Convicted by a judge. Acquitted by a jury.
Jimmy Giles previously ran for Governor of Mississippi as an independent. After speaking at a public gathering in Richland, he attempted to leave and became involved in a confrontation captured on video.
A municipal judge convicted Jimmy of simple assault and disturbing the peace and sentenced him to 90 days in jail. Jimmy appealed, represented himself before a Rankin County jury, and was acquitted of both charges.
The experience is one reason Jimmy believes the Mississippi Constitution's promise that the right of trial by jury shall remain inviolate must be honored in practice—not merely repeated in words.