FRANK MELTON SHOULD LEARN AND OBEY THE LAW

Frank Melton, the controversial selection to head Mississippi's Bureau of
Narcotics, is having a hard time following the law.

A few weeks ago, the former television executive caused a stir by
personally participating in roadblocks near the state Capitol, which he's
not supposed to do since he's not a certified law enforcement officer. When
confronted about the violation, Melton said he was receiving training from
the Jackson Police Department, a claim that the Jackson police chief later
said was untrue.

In the latest violation, Melton's agency had listed as his deputy director
an individual who, according to state Personnel Board records, was not even
a state employee. After the news broke in the Jackson Clarion-Ledger, the
Bureau of Narcotics began scrambling to get former FBI agent Joe J. Jackson
Jr. officially on the state payroll.

Melton, if he really wants to be successful, should spend less time playing
cop and more time doing the unglamorous thing of learning what the law says
he can and can't do.

After all, those who enforce the law also should be expected to obey it.