Jesse’s (Former) Girlfriend

The Mississippi Supreme Court has reprimanded a judge

On July 17, 2017, Jesse Burton—a justice court judge for the Southern District of  Coahoma County—filed an affidavit claiming his former girlfriend had stolen money and personal property from him. Based on this affidavit, another justice court judge issued an arrest warrant for Judge Burton’s girlfriend, Regina Burt. But before the warrant was served, Judge Burton changed his mind and instructed the clerk’s office to rescind the warrant that the other judge had issued. As directed, the deputy clerk replaced Judge Burton’s girlfriend’s name on the warrant with Jane Doe and instructed the sheriff’s office not to execute it.

He was cooperative

This was Judge Burton’s first disciplinary matter before the Commission in his twenty seven-year career as a justice court judge. And the Commission recommended he be publicly reprimanded and fined $500. After a hearing, the Commission adopted the agreed stipulation of facts and recommended sanction in a five-to-one vote. The Commission and Judge Burton filed a joint motion, asking this Court accept the Commission’s findings and recommended sanctions.

The court found willful misconduct

Judge Burton’s situation is unusual. He is both the complainant who filed an affidavit supporting an arrest warrant and the judge whose interference kept the warrant from being executed. Still, as this Court has pointed out many times, the justice courts are the public’s main—if not only—contact with the judicial system and if justice court judges do not act professionally, the public will not understand or respect the legal process…

When legal disputes arise, the public must have confidence they will be decided by an impartial jurist. By acting in an official capacity in a case in which he was a party and had a conflicting interest, Judge Burton acted improperly. Such conduct erodes the public perception of the judiciary. Judge Burton could have simply withdrawn his complaint, rather than using his judicial position to snuff out the arrest warrant. And in addition to the judicial canons, Judge Burton agreed he violated Mississippi Code Section 97-11-1, which prohibits falsifying or erasing public records.

(Mike Frisch)