DA Joe Beck, Grant Parish (Colfax), Louisiana

The Louisiana National Guard expressed its appreciation to Joseph P. “Joe” Beck II, DA of Grant Parish (Colfax), Louisiana, in a special way for his long-time close relationship and cooperation with the guard. Topping a two-day program honoring him, Beck, an instrument-rated pilot and owner of several small planes, was taken to the National Air Guard base at Belle Chasse for a familiarization flight in an F-15B Air Guard jet fighter. Beck reports: “The pilot did a high-performance take-off—that is, straight up. I could see the Mississippi River and the Superdome (in New Orleans) growing smaller and smaller and revolving, very fast. It’s an experience I won’t forget.”

Baltimore City State’s Attorney Patricia C. Jessamy, an NDAA board member, won a new term the hard way, defeating two opponents in a Democratic primary that was tantamount to election since there were no Republican candidates. It was the first contest for the post in 20 years. The Baltimore Sun described the fiery campaign as “punctuated with combative debates, scrappy radio confrontations and hostile accusations.” The Sun also pointed out that because of unusually persistent political scrutiny (including that of the mayor), the state’s attorney’s office in Baltimore is “arguably difficult to run. But Jessamy has stood by her performance and she has accomplished much in spite of the obstacles.”

U.S. District Judge Julia Gibbons, the wife of Bill Gibbons, district attorney general of Memphis, Tennessee, has been confirmed by a 95-0 vote in the U.S. Senate to a seat on the Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati, Ohio. The Sixth Court hears appeals from Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio and Michigan. A court source said that Judge Gibbons will not have to move to Cincinnati.

Kelly Siegler, assistant DA in Harris County (Houston), Texas, has been named by The National Law Journal “one of the most successful young (under 40) litigators in America.” The publication said that Siegler, 38, “is known as a giant-killer in Texas, having won high-profile prosecutions against some of the state’s best known and most highly regarded defense attorneys.” Her felony conviction rate is 95 percent and she has won death penalty verdicts in 12 of the 13 capital murder cases that she has prosecuted.

Bob McCulloch, had barely returned to his office (he’s prosecuting attorney of St. Louis County, Missouri) after being elected president-elect of NDAA at the summer conference in Bismarck, ND, when he had to face the kind of case every prosecutor dreads: the kidnapping and murder of a child. The victim was six-year-old Cassandra “Casey” Williamson, whose body was found, several hours after she disappeared, in an abandoned glass factory not far from her home. A suspect was in custody and being questioned at the time her body was discovered. Police said he was a drifter staying with the family. He has a criminal record and history of drug abuse and mental problems. He has admitted the crime.

Now that J. Tom Morgan, DA of DeKalb County (Decatur), Georgia, and NDAA vice president, has won his biggest case—the conviction of former sheriff Sidney Dorsey for the murder of his successor—the Georgia prison system has a problem. Where should they put Dorsey (an ex-Atlanta police officer as well as an ex-sheriff) who has sent scores of men to prison and still has considerable influence? State prisons inmate administrator Calvin Brown said, “We definitely have to come up with special arrangements.” According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution newspaper, Dorsey became the 92nd former law enforcement officer in the Georgia prison system.

Deaths:

As a tribute to Patricia Napp Holsten, the first woman DA of Delaware County, Pennsylvania, who died during the summer of complications following cancer treatment, her office has established a memorial fund to benefit a second-year law student at Holsten’s alma mater (Widener University School of Law) who interns at the Delaware DA’s office. Assistant DA Emily Ryan said, “It will help keep the memory of Pat here.” Various fund-raising events will support the fund.

Bill M. White, a former Bexar County (San Antonio) criminal district attorney, former judge on the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, and a former NDAA vice president, died in San Antonio. He was 70. A popular figure among his fellow judges and lawyers, Judge White served as DA from 1977 to 1982. In 1985 he was elected to the State Court of Criminal Appeals, where he served until 1996. At the time of his death he was serving as a visiting judge in San Antonio.