Nine months ago, a former Mississippi judge is alleged to have smacked a mentally disabled man before yelling, "Run, N--ger, run," and recently "a grand jury served an indictment for simple assault on a vulnerable adult," the Jackson Clarion-Ledger reports.
There was no word on why the process to indict former Madison County Justice Court Judge Bill Weisenberger took so long, but Weisenberger's attorney told the newspaper in an emailed statement that the judge has been cooperative since the alleged May 8 incident.
On Thursday, Weisenberger turned himself in to the Madison County sheriff and was released on $10,000 bond.
"From the beginning of this matter, Judge Weisenberger has cooperated with each law-enforcement and investigatory agency that wanted to know what actually occurred at the Canton Flea Market last spring," Weisenberger's lawyer, Bill Kirksey, wrote in an emailed statement viewed by the Clarion-Ledger. "Judge Weisenberger has denied and continues to deny any wrongdoing or the commission of any crime against any person."
Kirksey also noted that he has no idea why this case has not been resolved faster as some four grand juries have come and gone without ever having this case presented to them. He added that the attorney general's office controls which cases the grand jury hears.
The Clarion-Ledger reports that during the nine months that this case has been active but not resolved, Weisenberger has received his annual salary of $45,700 "though he voluntarily stepped down from the bench."
The newspaper also added that in the past year more cases against the judge have surfaced as "he is accused of imposing an illegal DUI sentence against an African American in his courtroom" and he allegedly arrested and jailed an African-American woman on a made-up charge of "roaming livestock."
The Clarion-Ledger notes that a trial date has been set for June 8 in the flea market case, and if convicted, the judge could face up to five years' imprisonment, a $1,000 fine or both.
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