Mississippi Advisory Opinions September 04, 1979: 19790904 (September 04, 1979)

Advisory Opinion Text

Mrs. Ollye B. Shirley

Chairperson

Hinds County Democratic Executive Committee

114 California Place

Jackson, Mississippi 39213

Dear Mrs. Shirley:

Attorney General A. F. Summer has received your letter of request and has assigned it to this writer for research and reply.

In your letter of August 27, 1979, (copy attached) you set forth eleven questions which have arisen before the Hinds County Democratic Executive Committee relative to the first primary election for the office of Supervisor, District 5, Hinds County, Mississippi. In your capacity as Chairperson of the Hinds County Democratic Executive Committee, you have requested that the Attorney General render an opinion on each of these questions.

The third paragraph of your letter states as follows:

‘On August 22, 1979, Berryhill filed with the Hinds County Democratic Executive Committee the enclosed Notice of Protest. This Notice of Protest was filed pursuant to Section 23–3–45 of the Mississippi Code of 1972 .’

Section 7–5–25, Mississippi Code of 1972, states in part as follows:

‘When any officer, board, commission, department or person authorized by this section to require such written opinion of the attorney general shall have done so and shall have stated all the facts to govern such opinion, and the attorney general has prepared and delivered a legal opinion with reference thereto, there shall be no liability, civil or criminal, accruing to or against any such officer, board, commission, department or person who, in good faith, follows the direction of such opinion and acts in accordance therewith unless a court of competent jurisdiction, after a full hearing, shall judicially declare that such opinion is manifestly wrong and without any substantial support. No opinion shall be given or considered if said opinion is given after suit is filed of prosecution begun .’ (Emphasis Added)

According to the facts set forth in your letter, a candidate in the first primary for the office of Supervisor, District 5, Hinds County, has now filed a contest of said election before the Democratic Executive Committee. Therefore, the Attorney General, pursuant to Section 7–5–25, Mississippi Code of 1972, is prohibited from issuing an opinion in this matter.

With personal regards, I am

Very truly yours,

A. F. Summer, Attorney General.

Donald Clark, Jr., Special Assistant Attorney General