County Attorneys

Miss. Code Ann. tit. 19, ch. 23
in effect

Miss. Code Ann. § 19-23-1 County prosecuting attorney.

There shall be, in the counties where such an office now exists, a county prosecuting attorney, elected in the county at each general election for state and county officers. The several counties in the state shall have the right to come from under and within the provisions of this chapter in the manner hereinafter provided.

Miss. Code Ann. § 19-23-3 Election to establish or abolish office of county prosecuting attorney.

The board of supervisors of any county, when requested thereto by a petition signed by twenty percent (20%) of the qualified electors of that county asking for an election to determine whether or not the office of county prosecuting attorney shall be established or abolished, shall order an election to be held not less than sixty days from the first meeting of the board after the petition is filed, at which election the qualified electors of the county shall vote for or against the office of county prosecuting attorney. The expense of said election shall be paid out of the county treasury. It shall be the duty of the election commissioners to furnish to the managers of the election, ballots upon which shall be written the following: “For County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office,” “Against County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office,” and all laws now in force governing general elections shall apply to the special elections herein provided for. If it shall appear that a majority of the qualified electors voting on this question shall vote against the county prosecuting attorney’s office, the office shall be abolished or not established, as the case may be. No election concerning the establishing or abolishing of the county prosecuting attorney’s office shall be held less than two years from the date on which the office was established or abolished, as provided for in this section, and less than two years after a county attorney shall have been elected to fill the said office.

Miss. Code Ann. § 19-23-5 Supervisors may reestablish office.

The board of supervisors of any county where the county prosecuting attorney’s office has been abolished may by its own motion entered upon the minutes, make an order to reestablish the said office of county prosecuting attorney in said county. Said order shall be published in a newspaper published in said county and having a general circulation therein, and if there is no such newspaper in said county, the said order shall be posted in three public places of said county, and one of the said places shall be the courthouse, for three consecutive weeks next preceding, and if within that time twenty percent (20%)of the qualified electors of the county shall petition against re-creation of said office, then the said office shall not be re-created, unless an election shall have been ordered in the manner provided for in Section 19-23-3, and a majority of the qualified voters in said election vote to re-create said office. The said board shall not re-create said office unless two years after the same has been abolished shall have passed. Should there be no petition against the re-creation of said office, the board of supervisors shall re-create said office of county prosecuting attorney.

Miss. Code Ann. § 19-23-7 Governor to make appointment to reestablished office.

Should the county prosecuting attorney’s office be re-created under Section 19-23-5, then the Governor shall appoint an attorney, whose term of office shall be until the next general election, whether the same be held for the election of congressmen, judges or other officers, when said county attorney’s office shall be filled by election and whose term of office shall be until the next general election for state and county officers, or until the office is abolished as provided for in Section 19-23-3.

Miss. Code Ann. § 19-23-9 Qualifications.

The county prosecuting attorney shall possess all the qualifications of other county officers, and in addition thereto shall be a regular licensed and practicing lawyer.

Miss. Code Ann. § 19-23-11 Duties.

The county prosecuting attorney shall appear and represent the state in all investigations for felony before the various justice court judges in his county. He shall also appear before justice court judges and prosecute all cases against persons charged with offenses therein. The county prosecuting attorney shall be the prosecuting attorney for the county court and shall prosecute all state criminal cases therein, and he shall represent the state in criminal cases appealed from the county court to the circuit court. The county prosecuting attorney may assist the district attorney in all criminal cases and in all civil cases where the services of the district attorney are required in which the state, his county or any municipality of his county is interested. The county prosecuting attorney may present any matter to the grand jury of his county. The county prosecuting attorney shall have full responsibility for all misdemeanors, youth court proceedings, and all other cases not specifically granted to the district attorney. Provided, however, that in any municipality having a municipal youth court, the municipal prosecutor shall have responsibility for youth court matters in that court. Where any statute of this state confers a jurisdiction, responsibility, duty, privilege or power upon a county attorney or county prosecuting attorney, either solely, jointly or alternatively with a district attorney, such county prosecuting attorney shall be responsible for the prosecution, handling, appearance, disposition or other duty conferred by such statute. Any such provision shall not be construed to bestow such responsibility, jurisdiction or power upon the district attorney where there is no elected county prosecuting attorney, and any such matter shall be handled pursuant to subsection (8) of this section. In any case handled by the county prosecuting attorney pursuant to this section which subsequently results in charges being modified in such a manner that the case would be within the jurisdiction of the district attorney pursuant to Section 25-31-11, the responsibility for prosecution shall be transferred to the district attorney. The county prosecuting attorney shall report to the district attorney the disposition of all affidavits, crimes, occurrences or arrests handled by him wherein any person is charged with a crime for which a conviction may result in imprisonment in the State Penitentiary. The validity of any judgment or sentence shall not be affected by the division of jurisdiction under this section, and no judgment or sentence may be reversed or modified upon the basis that the case was not processed according to subsection (5) of this section. A county prosecuting attorney may be designated by the district attorney to appear on behalf of the district attorney pursuant to an agreement relating to appearances in certain courts or proceedings in the county of the county prosecuting attorney. Such agreement shall be filed with the circuit court clerk of any county where such agreement shall be operative. Such agreement shall be binding upon the district attorney and county prosecuting attorney or municipal prosecuting attorney until dissolved by either of them in writing upon five (5) days’ notice. In the event that there is no elected county prosecuting attorney serving in a county, the prosecution of such cases shall be handled by a county attorney employed by the board of supervisors of such county pursuant to Section 19-3-49.

Miss. Code Ann. § 19-23-13 County prosecuting attorney not to defend criminal cases in county.

The county prosecuting attorney shall not represent or defend any person in any criminal prosecution in the name of the state, county or municipality of the county, nor shall he give any advice against the state, his county or in a criminal case against a municipality of his county, and shall not represent any person in any case against the state, his county, or in a criminal case arising in a municipal court of his county. Nothing herein shall prohibit any county prosecuting attorney from defending any person in any criminal prosecution in any county not within the circuit court district of such county prosecuting attorney.

Miss. Code Ann. § 19-23-15 County prosecuting attorney may be attorney for supervisors.

The county prosecuting attorney may be employed by the supervisors as the attorney for the board of supervisors, and may be paid the additional salary otherwise provided by law for the board’s attorney, in addition to the salary of the county attorney, fixed for services as county prosecuting attorney.

Miss. Code Ann. § 19-23-17 Justice court judges to arrange dates of courts with county prosecuting attorney.

The justice court judges of the county shall confer with the county prosecuting attorney as to the date of holding their respective courts, and by mutual arrangements, shall hold their courts as far apart as possible, so as to enable the county prosecuting attorney to attend their courts when necessary.

Miss. Code Ann. § 19-23-19 Secretarial assistance.

The board of supervisors in each county in the State of Mississippi is hereby authorized, in its discretion, to pay a reasonable sum not exceeding One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) per month to the county prosecuting attorney for secretarial services actually rendered to said county prosecuting attorney in the discharge of the official duties of his office.

Miss. Code Ann. § 19-23-21 Appointment of assistant county attorney in certain counties.

The county attorney of any county bordering on the Gulf of Mexico and having two (2) judicial districts may appoint an assistant county attorney from the judicial district in which the county attorney does not reside, to serve for a term commensurate with the county attorney; the assistant county attorney shall receive the same salary, mileage expense account and secretarial assistance as provided by law for the county attorney and shall have the same duties and powers as the county attorney, subject to the direction of the county attorney.

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