JUDGES OFFER ADVICE ON AVOIDING TROUBLE

Three veterans of Mississippi's legal system shared their experiences and
what they learned from them with American Legion Boys State Thursday.

Mississippi Supreme Court Justices James Graves and George Carlson shared
the stage with Mississippi Court of Appeals Judge Leslie Southwick.

Graves and Carlson both said that during their previous experience as
circuit court judges, the one thing most criminals had in common was that
they dropped out of school.

"As a circuit court judge there were days when I would send 20-30 people to
prison by noon," said Graves. "If you drop out of school, you might as well
just call the prison and ask them to reserve you a space."

Graves said that other than staying in school, obeying the rules and
avoiding the wrong crowd are essential to staying out of trouble.

"People, who get in the habit of not obeying rules at a young age, grow up
to break laws," said Graves. "Anybody who claims to be your friend and
encourages you to smoke a joint, which is illegal, is not your friend."

Carlson said that the best advice he received when he joined the
Mississippi Supreme Court can be applied to all aspects of life. He said
that his peers told him to vote with his conscience when deciding tough cases.

"You have to apply the facts of the case to the law, but in the end you
have to do what you think is right," said Carlson.

Southwick encouraged the young men to have a vision and not let their fears
prevent them from achieving their goals.

"Things usually are not as hard as you think," said Southwick. "Be
demanding and don't let the task requirements overwhelm you."

The three also discussed their views on zero tolerance policies with the
Boys State delegates. One member of the audience said that zero tolerance
policies in high schools worried him because sometimes people who are doing
nothing wrong get in trouble.

"I can tell you as a judge that my inclination is always in a situation to
exercise discretion," said Graves. "A guy in possession of three joints may
need to go to jail for a year, but another guy may only need one night in
jail to keep him from ever possessing marijuana again."

Carlson and Southwick agreed that every case is different.

"I've always been in favor of individual treatment," said Carlson.

"One of the most fundamental questions involving the courts is can you
trust them to make a decision or do you need an exact set of rules, so I
agree with both of them," said Southwick.