Mississippi Advisory Opinions March 26, 1999: AGO 000013124 (March 26, 1999)

AGO 000013124.

Dear Mr. Carter:

Attorney General Mike Moore has received your letter of request for an official opinion of this office and has assigned them to me for a reply. Your letter states, in pertinent part:

The Secretary of State's office has had several inquiries regarding the applicability of certain sections of House Bill 1609 to candidates running for the office of Justice Court Judge in the regular elections being conducted this year.

Specifically, Sections 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 16 of House Bill 1609 refer either to candidates for judicial office,' judicial candidates,' or to specific offices of Supreme Court Justice, Judge of the Court of Appeals, chancery court judge, circuit court judge, and county court judge.

Miss. Code Ann. Section 23-15-975 (1972), which is a part of the Nonpartisan Judicial Election Act, defines the term judicial office' to include Supreme Court Justice, Judge of the Court of Appeals, chancellor, circuit judge, county court judge, and family court judge. Thus, justice court judge was excluded from this definition.

It was widely perceived that the above named sections of House Bill 1609 were amendments to the Nonpartisan Judicial Election Act, and thus not applicable to justice court judges. However, because justice court judges stand for regular election this year and must begin filing campaign finance reports beginning May 10, we are asking for your opinion as to whether sections 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 16 apply to candidates for justice court judge.

The Sections of House Bill 1609 cited in your letter state the following:

SECTION 1. It shall be unlawful for any individual or political action committee not affiliated with a political party to give, donate, appropriate or furnish directly or indirectly, any money, security, funds or property in excess of Two Thousand Five Hundred Dollars ($2,500.00) for the purpose of aiding any candidate or candidate's political committee for judge of a county, circuit or chancery court or in excess of Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00) for the purpose of aiding any candidate or candidate's political committee for judge of the Court of Appeals or justice of the Supreme Court, or to give, donate, appropriate or furnish directly or indirectly, any money, security, funds or property in excess of Two Thousand Five Hundred Dollars ($2,500.00) to any candidate or the candidate's political committee for the judge of a county, circuit or chancery court or in excess of Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00) for the purpose of aiding any candidate or candidate's political committee for judge of the Court of Appeals or justice of the Supreme Court, as a contribution to the expense of a candidate for judicial office.

SECTION 2. Judicial candidates shall disclose the identity of any individual or entity from which the candidate or the candidate's committee receives a loan or other extension of credit for use in his campaign and any cosigners for a loan or extension of credit. The candidate or the candidate's committee shall disclose how the loan or other extension of credit was used, and how and when the loan or other extension of credit is to be repaid and the method of repayment. The candidate or the candidate's committee shall disclose all loan documents related to such loans or extensions of credit.

SECTION 3. Simultaneously with filing the required documents to seek election for a judicial office, the candidate shall sign the following pledge under oath and under the penalty of perjury:

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SECTION 4. If any material is distributed by a judicial candidate or his campaign committee or any other person or entity, or at the request of the candidate, his campaign committee or any other person or entity distributing the material shall state that it is distributed by the candidate or that it is being distributed with the candidate's approval. All such material shall conspicuously identify who has prepared the material and who is distributing the material. The identifying language shall state whether or not the material has been submitted to and approved by the candidate. If the candidate has not approved the material, the material shall so state. The identity of organizations or committees shall state the names of all officers of the organizations or committees. Any person, who violates the provisions of this section, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction shall be punished by a fine of One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) or by imprisonment for six (6) months or both fine and imprisonment.

SECTION 5. .... A candidate for judicial office shall not use court administrators, deputy court administrators, court reporters, deputy court reporters, judges' secretaries or law clerks as workers in his campaign activities.

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SECTION 16. ... A judicial office is a nonpartisan office and a candidate for election thereto is prohibited from campaigning or qualifying for such an office based on party affiliation. The legislature finds that in order to ensure that campaigns for nonpartisan judicial office remain nonpartisan and without connection to a political party, political parties and any committee or political committee affiliated with a political party shall not engage in fund-raising on behalf of a candidate or officeholder of a nonpartisan judicial office, nor shall a political party or any committee or political committee affiliated with a political party make any contribution to a candidate for nonpartisan judicial office or the political committee of a candidate for nonpartisan judicial office, nor shall a political party or any committee or political committee affiliated with a political party publicly endorse any candidate for nonpartisan judicial office. No candidate or candidate's political committee for nonpartisan judicial office shall accept a contribution from a political party or any committee or political committee affiliated with a political party.

House Bill 1609 was passed during the 1998 Legislative session, and vetoed by the governor at the end of the session. The Legislature overrode the veto at the beginning of the 1999 session. House Bill 1609 was precleared by the Department of Justice on January 15, 1999. Under the Sections of House Bill 1609 cited in your letter of request, there is no mention of justice court judges. Particularly, in Section 1, judges are enumerated regarding the cap of financial contribution they can receive, and justice court judges are not listed. In a previous opinion, this office noted that the office of justice court judge was not included in the definition of "judicial office" as defined in the Nonpartisan Judicial Election Act. MS AG Op., Bush (December 14, 1994), attached. See also Sections 23-15-974 et seq., Miss. Code Ann. (Supp. 1998). Therefore, we are of the opinion that the office of justice court judge is not a judicial office for purposes of House Bill 1609.

If this office can be of any further assistance, please let us know.

Very truly yours,

MIKE MOORE

ATTORNEY GENERAL

By: Sandra Murphy Shelson

Special Assistant Attorney General