CIRCUIT COURT LOGS RECORD NUMBER OF CASES

Defendants indicted in November by a Lauderdale County grand jury
made their initial court appearances, and entered pleas, Friday
morning during "arraignment day" in Lauderdale County Circuit Court.

Judge Robert Bailey presided over the three-hour session. After it
was over, circuit court officials said 2005 had broken the record for
the number of new felony cases logged in Lauderdale County in a
single year - 1,077. The previous record was 932 in 2002.

District Attorney Bilbo Mitchell attributed the increase to unusually
high numbers of indictments for illegal drugs: "I think there were
more drug cases than I've ever seen, especially in the November grand
jury session."

Mitchell said the number of cases this year, 1,077, is actually
deceptively low. A single felony case can include more than one
defendant allegedly acting in concert. Or, Mitchell said, a single
defendant can be indicted for more than one count of an alleged
offense; perhaps the best example of this is a defendant arraigned
Friday for 51 counts of check fraud under five different case numbers.

Here's a look at some of the more notable indictments released into
the public record on Friday. [Name redacted], 21, and [Name
redacted], 18, were indicted for looting after they allegedly broke
into a home compromised by the hurricane and stole a computer hard drive.

Mitchell said Friday he expects to present more Hurricane
Katrina-related cases to grand juries in 2006.

In a separate indictment, the grand jury alleged that [Name redacted]
forged 18 checks in June stolen from another victim.

Eighteen-year-old [Name redacted], also known as Michael, was
indicted in connection with all 14 incidents. [Name redacted], 23,
who also uses the first name Gregory, was indicted in connection with
nine of the cases. A third defendant has been indicted in some of the
incidents but has not been arraigned.

The places burglarized included Ebenezer Baptist Church, where two
Peavey speakers were stolen, and The Montgomery Institute, where the
losses included electronics, computer equipment and a basket of candy.

Two Trials

The jury deliberated for seven hours before declaring itself
deadlocked. Assistant District Attorney Lisa Howell said a new trial
date will be set next week.

The defendant did not dispute that one leg was shorter, but argued
this is not uncommon in hip replacement surgery. The defense attorney
asked for a "directed verdict" in his client's favor; Bailey granted
it and instructed the jury to find in favor of the surgeon.