The Oktibbeha County Board of Supervisors on Monday voted against naming a special prosecutor in the state’s appeal of Ward 7 Alderman Henry Vaughn’s driving under the influence case from 2014.
The 3-1 vote came after the board deadlocked in a vote earlier this month to name either board attorney Jackson Brown or local attorney Lydia Quarles as George Mitchell’s replacement.
Mitchell had been the special prosecutor in the case. In a trial last year before Oktibbeha County Justice Court Tony Boykin, a directed verdict was issued in the case. A directed verdict is when a judge rules the prosecution has not proven the elements of the alleged crimes.
Mitchell appealed the case to Oktibbeha County Circuit Court.
However, following his appointment to the 5th Circuit Court bench last year by Gov. Phil Bryant, he recused himself from the case.
The board’s March 7 tie occurred after District 3 Supervisor Marvell Howard abstained from the vote.
On Monday, Howard motioned to not make an appointment, saying Mitchell should have approached the board before filing an appeal to circuit court.
An appointment was needed to not only carry Mitchell’s appeal forward, but also because Vaughn’s attorney, Ward 6 Alderman Roy Perkins, filed a motions to dismiss the case on the grounds of double jeopardy and to receive almost $2,000 in attorney’s fees from the county because of unnecessary prosecution.
Circuit Judge Lee Coleman previously granted the county time to appoint a new prosecutor, but Monday’s vote means there will be no prosecutor in the case if Perkins’ dismissal motion and request for fees move forward.
“I know Alderman Perkins well enough to be 99.9 percent sure that if we don’t pursue this any further and drop this … he’ll be willing to put into writing that he won’t be seeking legal fees,” Howard said.
Howard said he abstained from this month’s previous vote as he gathered more information on the issue.
“My main question was that after … a verdict was given, if that prosecutor was legally required to file an appeal. That’s what everything for me hinged on,” Howard said. “I think what should have happened then was if he was not legally required to file an appeal and felt like an appeal needed to be filed, at that point he should have been obligated to come back to the board and say, ‘Board, I’d like to file an appeal, and this is the reason why.'”
It was Mitchell’s decision to continue forward with the appeal, Howard said, that placed the board in a position to have Perkins request it pay for his counsel.
“If the verdict … had been accepted, everything would have been dropped and we wouldn’t be discussing legal fees,” Howard said. “At the point where the special prosecutor filed an appeal without approaching the board, I feel that shouldn’t have happened.”
State statute and court rules provide Mitchell an avenue to file an appeal, according to Brown, the board’s attorney.
“I know the statute allows him … to file an appeal, but I want to go back further,” Howard said. “Was he legally required to file an appeal? If he was not legally required then that should stop proceedings right there until he re-approaches the board and gets permission to file an appeal. The board might decide (a prosecutor) is going to jeopardize the board and cause them more financing than if you can’t win this appeal. The board may decide, ‘It’s been to court. It’s a not guilty verdict, so the board’s ready to move on.’ In other words, a prosecutor keeps the board tied into a case that the board might otherwise not want to continue to pursue.”
Howard’s motion was supported by District 2 Supervisor Orlando Trainer and District 5 Supervisor Joe Williams, and opposed by District 4 Supervisor Bricklee Miller.
District 1 Supervisor John Montgomery, who voted to appoint a special prosecutor earlier this month, was absent from Monday’s meeting.
Williams also motioned to specifically prevent Brown from prosecuting the case after Howard’s motion, but it died at the table after Trainer said the action wasn’t needed because of the board’s resolution not to make an appointment.
Williams previously naming a new prosecutor would be “a waste of taxpayer dollars” and the matter should be handled “locally and in house.”
In situations where the county appoints special prosecutors, the board only pays for any travel expenses incurred by the attorney. Special prosecutors do not earn a fee for their services.
Vaughn was charged with DUI first, careless driving and no proof of insurance in 2014 after an Oktibbeha County deputy claimed she observed his car cross Highway 25’s middle and right-hand lines multiple times.
Editor’s note: Oktibbeha County Board of Supervisors’ attorney Jackson Brown is the father-in-law of Dispatch reporter Carl Smith.
Carl Smith covers Starkville and Oktibbeha County for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter @StarkDispatch
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