Opinion ID: 1656572
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Propriety of removal

Text: ¶ 43. Under this Court's established jurisprudence, in a judicial misconduct proceeding, [t]he sanction imposed should be consistent with other like cases. Miss. Comm'n on Judicial Performance v. Willard, 788 So.2d 736, 745 (Miss.2001). The sanction should also fit the offense. Miss. Comm'n on Judicial Performance v. Warren, 791 So.2d 194, 197 (Miss.2001). ¶ 44. This is a case of first impression  as such, there are no like cases in Mississippi. The Commission's attorneys argued for Judge Osborne's removal. The Commission instead found and recommended to this Court that a public reprimand fits the offense Judge Osborne committed and is, therefore, the appropriate penalty. I disagree with the Commission and instead agree with the Commission's attorneys. ¶ 45. Despite the fact that we have no judicial authority to guide our disposition of this matter, the most important form of governmental proclamation, made by elected legislative representatives of the People, mandates the appropriate path in this case: Judge Osborne must be removed from office. It is true that this Court is the trier of fact in judicial misconduct cases and reviews de novo the Commission's recommendations. But here, the Legislature has mandated that we remove Judge Osborne from office. As the majority freely admits, we must read Sections 9-9-9 and 9-1-25 together in this case. The majority determines that, based on Section 9-1-25, Judge Osborne had six months to wind down his practice. Thus, the majority relies on Section 9-1-25 for the duration of the allowable winding down period. However, in the next breath, the majority refers to removal from office as an extreme and draconian measure, a measure which in no way ... fit[s] this offense. But the Legislature stated in Section 9-1-25 that any person offending against this prohibition shall be guilty of a high misdemeanor and be removed from office.  (emphasis added). Whether this is a draconian measure or not, it is the law, and we are not in a position to ignore it. ¶ 46. It is not the province of this Court to amend or enact legislation. Absent some finding of constitutional infirmity, the Court is bound to apply statutes as they are written. Separation of powers is a fundamental and core principle in our form of government. Concluding that Judge Osborne should be sanctioned in any manner less severe than removal from office would be an usurpation of our esteemed Legislature's power. As we are all aware, this Court applies and interprets the laws that the Legislature sees fit to pass and the Governor chooses to sign  the Court does not, however, write the laws of this State. Moreover, the Court does not pass on the wisdom of duly-enacted statutes  it simply applies and interprets those laws. Further, the Court does not usurp, seize or otherwise assume the power of either coequal branch of our State government  rather, the Court cooperates with them to ensure that justice will prevail in each and every case that is tried in the State of Mississippi. Justice is best served by the fair, even-handed application of statutes in the form that the Legislature wrote them. The Legislature has set the punishment for county judges that violate Section 9-9-9, and the Court is bound to apply that sanction. ¶ 47. When one considers the similarities between the county, circuit, and chancery courts, it is a bit surprising that the majority treats county courts differently in the context of Section 9-1-25. Judges of these courts are all elected by the People to four-year terms. See Miss.Code Ann. §§ 9-7-1, & -5-1 (Rev.2002). They must be practicing lawyers for five years, at least twenty-six years old, and citizens of this State for at least five years. Miss. Const. art. 6, § 154; Miss.Code Ann. § 9-9-5 (Rev.2002). Chancellors, as well as county and circuit court judges, are members of the Conference of Mississippi Judges [2] . As I have already noted, Miss.Code Ann. § 9-1-25 applies to county, circuit, and chancery court judges. It provides a six-month winding down period after a judge takes the bench. If he or she violates that provision, the statute mandates removal from office. ¶ 48. Section 9-1-25 clearly applies to each of these courts. But the majority, in complete conflict with separation of powers and elementary statutory construction principles, chooses to read out the legislatively mandated sanction applicable to a county judge for violating Section 9-9-9. There could be very little argument that Judge Osborne could not avoid removal for his actions if he were a circuit or chancery court judge. Such an argument strains credibility. The question becomes, then, why does the majority treat a county court judge differently? I can discern no statutory, precedential, or public policy basis that supports the majority's obvious preferential treatment in non-removal of a county court judge in this context. ¶ 49. In the case of In re Collins, 524 So.2d 553, 554 (Miss.1987), a county court judge conducted hearings off the record, used county inmate labor for personal purposes, concealed a DUI conviction and fined certain defendants in excess of statutory maximums. Id. at 557. Five members of the Commission recommended a public reprimand, but one member dissented and recommended removal. Id. This Court removed Collins. I find that Judge Osborne's conduct of practicing law while a county court judge is more serious than the violations in Collins. I also note that Judge Osborne repeatedly violated this prohibition and clearly developed a pattern of conduct in continuing to file new cases in state and federal court, and continued to receive pleadings and correspondence on behalf of clients after becoming a county judge. Collins had at least one prior informal appearance before the Commission. Id. at 553-54. Here, although Judge Osborne has no prior Commission appearances, (he could not as he was not a member of the judiciary until this appointment), he has at least one prior Mississippi Bar Complaint Tribunal Cause where he was publicly reprimanded for unethical behavior. See Mississippi Bar Complaint Tribunal Cause No. 96-B-1194. Judge Osborne has not acknowledged his wrongdoing here. All Judge Osborne has admitted is that he filed eight cases winding down his law practice. He denies any wrongdoing, denies he violated any statute, canon or the Constitution, and denies that he should be sanctioned. In contrast to Judge Osborne, a perfect example of a judge who admitted all allegations, accepted full responsibility and actually joined in the recommended sanctions for such conduct is Judge Darwin Maples. [3] Notwithstanding my analogy of this case with Collins and Maples , at the end of the day, the cold hard fact is that the majority readily acknowledges that Miss.Code Ann. § § 9-9-9 and 9-1-25 must be read in pari materia. I wholeheartedly agree. And when, I read these two statutes together, I come to the conclusion based on the unequivocal and unambiguous language in these two statutes, that if a judge offends these statutes, that judge shall be guilty of a high misdemeanor and be removed from office. Miss.Code. Ann. § 9-1-25 (Rev.2002) (emphasis added). The majority acknowledges that these statutes have been violated; therefore, the majority's assertion that this Court somehow has discretion in the appropriate sanction once these statutes have been violated is contrary to the clear statutory language. Our course of action should be clear. Like it or not, Judge Osborne must be removed from office. ¶ 50. Therefore, under the general authority of this Court in disciplinary matters, and Miss. Const. Art. 6 § 177A, I would remove Solomon C. Osborne from office as County Judge for Leflore County. ¶ 51. For these reasons, I respectfully concur in part and dissent in part. CARLSON AND RANDOLPH, JJ., JOIN THIS OPINION.