Starkville Alderman Henry Vaughn’s driving under the influence trial is set for Aug. 11 after Oktibbeha County Prosecutor Haley Brown recused herself from future proceedings Tuesday.
Brown issued the recusal after Starkville Vice Mayor Roy A. Perkins, an attorney who serves alongside Vaughn at city meetings and recently became his counsel in the criminal matter, pressed for the trial to be held immediately.
Vaughn’s previous attorney tentatively agreed to a plea bargain that would have given nonadjudication for the DUI first charge, and Brown said she was unaware of the change of representation before the day’s proceedings.
Nonadjudication would have allowed Vaughn to avoid active prosecution by pleading to the DUI first charge and, after successfully meeting certain court-ordered conditions, have the incident removed from his record.
Mississippi Code states DUI first convictions carry with it either a $250-$1,000 fine, a jail sentence of up to two days or both penalties, while nonadjudications do not carry a penalty of jail time.
Nonadjudications for eligible, first-time DUI offenders became effective last year after state lawmakers amended numerous criminal statutes.
“While I believe I can be fair and impartial, I don’t want to give an appearance of impropriety that could come with an elected, local official prosecuting another elected, local official,” Brown told Justice Court Judge Tony Boykin. “Hiring a prosecutor outside of the county not affiliated with local politics will give (residents a sense of fairness).”
A recusal forces the county to temporarily hire a prosecutor to handle the case. Mileage is paid for the incoming attorney’s travel, and special prosecutors are typically chosen from those available in nearby counties.
Perkins immediately objected to Brown’s recusal and asked Boykin to start the trial. Perkins said the outside prosecutor requirement is a burden on the taxpayers and the delay is another strain on him and his client.
“This case has been pending for over a year. She’s had ample time, and this is untimely in our opinion,” he said. “She should have gotten out before (Tuesday’s court date). The prosecutor is elected to prosecute cases in this county, and there’s no reason not to prosecute.”
Court documents show Vaughn’s former attorney, Charles Bruce Brown, withdrew as counsel in May at Vaughn’s request after the alderman indicated his desire to hire a new attorney.
Since Vaughn was arrested last summer, all continuance requests have come from the defense, not the state, Haley Brown said.
“I’m not moving. I’m not asking. I’m stating,” she said. “If a plea deal (as agreed upon by previous counsel) had been accepted, then I wouldn’t have to recuse. (Refusing the deal is) wasting taxpayers’ money.”
“I don’t worry about the time it takes to get justice, and I don’t worry about what it costs. Justice shouldn’t have a price. Having justice for Mr. Vaughn is greater than anything else,” Judge William Boykin said. “I know the case has been passed around. I’ll take the blame since (the case is) in my court. We don’t need to get into a hurry about justice being served. I’m going to hear the case and make a decision based on the best of what I know, but it would be improper for me not to recognize (the recusal).”
Court records show Vaughn, 62, was arrested about 2 a.m. June 19, 2014, and charged with careless driving, no proof of liability insurance and DUI first.
Records also show Vaughn refused to submit to a breath test on the Intoxilyzer 8000 after his arrest.
The insurance charge was dismissed last year after a proof of insurance was provided.
Incident and arrest reports were unavailable in the justice court’s case file.
The Dispatch’s verbal request for those documents was denied Wednesday by the Oktibbeha County Sheriff’s Department, and the newspaper is in the process of filing a Freedom of Information Act request for the files.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Dispatch Reporter Carl Smith is engaged to Oktibbeha County Prosecutor Haley Brown. Information for this story was gathered from public records furnished by Oktibbeha County Justice Court and in-court dialogue between the attorneys and Judge William “Tony” Boykin.
Carl Smith covers Starkville and Oktibbeha County for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter @StarkDispatch
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