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District Court Judge Dan Jordanโ€™s office has confirmed that he will not rule on Mayor Frank Meltonโ€™s ability to stand trial next week until Wednesday morning. According to an order, Jordan will โ€œconduct a confidential telephonic conference with all partiesโ€ at 8:30 a.m. on New Yearโ€™s Eve to get the medical opinion of Dr. J. Murray Estess Jr., appointed by the court to comment on Meltonโ€™s medical condition. He will then issue an order. Read Dr. Estessโ€™ vitae here.

Previous Comments

the court ought to take judicial notice that melton held a press conference at city hall today,and intends to continue working.a trial lasts no more than 8 hours a day, and all the mayor would be doing is listening and conferring with counsel. if he cant handle a trial then he has no business being mayor of a city he claims,today, is failing in protecting its citizens.if he were to step down today arguably we could have a special election, rather than wait until july to change leadership..


Good point, chimney. Today he vowed to work harder than ever to fight crime in the city. If he can do that, why can he not stand trial for the crimes he himself is accused of?


Obviously, Melton is lucky enough to have just the right level of chronic illness. He is ever so slightly too sick to answer for his crimes, but just barely healthy enough to run for re-election.


I saw footage of Melton on WAPT this morning, and to me, he looks and sounds pretty bad. I honestly do not think he should run for re-election if the doctor says he can’t stand trial. Running for office takes even more energy than sitting in a courtroom.


How can a person be so sick that he can’t stand trial but he is at work? How can he deal with running the City of Jackson while prepaing to run for re-election? Melton health issues is directly caused by Melton drinkng smoking and failure to take his medication. Or, is it his game plan to allow his health to be neglected in order to con his way out of a trial? How many time have you heard Melton tell one lie to cover up his lies on other issues. How many of you really think Melton will find anyone to run his campaign? Melton mistreated and lied to everyone in his campaign that were honest and hard working people and keep all the trash and place them on his staff. Melton need to be rolled in a chair into the court room and forced to stand trial. Let’s face the facts Melton major medical problems all can be related to him listening to SATAN.

MFP Solutions Lab logo

The Mississippi Free Press produced this story through the MFP Solutions Lab, supported by the Solutions Journalism Network. This series digs into Mississippiโ€™s systemic issues and sheds light on responses to them in other communities. Beyond just reporting on problems, these stories interrogate their causes and inspect potential solutions.

Founding Editor Donna Ladd is a writer, journalist and editor from Philadelphia, Miss., a graduate of Mississippi State University and later the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism, where she was an alumni award recipient in 2021. She writes about racism/whiteness, poverty, gender, violence, journalism and the criminal justice system. She contributes long-form features and essays to The Guardian when she has time, and was the co-founder and editor-in-chief of the Jackson Free Press. She co-founded the statewide nonprofit Mississippi Free Press with Kimberly Griffin in March 2020, and the Mississippi Business Journal named her one of the state's top CEOs in 2024. Read more at donnaladd.com, follow her on Twitter and Instagram at @donnerkay and email her at donna@mississippifreepress.org.