OKTIBBEHA COUNTY — In 20 years on the bench, Circuit Judge Jim Kitchens has presided over more than 300 jury trials ranging from bad checks to capital murder cases where the death penalty is in play.
When Oktibbeha County gets a county court next year, he’ll be especially happy to see eminent domain cases diverted there. But some cases that will leave the circuit court, he’ll be sad to see go.
“I will miss ‘drunk college student day.’ That’s usually the first day of the term,” he told a room full of voters gathered Tuesday at the circuit courthouse. “It’s the college students who get DUIs. I get to do those appeals. That will fall to the county court now.
“I’ve had some young ladies in here that were about 5-foot-3, couldn’t have weighed 100 pounds, and I ask, ‘What were you drinking?’” Kitchens continued. “(They respond) ‘Well, I was drinking vodka.’ Then I’d ask the officer, ‘What was their blood alcohol (content)?’ and it’s like 0.3 (three-and-a-half times the legal limit). The women can outdrink the guys, and they’d still be driving.”
The dose of levity came amid Kitchens, as well as other candidates for circuit judge and Oktibbeha County Court judge, touting their more serious bona fides at a judge’s forum sponsored by the Oktibbeha County Democratic Party. Nonpartisan elections for all three circuit judge places — which all cover Lowndes, Oktibbeha, Clay and Noxubee counties — and the county court judge will be held Nov. 8.
Kitchens, seeking a fifth term for circuit judge, place 1, is running against Columbus attorney Chuck Easley, who did not attend Tuesday’s forum.
Three of the four candidates for place 3 circuit judge — Trina Davidson Brooks, Mark Cliett and Bennie L. Jones Jr. — spoke, as did Thomas Easterling, husband of West Point attorney and fourth candidate Michelle Easterling.
Place 2 candidate Lee Howard V, who is running unopposed, did not attend.
Two of the three county court candidates, Marty Haug and Lee Ann Turner, attended. Charles Bruce Brown did not.
Oktibbeha County is getting a county court due to its reaching 50,000 in population in the 2020 census. It will hear both civil and criminal cases and serve as the youth court and hear appeals from municipal and justice courts.
On Tuesday, Kitchens, along with most other candidates, emphasized the importance of pre-trial diversion programs for first-time nonviolent offenders, as well as the drug court he presides over. Offenders completing either program can keep convictions off their record.
In drug court cases, he said, the program also gives offenders the tools to “live a sober life.”
He acknowledged a rise in violent crime among young men, something he said can make him emotional.
“If I can get young men to get from 16 to about 30, and get past that troublesome time period, we’d pretty much not have much crime at all,” he said. “That tends to be what we’re dealing with right now are men in that age range. They’re populating the docket.”
Circuit judge, place 3
Brooks has spent seven years as an assistant district attorney working under Scott Colom and is a former city prosecutor in West Point.
She pushed herself as a candidate “with vision” and “the right experience,” prosecuting criminal cases as serious as rape and murder and “getting justice” for victims. She balances that with an eye toward rehabilitating felony offenders, when possible, through pretrial diversion and drug courts so they can go on to become productive citizens.
As circuit judge, Brooks wants to establish a mental health court — a program similar to drug court — that would treat and stabilize nonviolent first offenders with mental health issues. She also wants to bolster education and skills training resources for offenders on court-supervised probation.
“I see a lot of offenders who come through our court system and they’re on probation or they parole out of prison. Months later, even a year or two, they come back through our system,” Brooks said. “A lot of them don’t have a GED, they have a criminal record and they don’t have skills to get a job.”
Cliett, who has practiced law for 28 years, has served as a prosecutor, public defender and is a sitting municipal judge in West Point. He said he has defended more jury trials than any of his opponents, including several involving the possibility of the death penalty, and called himself the most qualified candidate in his race.
“I can be fair to both sides because I have represented both sides,” Cliett said. “I can make those tough decisions because I’ve been doing it for 11 years as a municipal judge.”
As municipal judge, Cliett started requiring domestic violence offenders to wear GPS monitors as a condition of their bond, since so many were bonding out and returning to assault their victims again. Since then, only one has violated the bond condition to stay away from his victim.
“Sometimes we have to think about new things we can do to protect our victims and our community.”
Cliett, who has never before run for office, told the audience his 10-year-old daughter had been particularly impressed by his campaign signs that appear throughout the district.
“We were driving somewhere and we kept seeing my signs,” he said. “(My daughter) said, ‘Daddy, there’s another sign. … You’re just like Mama Justice.”
Bennie L. Jones Jr. has practiced law for 40 years, is an Air Force veteran, and sits as municipal judge in West Point and Maben.
His firm has represented several school districts in the area, including Oktibbeha County School District for 13 years before its consolidation with Starkville city schools.
He touted his variety of experience, even practicing in federal district and appeals courts, as well as his judgment on the bench.
“We have a lot of opportunities to help people, particularly those with addiction issues,” Jones said. “Believe me, alcohol is one of the most devastating addictions anyone can have. Now, we have young people addicted to marijuana, and some appear to be addicted to violence. We have a lot of simple assault (cases).”
Thomas Easterling, representing his wife, Michelle, who has practiced law in West Point for 28 years, said she is the type of judge who will listen.
“When she chooses to act, she acts appropriately and decisively,” he said.
County court
Marty Haug, who has practiced law for 19 years, serves as a justice court judge and Sturgis municipal judge.
To be the first county court judge in Oktibbeha would be a great honor, he said.
“When you get to create your own wing or your own division, it’s a big deal,” Haug said.
He added being a judge is what he’s called to do.
“Everybody has the right to due process,” Haug said “… There’s great satisfaction in that. I enjoy watching people leave the courtroom, even if I’ve ruled against them, but they understand they were heard in court, that it’s a fair system and that they can rely on my judgment.”
Turner, who has practiced law for 26 years and served as youth court referee for 14 years, emphasized the county’s court’s role in youth cases, which she said could take up as much as 80 percent of the docket.
Her interest in youth matters, she said, came from her parents — who both were public school teachers and foster parents.
“When you have a county court, it is the full-time youth court,” she said. “… We’re dealing with cases of abuse and neglect, as well as cases where a child is accused of a delinquent act. We also do school attendance cases and (resolving cases) for children with special needs.
“It’s such an important court because it deals with our most vulnerable citizens,” she added.
Zack Plair is the managing editor for The Dispatch.
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