Mississippi Advisory Opinions March 17, 1981: AGO 000002727 (March 17, 1981)

AGO 000002727.

Dear Mr. Littlejohn:

Attorney General Bill Allain has received your letter of March 12, 1981, and has assigned it to me for reply. In your letter you state:

"This office has been requested as the attorney for the Town of Blue Springs, Mississippi to advise the mayor of said mu- nicipality as to whether or not a member of its Board of Al- dermen is allowed to continue to serve as such after he has entered a Nolo Contendere plea to the charge of false pre- tense (a felony) in Union County Circuit Court.

"As you know, the municipal elections are rapidly approach- ing and the qualifying deadline is not far away and, there- fore, time is of the essence in determining an answer to this question. My research does not reveal a clear-cut response as to the same and the legal affect of a Nolo Contendere plea under these circumstances. I am well aware of the provisions of Section 241 of the Constitution of Mississippi but I would respectfully request from your office an opinion as to whether or not an alderman can continue to serve after he has entered such a Nolo Contendere plea or if he can run again for the same office.

"For your information I enclose herewith a photocopy of the plea as entered by the party involved in the Union County Circuit Court on September 4, 1980."

Section 241- of the Mississippi Constitution of 1890 establishes the factors necessary to be a qualified elector. That section ends with the caveat "who has never been convicted" of certain crimes. Section 25-5-1 of the Mississippi Code, Annotated, 19- 72, as amended, is concerned with the removal from office of public officials who have been "convicted" or "found guilty of" certain felonies.

Based on the information provided in your letter the individual in question has an unappealed judgment of conviction for a felo- ny duly filed in the records of the Circuit Court of Union Coun- ty. We do not examine the process that led to the entry of this judgment. A conviction of a felony operates to bring into play Section 25-5-1 of the Mississippi Code, Annotated, 1972, and the individual should have been removed from office under the provi- sions of that section. In addition, one of the crimes listed in Section 241 is "obtaining money or goods under false pretense"; and as such this individual no longer meets the requirements of Section 241 to be a qualified elector.

Trusting that the above will prove of value to you, I am

Very truly yours,

BILL ALLAIN, ATTORNEY GENERAL

BY:

Larry J. Stroud Special Assistant Attorney General

LJS:cm