Mississippi Lawyer Jailed -- For Not Reciting Pledge of Allegiance

Man, have things changed in Mississippi. Mississippi used to be a hotbed for rebellion against the Union, and now it’s putting lawyers in jail for refusing to pledge allegiance to the flag. That’s progress, baby! (Sorry, I just wanted to see what it would look like to write a paragraph portraying Mississippi as progressive about anything.)

Mississippi lawyer Danny Lampley was found in contempt of court and jailed for refusing to recite the pledge of allegiance in open court. According to multiple reports, Lampley stood for the pledge and was “respectful,” but did not recite the words. Chancellor Talmadge Littlejohn (what a name!) then specifically asked Lampley to recite the pledge, and when he refused, he was held in contempt.

An Oxford, Mississippi lawyer who once hired Lampley covered the story on his blog…

On his blog NMissCommentor, lawyer Tom Freeland has the order from Chancellor Littlejohn:

BE IT REMEMBERED, this date, the Court having ordered all present in the courtroom to stand and recite the Pledge of Allegience, and having found that Danny Lampley, Attorney at Law, failed and refused to do so, finds said Danny Lampley to be in criminal contempt of court.

IT IS FURTHER ORDERED, ADJUDGED, AND DECREED, that Danny Lampley shall purge himself of said criminal contempt by complying with the order of this Court by standing and reciting the Pledge of Allegiance in open court.

Lampley, who was released after about five hours in jail, apparently isn’t angry at Littlejohn. The ABA Journal reports:

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Lampley said in the WTVA interview that he doesn’t hold a grudge. “Judge Littlejohn is very sincere. We have different world views, different viewpoints,” Lampley said. “What I am afraid is, … is he is resolved as I am resolved. I’d rather talk to him privately because I like him.”

Lampley’s worldview includes being reasonable. Maybe we can disagree without being disagreeable?

Of course, it’ll be a lot easier to do that if we stop throwing people we disagree with in jail.

Lawyer Jailed by Chancellor for Failing to Recite Pledge of Allegiance [NMissCommentor]
Miss. Judge Sends Lawyer to Jail for Refusing to Recite the Pledge [ABA Journal]

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