Ellington

When Mayor Frank Melton held the post as head of the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics, he leaked a memo containing accusations against MBN employees that were later disproved by the state auditor's office. Melton faxed the memo to Clarion-Ledger reporter Ana Radelat the day it was handed to him, kicking off a lawsuit against him and the Gannett Corp., the newspaper's corporate owner, for defamation.

Before he took office, Melton denied under oath that he had leaked the document. But after a Lauderdale County judge ruled last month that Radalet could not keep her source confidential, Melton changed his story, admitting—again under oath—that he had faxed Radelat a copy of the memo.

Months into litigation, attorneys for the plaintiff are now filing a motion to strike Melton's answer and have default judgment entered against the new mayor.

"We're moving to have default judgment entered against him for filing false answers under oath," said attorney Mike Farrell, who is representing retired airplane pilot Col. Robert Earl Pierce, who was later cleared of wrongdoing alleged in the newspaper article.

Farrell admitted that the motion was an unusual one.

"This doesn't happen that often," Farrell said. "In most cases you have different versions of the same story, and the jury will decide who they believe. In this case, though, there are no disputed issues. Melton says 'I told story A initially, and now I'm telling you story B.' It's unusual that somebody admits that their testimony was not accurate."

It is also unusual for a court to grant a motion to strike somebody's answer, although it has happened in the past, according to Jackson attorney Imhotep Aljebu-lan. Aljebu-lan says the success of any motion to strike answers by plaintiffs was not a sure success.

"It depends on the people sitting over the case and the facts and what's alleged," said Aljebu-lan. "They're all very case specific. It could go either way."

Attorneys will present Judge Robert Bailey of Lauderdale County Circuit Court the motion on Aug. 22. If the motion is granted, Melton will lose the case by default, and the court will then move to assess the amount of damages rendered upon Pierce—who Farrell said did not name a specific amount.

Melton's attorney, former Jackson Mayor Dale Danks, was not available for comment. Secretaries for Danks said he was in court Monday and Tuesday concerning the annexation case between the city of Jackson and the Byram area along its southern border. Danks is representing Byram.

Melton refused comment to the Jackson Free Press at the Jackson City Council's Monday work session.

Previous Comments

ID

64703

Comment

What exactly does all this mean for Jacksonians? Do you think the shake-up at the C-L had anything to do with the fact that Gannett is about to lose a whole bunch of money from the looks of it?

Author

pikersam

Date

2005-08-18T14:10:55-06:00

ID

64704

Comment

Noticed in the print version a couple of tidbit quotes from Melton. Will they make the website?

Author

tortoise

Date

2005-08-18T14:13:10-06:00

ID

64705

Comment

Where's WLBT, WAPT and WJTV when real news hits the fan? This should be headline and front page news? Is Melton getting a "free pass" by the media?

Author

Joerob

Date

2005-08-18T18:38:23-06:00

ID

64706

Comment

It is remarkable how there seems to be a conspiracy of media silence on what is a very important, and real, story. It's unexplainable really, and cements the beliefs that we have the worst lamestream in the country here. They just ignore a story that the mayor, and the daily newspaper, prefer not to be told. I don't get itóit defies every journalistic principle out there. If you didn't see it, read Adam's original story about this, which links to many of the legal documents. Tortoise, you must mean the Word quotes by Mr. Melton and sister-in-law/PR woman Carolyn Redd. I'll try to get them from the Indesign file and post them here. We should also post the Media column.

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2005-08-19T10:37:18-06:00

ID

64707

Comment

It's like they are scared to report the truth about anything dealing with Melton. I repeat - SCARED! I hope all the media outlets read this! SCARED to be real journalists and report stories that are as important as this. "SCARED," ol' pike says!. Do they think the people of Jackson have no right to know of the problems surrounding our mayor? I mean come on get a grip lamestream! Bert, WAPT, WJTV crew, C-L staff/editors, WJNT radio hosts, and the Advocate are all SCARED, SCARED, SCARED to try and report a damaging story about Melton because it flies in the face of how they portrayed him during the election. Why, why are y'all SCARED? Hypocrites!

Author

pikersam

Date

2005-08-19T11:05:37-06:00

ID

64708

Comment

Well it is good to see WAPT step up to the plate and do a story about this. Your off the scared list as is many others across the state. What is there to hide here locally? I thought good reporters wanted stories like this! All the players are still around and a new "good old boy" is in charge. Since when did the media not drool to have a chance at stories like this? I mean ain't nothing going to happen to this man except he is going to lose all his money, and the C-L's too! This isn't bad enough to unseat him is it?

Author

pikersam

Date

2005-08-23T22:04:16-06:00