Miss. Com'n On Jud. Performance v. Brown
| Decision Date | 30 June 2005 |
| Docket Number | No. 2004-JP-01831-SCT.,2004-JP-01831-SCT. |
| Citation | 918 So.2d 1247 |
| Parties | MISSISSIPPI COMMISSION ON JUDICIAL PERFORMANCE v. Billy Ray BROWN. |
| Court | Mississippi Supreme Court |
Luther T. Brantley, III, attorney for appellant.
Christopher A. Tabb, Brandon, attorney for appellee.
EN BANC.
¶ 1. Billy Ray Brown has served as a Rankin County Justice Court Judge for over twenty-five years. On March 10, 2003, a criminal affidavit was filed with the Justice Court of Rankin County, alleging that Judge Brown's son, Michael, pushed his wife, Alison, down to the floor and kicked her with his boots. At the scene, Deputy Sheriff Justin Evans found broken glass and Alison with blood on her shirt and a swollen face. When Deputy Evans attempted to question Michael, he refused to cooperate and proceeded toward his bedroom where, according to Alison, he kept a gun. Deputy Evans drew his pistol and arrested Michael.
¶ 2. Thereafter, Judge Brown interfered with the prosecution of the case against Michael by ordering him released from jail and arranging to have his case remanded to the file. This prompted Alison to file a complaint with the Mississippi Commission on Judicial Performance. Upon learning of the complaint, Judge Brown threatened Alison by telling her that if he lost his job, she would lose hers.
¶ 3. The Commission concluded its investigation of Alison's complaint by recommending that this Court remove Judge Brown from office and assess costs of $1,336.79. Judge Brown does not challenge the factual basis for the charges against him. He does, however, challenge the severity of the punishment recommended by the Commission. We agree with the Commission and find that Judge Brown should be removed from office and assessed costs of $1,336.79.
¶ 4. On March 10, 2003, Deputy Sheriff Justin Evans arrested Michael Brown on charges of assault and domestic violence against Michael's wife, Alison. Shortly after the arrest, Michael's father, Judge Brown, called Justin Holifield, the adult detention officer, and told him to release Michael. Holifield testified that he complied because "I have to do what a judge tells us."
¶ 5. Deputy Evans was later informed that Judge Brown wished to speak with him. When he arrived at Judge Brown's office at the Justice Court, he found both Judge Brown and Michael present. Michael apologized for his actions and admitted to Deputy Evans that he was "out of line." According to Deputy Evans's testimony:
Judge Brown asked me if there was any way we could resolve this. I told him that basically, you know, [I] [s]aid, "You mean some kind of counseling, something like that?" And he said, "well, you know," [he] said, "I need you to drop these charges." I said, "I'm not going to drop the charges." And he told me that he had spoken with the sheriff and that it would be in my best interest to drop the charges. That he had just gotten off the phone with the sheriff.
¶ 6. Although Deputy Evans refused to drop the charges, he agreed to "remand" the charges to the file which essentially meant they would not be pursued. He further testified that, had Judge Brown not intervened, he would not have remanded the charges against Michael but would have "seen them through." Later, Deputy Evans was informed that the charges had been dismissed.
¶ 7. Judge Brown also confronted attorney Richard Wilson, who represented the Sheriff's office and also served as the Assistant County Prosecutor. While Wilson was showing his new intern, Richard Lawrence, around the courthouse, they entered Judge Brown's courtroom. When Wilson approached the bench to introduce Lawrence, Judge Brown slid a case file across the bench and said, "I want this dismissed." When Wilson realized the case was against Judge Brown's son, he refused to have the charges dismissed. Judge Brown insisted two more times that Wilson dismiss the charges, and Wilson refused both demands and left the courtroom.
¶ 8. When Michael was again charged with domestic violence against his wife on June 26, 2003, Judge Brown approached Kristie Pyles, the Rankin County Justice Court Clerk, and instructed her to hold the file on her desk rather than follow the normal procedure and place it on Judge Redfern's desk. On cross-examination before the Commission, Pyles agreed with Judge Brown's attorney that Judge Brown's probable purpose in making the request was that "it would be more private." However, Judge Brown later testified that he intended to ask Judge Redfern for some "help" with the charges.
¶ 9. Alison Brown became upset that she "couldn't get any results from the justice court." She learned that no warrant was issued after the second incidence of violence against her and that the case against Michael was "remanded." In July 2003, she filed a complaint against Judge Brown with the Commission. Sometime during the following October, Judge Brown contacted Alison and insisted she drop the charges she filed against him. Alison refused, telling Judge Brown she believed he "abused his power as a judge to help his son." When asked how Judge Brown responded to her refusal to drop the charges, Alison testified, "He told me that if I came after his job that he was coming after mine."
¶ 10. As a result of Alison's complaint, the Commission filed a formal Complaint against Judge Brown, charging him with judicial misconduct constituting willful misconduct in office and conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice which brings the judicial office into disrepute, in violation of Section 177A of the Mississippi Constitution.
¶ 11. Finding Judge Brown violated Canons 1, 2 A, 2 B, 3 B(1), 3 B(2), 3 B(3), 3 B(7), 3 B(8), 3 C(1), 3 C(2), 4 A, and 4 D(1) of the Code of Judicial Conduct, the Commission recommended that he "be removed from the office of Justice Court Judge, District Three, Rankin County, Mississippi and assessed costs of [the] proceeding in the sum of $1,336.79." Judge Brown appeals.
¶ 12. This Court reviews judicial misconduct proceedings de novo. Miss. Comm'n on Judicial Performance v. Perdue, 853 So.2d 85, 88 (Miss.2003) (citing Miss. Comm'n on Judicial Performance v. Vess, 692 So.2d 80, 83 (Miss.1997)). Great deference is given to the Commission's findings when those findings are based on clear and convincing evidence. Id. (citing Miss. Comm'n on Judicial Performance v. Lewis, 801 So.2d 704, 707 (Miss.2001); Miss. Comm'n on Judicial Performance v. Bishop, 761 So.2d 195, 198 (Miss.2000)). However, this Court is not bound by the Commission's findings and must use independent judgment in assessing the misconduct. Id. (citing In re Collins, 524 So.2d 553, 556 (Miss.1987)). It is within the exclusive province of this Court to impose sanctions for judicial misconduct. Id. (citing Miss. Comm'n on Judicial Performance v. Fletcher, 686 So.2d 1075, 1078 (Miss.1996); In re Garner, 466 So.2d 884, 885 (Miss.1985)).
¶ 13. In his appeal, Judge Brown does not challenge the finding by the Commission of misconduct. He challenges only the recommendation of punishment. His counsel states:
Judge Brown has been on the bench for 25 years. He is not running for reelection. He has heard tens of thousand [sic] of cases. The actions of the Judge, while not appropriate, he admits to. Judge Brown attempted to help his son in what became a divorce. His actions had no impact on the outcome of the criminal charges filed against Michael Brown. Judge Brown did not hear any of the charges against his son. There are a very limited number of persons involved, none of which were impacted and no "moral turpitude" was involved.
¶ 14. Before analyzing the punishment recommended by the Commission, we first shall examine the Canons which were violated.
¶ 15. Canon 1 of the Code of Judicial Conduct provides:
An independent and honorable judiciary is indispensable to justice in our society. A judge should participate in establishing, maintaining, and enforcing high standards of conduct, and shall personally observe those standards so that the integrity and independence of the judiciary will be preserved. The provisions of this Code should be construed and applied to further that objective.
¶ 16. This Court has recently stated that Canon 1 "emphasizes failures which rise to the level of impugning the independence of the judiciary." Miss. Comm'n on Judicial Performance v. Former Judge U.U., 875 So.2d 1083, 1088 (Miss.2004). The Commission argues that by using his office in an attempt to have serious criminal charges dismissed against his son, Judge Brown's actions impugn the dignity and integrity of his office and the judiciary.
¶ 17. Judge Brown's conduct indeed violated Canon 1. His misuse of the power of his office evidenced his disregard for the administration of justice. By attempting to use his position to obtain favorable treatment for, and obstruct the prosecution of the charges against, his son, Judge Brown discredited the dignity and integrity of his office and the judiciary.
¶ 18. Canon 2 of the Code of Judicial Conduct states, in pertinent part:
A. A judge shall respect and comply with the law and shall act at all times in a manner that promotes public confidence in the integrity and impartiality of the judiciary.
B. Judges shall not allow their family, social, or other relationships to influence the judges' judicial conduct or judgment. Judges shall not lend the prestige of their offices to advance the private interests of the judges or others; nor shall judges convey or permit others to convey the impression that ...
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