Justice Court Judges -- Is a Bar license necessary?

By BETTER MISSISSIPPI REPORT

This week's Jackson Free Press highlights the Justice Court Judge candidacy of Micah Dutro, a Jackson lawyer who is running for the Hinds County District 1 post.  The opponent, first-term incumbent Don Palmer, brought 10 years of experience as an assistant justice court clerk to the job. He is not a lawyer.

It is not at all unusual to see reports of Justice Court Judges being admonished by the higher courts for actions unbecoming. As Dutro points out in the article, many problematic justice court decisions wind up in the chain of appellate courts, adding additional burden to already overbooked court dockets.

On the flip side, Palmer maintains that his experience as a clerk in the venue qualifies him for the post that was first created almost as a neighborhood convenience during early statehood.  As such, it is truly a people's court, legal missteps notwithstanding.

Better Mississippi Report will be interested to see what the voters think in the August 2 Democratic primary.  There's a Republican who's also a non-lawyer waiting in the wings.

Better Mississippi Group questions Phil Bryant e-mails to teachers

LT. GOV. PHIL BRYANT

By BETTER MISSISSIPPI REPORT

JACKSON – Republican gubernatorial candidate Phil Bryant’s weekly campaign e-mails have appeared unsolicited in teachers’ in-boxes across the Rankin County Public School system, according to documents obtained by Better Mississippi Group.

Better Mississippi Group questions whether a candidate for political office – in this case, a sitting lieutenant governor who is running for the open governor’s seat – should mine public schools’ e-mail rosters as a forum for political correspondence.

Bryant faces Coast businessman Dave Dennis and three other candidates in the Aug. 2 GOP primary. The winner will advance to the November general election, where he will face the Democratic nominee.

Better Mississippi Group is not charging that Bryant and his campaign have misused public funds. We do, however, believe that Bryant and his campaign’s decision to co-opt taxpayer-funded e-mail inboxes raises serious ethical questions.