew I had turned documents over to the FBI regarding their misconduct in my case.   Shortly after I filed another judicial complaint, Judge Whitfield announced his resignation from the bench. 

On his last day on the bench in November 2000, refused to let me testify at the hearing, then dismissed my personal injury case because I did not have an attorney to represent me.  He then signed the court dismissal order which he knew contained false statements.  The court order exonerated and glorified Paul Minor, claiming his legal and ethical abilities were “preeminent,” and used words to discredit me would make a hardened criminal blush. 

In an attempt to insure my silence, Judge Whitfield also included a threat -if I continued to make complaints about him (the court) and Paul Minor I would be fined, jailed, or both.  The threat was written to be effective even when John Whitfield left the bench and could not be reheard.  Those documents remain sealed and in effect, despite the findings of this court, convictions of both men, sentencing, and the affirmation of the appeals court. 

The evidence given this court during trial, to the jury, and to your Honor was not criminals acts by lawyer Paul Minor to influence a single case in the courts of former Circuit Court Judge John Whitfield, or former Chancery Court Judge Wes Teel    The evidence given in my testimony exemplifies character traits inherent in both in Paul Minor and John Whitfield, to conspire to violate law and ethics, to lie and conceal their crimes, and to denigrate and threaten those who would speak out,  or did speak out against them.  Because of these character traits and Paul Minor's continued influence over John Whitfield and Wes Teel, even while in prison, these men will continue to be a threat to the residents of Mississippi, the government, the courts, and the legal system of the United States.  However . . .

(To be continued.  Part 3 may surprise you.)