The Durant news. (Durant, Miss.) 1882-1985, 1946-10-24
Holmes Editor Charged
With Court Contempt;
Hearing Set Monday
Deputy Sheriff
Harvey Majors
Made Report

Miss Hazel Brannon, Holmes CO.
unity publisher, pied mot guilty" to
a contempt charge at a hearing in
Lexington Wednesday morning.
The formal hearing on the matter
was set for Monday morning, Oct
ober 10th, at nine o'clock at the
Courthouse in Lexington.
She was arrested on a bench
warrant issued by Honorable S. F.
Davis, Holmes County Circuit Court
Judge late Monday afternoon.
Miss Brannon appeared briefly
before Judge Davis and was releas-
ed Immediately on her own recog-
nizance to appear Tuesday morn
ing for a hearing to show
cause why she should not be ad-
judged guilty Of contempt of court.
The editor was not called Tuesday.
The contempt proceedings grew
out OF a report made to Judge Davis
by Harvey Majors, deputy sheriff
and jailer, employed by Sheriff w.
l.. Murtagh of Holmes county, in re-
gard to the questioning of a witness.
The witness in question, Henrietta
McAtee, colored, chief witness for
the state in the w. j. Dodd case, had
already testified in the courtroom
and gone downstairs. She was in the
hallway of the Holmes county Court
house when questioned by Miss
Brannon in regard to the testimony
she had just given in the courtroom.
Miss Brannon stated she was check
ing the witness for accuracy in reg
ard to a part of her testimony.
The charge against Miss Brannon
is that she questioned a witness
under order of the court, that is,
after the court had instructed the
witness not to talk to anyone.
Miss Brannon stated she did not
know the witness was not supposed
to talk to anyone after she had test
flied and left the courtroom; that
she in fact did not know and had
never heard of any rule of the court
that would prevent a reporter from
interviewing a witness after testi-
mony had been given.
The formal charge against the ed
ltor as contained in the information
OF contempt paper served on Miss
Brannon personally by Sheriff Muir
laugh Monday night charges
THAT during the progress of the
trial, one Henrietta McAtee, chief
prosecuting witness for the state,
after having been summoned from
the States witness room and after
having testified in said case and be-
fore the state had rested its case and
while still under the direction Of
the Court and while still under on
troll of said Deputy Sheriff, said
Deputy Sheriff being an officer Of
the Court, the said witness was then
and there being returned to the
States witness room, at which time
n Hazel Brannon approached said
witness and began to interrogate her
about her testimony in said case, at
which time said Deputy Sheriff ad-
vised said Miss Brannon that the
Court had instructed him to allow
one to talk with the witnesses
other than the attorneys and had so
instructed the witnesses, and that
the said Deputy Sheriff stated to
the witness, go on in the ROOM
whereupon Miss Brannon stated
you do not have her under arrest
and she is a free woman and you
and the sheriff and nobody else can
keep me from talking to her. and
that the said Deputy Sheriff then
to the said witness again go
on in the ROOM w%hereupon the said
Miss Brannon stated I am going
to talk to her. and did in fact con-
tinue to talk to her about her testi-
mony in said case, and that then
said Deputy Sheriff made an imm-
ediate report to the Court"
Miss Brannon flatly denied the
charges made by Deputy Majors.