Mississippi Advisory Opinions August 07, 1991: 19910807 (August 07, 1991)

Advisory Opinion Text

Honorable Jerry Baldwin

Smith County Justice Court

P.O. Box 171

Raleigh, Miss. 39153

Dear Judge Baldwin:

Attorney General Mike Moore has received your request for an opinion and has assigned it to me for research and reply. Your letter states, “I request an Attorney General's opinion on whether I am legally obligated to resign the office of Justice Court Judge in order to run for the office of County Supervisor.”

As you point out in your letter, the 1914 case of Haley v. State, 67 So. 498 (Miss.1914), in accord with the Mississippi Constitution, 1890, (Art. 6, § 176) classifies the office of county supervisor within the judicial branch of government. Although he is labeled a judicial officer in the Constitution, a supervisor nevertheless exercises on a regular basis legislative, executive and administrative functions, see Dye v. State Ex Rel. Hale, 507 So.2d 332, 346 (Miss.1987) .

Although we know of no state statute or case law which would require a justice court judge to resign in order to run for county supervisor, we defer regulation of judicial conduct to the commission on judicial performance and ultimately the Mississippi Supreme Court, see Miss.Code Ann. § 9-19-1 et seq.

Please contact us if you have further questions regarding this matter.

Very truly yours,

Mike Moore, Attorney General

Mike Lanford, Special Assistant Attorney General

ATTACHMENT

July 3, 1991

Honorable Sam Keyes

Assistant Attorney General

Post Office Box 220

Jackson, Mississippi 39205

Dear Mr. Keyes:

I am presently serving as Justice Court Judge in Smith County, and I am a candidate for the County Board of Supervisors. Recently, I received a letter from the Judicial Performance Commission, indicating that any sitting judges who are running for other offices should resign their judgeships right away.

It has been suggested to me that the basis for the Judicial Performance Commission's request is probably Canon 7(A)(3) of the Code of Judicial Conduct, which states that “a judge should resign his office when he becomes a candidate either in a party primary or in a general election for a non-judicial office ...”

It as been pointed out to me that County Boards of Supervisors are a part of the Judicial Department of the state, according to Haley v. State, 67 So. 498 (Miss 1914) . Therefore, it appears to me that I am not violating the Code of Judicial Conduct by running for Supervisor, and as far as I know I am not violating any law either.

By means of this letter, I request an Attorney General's opinion on whether I am legally obligated to resign the office of Justice Court Judge in order to run for the office of County Supervisor. Please respond as soon as possible, because of the time pressure from the Judicial Performance Commission and the upcoming elections.

Thank you.

Sincerely, Jerry Baldwin