Wilcher v. State (Miss. 2017)
Mar 23, 2017OUTCOME: State wins. The individual barely lost, but not without raising eyebrows.
Attorneys Jerry Bustin and Richard Noel represented Janice Wilcher in a jury trial on an indictment against her for "retaliation against a public servant;" a felony. The accused faced this charge becau ... se she reported that an officer who arrested her many times for, what was essentially petty drug charges, had groped or raped her. Because the statute is relatively new, and poses constitutional issues, Wilcher appealed the State's verdict. The Mississippi Supreme Court ruled 5 to 4 in favor of the State, which goes to show that the Court was obviously divided. Hopefully the legislature will correct this statute that can be so arbitrarily and unjustly enforced.
