Judge Dickinson recuses himself from welfare case

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The judge most recently assigned to oversee the fraud and embezzlement case against former welfare agency director John Davis recused himself.

Judge Jess Dickinson, former commissioner of the Mississippi Department of Child Protective Services, took over Davis’ case in Hinds County, Mississippi Today first reported Tuesday, as part of helping the court circuit to reduce the overcrowding of its file exacerbated by the pandemic.

Mississippi Department of Child Protective Services Commissioner Jess Dickinson explains why the agency will seek millions more dollars from the Legislature to enforce a court order to improve Mississippi’s foster care system. state reception, Thursday, March 15, 2018, at their offices in Jackson, Miss. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis) Credit: (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

On Thursday, Dickinson had recused himself, citing the appearance of a conflict of interest due to the interaction between Dickinson’s former agency, which oversees the state’s foster care system, and the Department of Human Services. of Mississippi, which Davis led from 2016 to 2019. Davis is accused of perpetuating a scheme that resulted in $70 million in public assistance being wrongfully diverted from the needy. Criminal charges accuse him of paying his close associate, former WWE wrestler Brett DiBiase, for work he did not do and of conspiring with an agency contractor to send DiBiase to drug treatment at taxpayer expense. Davis maintained his innocence while DiBiase pleaded guilty to his role in the scheme.

“While I had little personal contact with the accused, many of my staff interacted daily with MDHS staff members, who handled much of the MDCPS’ financial transactions, including payment to foster parents and congregate care facilities, as well as payroll to the approximately 1,300 MDCPS employees,” Dickinson wrote.

Davis’ agency also came to the rescue in 2018 when CPS, which was part of MDHS until the legislature made it its own agency in 2016, ran into financial difficulties. The CPS receives funds from the agency’s block grant for needy families, the same fund that Davis is accused of defrauding.

“Furthermore, when I started my term as Commissioner of the MDCPS and discovered the
the agency was on track to experience a shortfall of over $50 million for the current fiscal year, MDHS provided a substantial portion of the funds needed for the MDCPS to meet its financial obligations and enable the agency to complete the year without a deficit,” Dickinson wrote.

“I believe the potential appearance of a conflict of interest in the public mind is too strong for me to preside over this matter,” he added.

Hinds County Circuit Court Judge Adrienne Wooten originally presided over the Davis case. She entered a gag order in the case, which she extended and strengthened in early January, forcing officials to go virtually silent on the case and poor welfare spending. On Tuesday, her administrative assistant declined to provide more information about the reassignment of the case, saying any information would have to come from the lawyers handling the case. They did not return calls or declined to comment, citing the gag order. As of midday Friday, there were no other documents filed in the Davis case suggesting who she might be assigned to next.

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Judge, former CPS commissioner recuses himself from embezzlement case

The judge most recently assigned to oversee the fraud and embezzlement case against former welfare agency director John Davis recused himself.

Judge Jess Dickinson, former commissioner of the Mississippi Department of Child Protective Services, took over Davis’ case in Hinds County, Mississippi Today first reported on Tuesdayas he helped the circuit court ease the clutter of its role exacerbated by the pandemic.

Mississippi Department of Child Protective Services Commissioner Jess Dickinson explains why the agency will seek millions more dollars from the Legislature to enforce a court order to improve Mississippi’s foster care system. state reception, Thursday, March 15, 2018, at their offices in Jackson, Mississippi (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)n>

On Thursday, Dickinson had recused himself, citing the appearance of a conflict of interest due to the interaction between Dickinson’s former agency, which oversees the state’s foster care system, and the Mississippi Department of Human Services, which Davis led from 2016 to 2019. Davis is accused of perpetuating a scheme that resulted in $70 million in public assistance being wrongfully diverted from the needy. Criminal charges accuse him of paying his close associate, former WWE wrestler Brett DiBiase, for work he did not do and of conspiring with an agency contractor to send DiBiase to drug treatment at taxpayer expense. Davis maintained his innocence as DiBiase pleaded guilty for his role in the scheme.

“While I had little personal contact with the accused, many of my staff interacted daily with members of the MDHS staff, which handled much of the MDCPS’ financial transactions, including payment to foster parents and congregate care facilities, as well as payroll for the approximately 1,300 MDCPS employees,” Dickinson wrote.

Davis’ agency also came to the rescue in 2018 when CPS, which was part of MDHS until the legislature made it its own agency in 2016, ran into financial difficulties. The CPS receives funds from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families block grant from the welfare agency, the same fund that Davis is accused of defrauding.

“Furthermore, when I started my term as Commissioner of the MDCPS and discovered the
the agency was on track to experience a shortfall of over $50 million for the current fiscal year, MDHS provided a substantial portion of the funds needed for the MDCPS to meet its financial obligations and enable the agency to complete the year without a deficit,” Dickinson wrote.

“I believe the potential appearance of a conflict of interest in the public mind is too strong for me to preside over this matter,” he added.

Hinds County Circuit Court Judge Adrienne Wooten initially presided over the Davis case. She entered a gag order in the case, which she extended and strengthened in early January, forcing officials to go virtually silent on the case and poor welfare spending. On Tuesday, her administrative assistant declined to provide more information about the reassignment of the case, saying any information would have to come from the lawyers handling the case. They did not return calls or declined to comment, citing the gag order. As of midday Friday, there were no other records in the Davis case suggesting who she might be assigned to next.

This item first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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