Case Name: MISSISSIPPI JUDICIAL PERFORMANCE COMMISSION v. Cecil CANTRELL, Justice Court Judge
Court: Mississippi Supreme Court
Jurisdiction: Mississippi
Decision Date: 1993-09-16
Citations: 624 So. 2d 94
Docket Number: No. 91-CC-0360
Parties: MISSISSIPPI JUDICIAL PERFORMANCE COMMISSION v. Cecil CANTRELL, Justice Court Judge.
Judges: PRATHER, P.J., and SULLIVAN, PITTMAN, BANKS and SMITH, JJ., concur.
Reporter: Southern Reporter, Second Series
Volume: 624
Pages: 94–100

Head Matter:
MISSISSIPPI JUDICIAL PERFORMANCE COMMISSION v. Cecil CANTRELL, Justice Court Judge.
No. 91-CC-0360.
Supreme Court of Mississippi.
Sept. 16, 1993.
Luther T. Brantley, III, Jackson, for petitioner.
Roy 0. Parker, Roy 0. Parker & Associates, Tupelo, for respondent.

Opinion:
HAWKINS, Chief Justice,
for the Court:
This matter is before the Court upon a motion of the Judicial Performance Commission that Cecil Cantrell, Justice Court Judge of Monroe County, be publicly reprimanded. We sustain the motion.
On September 6, 1990, the Commission on Judicial Performance filed a formal complaint against Cantrell based upon two instances of official misconduct.
THE FIRST
The complaint alleged that on November 27,1988, Cantrell owed a $702.21 hospital bill in Amory. He paid part, leaving a balance of $535.24 owing. On October 16, 1989, the bill remaining unpaid, the hospital turned the account over to a collection agency for collection. On November 7, 1989, when an employee of the collection agency was in Cantrell's office to file collection suits, Cantrell called her into his office, cursed an insurance company for not paying the bill, and told her he would pay it if the insurance company did not, and agreed to pay by the month.
Thereafter, he failed to make any payment on December 1, and on the 15th Cantrell was again contacted by the agency. Cantrell went to the agency, got into an argument over the bill, and told the employee he did not think she could get a judgment against him, she would just have to sue. He later went to the hospital and told an employee she would have to come before him on a speeding ticket some day. He later paid the bill.
THE SECOND
The second allegation charged that Carroll Moffett, a ear dealer, went to Cantrell's home on a Saturday afternoon, June 16, 1990, and asked Cantrell to issue an arrest warrant for James M. Martin, Jr., which Cantrell did and called the sheriff. Later that afternoon Martin called Cantrell and told him he had returned the car.
Cantrell told Martin to meet him at Mof-fett's car lot. On the way to the lot Cantrell delivered the warrant to Amory policeman John Dallas Burks, telling him to come to the car lot, but withhold arresting Martin. At the lot Cantrell talked with Martin and Mof-fett, and then Cantrell and Moffett went into a back room alone.
Cantrell came back and told Martin he had two choices, pay $650 or he would be arrested. Martin went with Burks to the police station and there gave Moffett a $650 check. On Monday, June 18, Moffett told Martin he had issued a felony warrant for the bad check. On the next day Cantrell told Martin he had done him a favor and if it had not been for him, he (Martin) would have gone to jail. Cantrell told him if settlement was not made with Moffett by 5:00 p.m., he would have to come by his office and make a bond.
The complaint also alleged that the Commission had upon a previous occasion informally resolved a complaint against Cantrell on a matter involving his personal affairs.
Following an answer filed September 18, 1990, generally denying the charges, on January 18, 1991, counsel for the Commission, Cantrell and his counsel filed an agreed statement of facts and proposed recommended sanction.
AGREED FACTS
VI.
On November 27, 1988, the Respondent received medical treatment at Gilmore Memorial Hospital in Amory, Mississippi, for which he was billed $702.21. The Respondent did not pay $635.24 of this debt and on October 16, 1989, Gilmore Memorial Hospital turned the debt over to the Credit Bureau of Monroe County for collection. On October 19, 1989, the Credit Bureau wrote the Respondent, advising him that the debt had been turned over for collection;, the Respondent did not respond. The Credit Bureau then called the Respondent.
Respondent admits that he did not pay said account because he believed that it was covered by insurance. Thereafter Respondent went to the hospital and found that he had a $600.00 deductible on his hospital insurance and he paid the money to the hospital at that time.
VII.
On Saturday, June 16, 1990, at approximately 2:30 P.M., one Carroll Moffett appeared ex parte at the Respondent's home requesting the Respondent to issue a warrant for the arrest of James M. Martin, Jr., arising over the sale or trade of a car. The Respondent called Frank Patterson, Sheriff of Monroe County, and discussed the situation with him and subsequently issued a warrant for embezzlement under contract. This warrant was never served on Mr. James Martin, Jr., and he was never arrested. Respondent did not threaten to incarcerate Martin at any time. He was going to have him arrested, but Martin convinced him that he should not have him arrested, with Martin's daughter in the car. Martin then suggested he and Moffett talk about the problem they had between them and try to resolve it and Judge Cantrell, the Respondent herein, told him that he would have nothing to do with that. That whatever they did would be between the two of them. Respondent then had an appointment that he was late for and left and told Martin to go down to the police station and make a bond if it was not settled between the two of them. Mof-fett wanted to settle the matter and drop the charges and by making this statement Respondent in no way intended to put any pressure on Martin to get him to settle, but felt that if Moffett and he reached a settlement that Moffett would not testify against Martin, therefore the ease would probably be retired to the files.
The agreement further stipulated that Cantrell "may be in violation of certain canons of Judicial Conduct of Mississippi," and listed them. It concluded with the following:
PROPOSED RECOMMENDATION
X.
Counsel for the Commission and Counsel for the Respondent hereby propose that, for the conduct as agreed upon and set forth above, the Commission should recommend to the Mississippi Supreme Court that the Respondent be publicly reprimanded by the Mississippi Supreme Court pursuant to Section 177A of the Mississippi Constitution of 1890, as amended, and be assessed the costs of this proceeding.
At the January 28, 1991, proceedings before the Committee designated to hear the complaint, Cantrell and his counsel, and counsel for the Commission appeared, and it was there represented to the Committee that the parties had "determined that a public reprimand would be agreeable," and had filed the stipulation accordingly.
The Committee designated to hear the complaint made its findings of fact and recommendation on January 31, 1991, tracking the stipulation, except it did find Cantrell had violated Canons 1 and 3 of the Code of Judicial Conduct. The Committee then recommended to the Commission that it recommend to this Court that Cantrell be publicly reprimanded pursuant to Section 177A of the Constitution, and assessed with costs.
Following this, the Commission on April 8, 1991, adopted the findings of the Committee and its recommendation, and recommended to this Court that Cantrell be publicly reprimanded.
On May 8, 1991, the Commission filed a motion with this Court for approval of its recommendation, with accompanying brief. On May 17 counsel for Cantrell filed a response, alleging that Cantrell should not be publicly reprimanded, that the local paper had already publicized his conduct, and that the stipulation of facts did not warrant a public censure.
LAW
The allegations of the complaint, if true, would warrant a much more severe sanction than a public reprimand. For whatever reason, counsel for the Commission, Cantrell and his attorney agreed upon a much softer fact stipulation and a public reprimand based upon the stipulated facts. This agreement was taken before the Committee designated to hear the complaint, and with all parties present, they agreed that a public reprimand was the proper sanction. This was then presented to the Commission. Only following the filing with this Court of a motion for its approval did Cantrell and his counsel change their minds and claim that his conduct did not merit a public reprimand.
We do not take kindly Cantrell and his counsel making an agreed written stipulation that a public reprimand was proper, reaffirmed before the Committee hearing the complaint, letting it be filed with the full Commission for approval, and only voicing an objection when the motion to approve the recommended sanction is filed with this Court.
Regrettably, this cause was not considered by the Court in 1991. Had it been filed in 1993 rather than 1991, we would either affirm or remand for a hearing on the allegations of the complaint. As it is, we accept the recommendations of the Commission and order that Cantrell be publicly reprimanded according to statute and the rules of the Commission.
THE MOTION OF THE COMMISSION ON JUDICIAL PERFORMANCE IS HEREBY GRANTED AND CECIL CANTRELL IS HEREBY PUBLICLY REPRIMANDED.
PRATHER, P.J., and SULLIVAN, PITTMAN, BANKS and SMITH, JJ., concur.
MeRAE, J., dissents with separate written Opinion joined by LEE, P.J. JAMES L. ROBERTS, Jr., J., not participating.
. The record in this case was inadvertently misplaced in the office of a member of the Court, and our checking system in place did not discover the record was missing until May, 1993. The motion was then presented to the entire Court.