The Mississippi Supreme Court on Friday issued a public reprimand to Walthall County Justice Court Judge Marion McKenzie and ordered him to pay a $500 fine and court costs for fixing tickets.
Justices said McKenzie violated seven rules of the Mississippi Judicial Code of Conduct.
McKenzie violated three rules when he got involved in cases that were assigned to another judge and tried to help defendants with their tickets, compromising “the integrity and independence of the judiciary,” the ruling said.
Two other violations occurred when McKenzie gave copies of tickets to a deputy clerk to return to the citing officer to “help” the defendants on the tickets.
The ruling also states that the judge’s actions “created the impression that certain defendants were in a special position to influence” the judge to rule in their favor.
McKenzie also didn’t give proper notice to all interested parties before conducting a hearing and helped assist certain defendants with their tickets by dismissing or remanding their cases to the file, the ruling says.
The last two violations occurred when McKenzie engaged in improper one-sided communication with numerous defendants and failed to cooperate with the commission’s chief investigator “by being evasive.”
The commission filed a formal complaint against McKenzie in November 2009 after an unnamed judge charged him with judicial misconduct.
According to the ruling, that misconduct included a variety of violations, including disposing of a ticket for hunting over bait that was issued to the grandson of a member of the Walthall County Board of Supervisors by not issuing a subpoena for the arresting officer to appear in court.
McKenzie disposed of another ticket by remanding the case to the file about three weeks after the incident.
The other case was originally assigned to Justice Court Judge Lionel Harrell but was later assigned to McKenzie. The case has not prosecuted.
The ruling said McKenzie also:
• Intervened in a littering ticket in a case that was assigned to Judge Harrell. McKenzie gave a copy of the ticket to Walthall County Justice Court Deputy Clerk Wynette McLean to give to the citing officer. The case is still pending with a $125 fee still unpaid.
• Tossed a December 2008 case in which another man was cited for hunting over bait and entered a not guilty plea the same month.
He was found guilty in March, and McKenzie ordered him to pay $159 within 30 days of the verdict. He later revoked the judgment, reset the case and dismissed the charges in May.
• Dismissed two January 2009 citations for not wearing hunter orange or carrying a hunting license for a nonresident by giving them to McLean to give to the citing officer “to help the defendant on the ticket.” The defendant pleaded not guilty.
However, the defendant’s relative was cited for no hunter orange and no hunting license on the same day. McLean returned both cases to Judge Harrell in late January 2009, and Harrell found the defendant guilty. The tickets’ combined $728 fee was paid in full.
• Intervened in a no hunting license case that had been assigned to Harrell by giving a copy of the ticket to McLean to give to the citing officer to assist the defendant with the ticket.
However, the court file reflects that Harrell ruled in the case in February 2009, in which the defendant did not appear. He was found guilty and fined $589. The fee is still due.
