Does the higher-education member of Mississippi's police-training board have to be a full-time university employee?

Plain-English summary

Stephen L. Mallory, Ph.D., served on the Mississippi Board of Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Training (LEOST) as the "higher education representative." He had retired as a tenured professor at the University of Mississippi in May 2020 and was about to start as an adjunct professor in fall 2021. He asked whether full-time higher-education employment was required, in case his retirement and adjunct status meant he no longer qualified.

The AG read the statute literally. Section 45-6-5(2)(a)(iv) requires the higher-education representative to:

1. Be a "representative of higher education" (as determined by the Governor in making the appointment).
2. Have a degree in corrections, criminal justice, or public administration.

The statute does not impose any specific employment requirement on the higher-education representative. The AG contrasted that position with the other Governor-appointed Board members (police chief, sheriff, district attorney, rank-and-file officer), who must be "employed or elected in specific positions at the time of their appointment." The absence of an employment requirement for the higher-education slot, read against the explicit employment requirements for those other positions, supported the AG's plain-language reading.

The opinion was limited to the employment-status question. The AG did not separately analyze whether Dr. Mallory's particular degree met the corrections/criminal-justice/public-administration requirement; whether a given appointee is a "representative of higher education" is, the AG noted, a fact determination the Governor makes.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2021. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

What the opinion said for each audience, at the time

For Mississippi LEOST Board members and prospective appointees

Under the opinion, § 45-6-5(2)(a)(iv) placed only two requirements on the higher-education representative: the person must be a "representative of higher education" (as determined by the Governor) and must hold a degree in corrections, criminal justice, or public administration. The statute imposed no employment-status requirement, so a member's full-time, part-time, or retired status did not, by itself, control eligibility for that slot.

For the Governor making appointments

The opinion described whether an appointee is a "representative of higher education" as "a fact determination made by the Governor." The statute leaves that prong to the appointing authority rather than fixing an employment status in the text.

For the other Governor-appointed Board positions

The opinion drew an express contrast: the other Governor-appointed members must be "employed or elected in specific positions at the time of their appointment, as a police chief, sheriff, district attorney, or nonsupervisory rank-and-file law enforcement officer." For those slots, the employment or elected status is part of the statutory qualification, unlike the higher-education slot.

Common questions

Q: What is the LEOST Board?
A: The Mississippi Board of Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Training, created under § 45-6-1 et seq. The opinion describes it as a thirteen-member board, with six members appointed by the Governor under § 45-6-5.

Q: How is the LEOST Board composed?
A: The opinion says the Board consists of thirteen members appointed under § 45-6-5, and that the Governor appoints six: two municipal police chiefs, one sheriff, one district attorney, one representative of higher education, and one nonsupervisory rank-and-file law enforcement officer. The remaining members are appointed under the other provisions of § 45-6-5.

Q: What degree does the higher-education representative need?
A: A degree in one of three fields named in the statute: corrections, criminal justice, or public administration. Section 45-6-5(2)(a)(iv) lists those three areas of study.

Q: Does the higher-education representative have to work full-time at a college?
A: No. The AG concluded the statute "does not impose any specific employment requirements on the representative of higher education," so there is no requirement that the person be a full- or part-time employee of any particular employer.

Q: What if the appointee retires mid-term?
A: The opinion arose from exactly that situation: a member who had retired as a tenured professor and was becoming an adjunct asked whether he could keep serving. The AG read the statute as imposing no employment requirement, so retirement did not by itself disqualify him. Whether a person remains a "representative of higher education" is the determination the Governor makes.

Q: What about the other Board members (police chief, sheriff, etc.)?
A: The opinion says those positions require the member to be employed or elected in the named role at the time of appointment. The AG used that contrast to support its reading that the higher-education slot, which has no such employment language, is not tied to an employment status.

Background and statutory framework

The Board was created under § 45-6-1 et seq. and, per the opinion, consists of thirteen members appointed under § 45-6-5. The Governor appoints six of them: two municipal police chiefs (one from a municipality of fewer than 5,000 people), one sheriff, one district attorney, one representative of higher education with a degree in corrections, criminal justice, or public administration, and one nonsupervisory rank-and-file law enforcement officer.

The question in this opinion was whether the higher-education representative had to be a full-time higher-education employee. The AG read § 45-6-5(2)(a) "according to its plain language" and found only two requirements for that position: status as a representative of higher education (a fact determination the Governor makes) and a qualifying degree. The AG contrasted that with the other Governor-appointed positions, each of which the statute ties to a current employment or elected role, and concluded the higher-education slot carries no employment-status requirement.

Citations and references

Statutes:

• Miss. Code Ann. § 45-6-1 et seq., Mississippi Board of Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Training Board statutes
• Miss. Code Ann. § 45-6-5(2)(a), composition of the Board, six Governor-appointed members
• Miss. Code Ann. § 45-6-5(2)(a)(iv), higher-education representative requirements (representative of higher education plus qualifying degree)

Source

• Landing page: https://attorneygenerallynnfitch.com/divisions/opinions-and-policy/recent-opinions/
• Original PDF: https://attorneygenerallynnfitch.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/S.Mallory_May-14-2021-Requirements-for-Higher-Education-Representative-on-the-Law-Enforcement-Officer-Standards-and-Training-.pdf

Original opinion text

May 14, 2021

Stephen L. Mallory, Ph.D., CPM
Board of Law Enforcement Officer Standards & Training
2855 Gore Springs Road
Gore Springs, Mississippi 38929

Re: Requirements for Higher Education Representative on the Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Training Board

Dear Dr. Mallory:

The Office of the Attorney General has received your request for an official opinion.

Background

In your request, you provide:

I am currently serving on the [Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Training Board] as a representative for higher education. I retired as a full tenured professor at the University of Mississippi in May of 2020. I have a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership from the University of Mississippi and am retired from the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics as a Deputy Director having served twenty-five years. I will be an adjunct professor for the University of Mississippi and will teach one course a semester, but will begin in the fall of 2021 due to the COVID pandemic resulting in a decreased number of in person classes . . . I plan to continue to teach part time as an adjunct professor until my current appointment expires in April 30 of 2022.

Question Presented

Must the higher education representative on the Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Training Board (the "Board") be a full-time higher education employee?

Brief Response

No. The Board member appointed, pursuant to Section 45-6-5(2)(a), must be a "representative of higher education", a fact determination made by the Governor. The statute does not impose any specific employment requirements on the representative of higher education.

Applicable Law and Discussion

The Board was created pursuant to Section 45-6-1, et seq. and consists of thirteen members appointed pursuant to Section 45-6-5. The Governor appoints six members, in accordance with the following:

i. Two (2) members, each of whom is a chief of police of a municipality in this state, with one (1) of the appointees being appointed from a municipality having a population of less than five thousand (5,000) according to the latest federal decennial census.
ii. One (1) member who is a sheriff in this state.
iii. One (1) member who is a district attorney in this state.
iv. One (1) member who is a representative of higher education and who has a degree in one (1) of the following areas of study: corrections, criminal justice or public administration.
v. One (1) member who is a nonsupervisory rank-and-file law enforcement officer.

Miss. Code Ann. § 45-6-5(2)(a) (emphasis added).

This statute does not impose any specific employment requirements on the representative of higher education called for in Section 45-6-5(2)(a)(iv). Accordingly, there is no statutory requirement that such individual be an employee, full or part-time, of any particular employer. This can be contrasted with other appointed Board members. For example, the other Board members appointed by the Governor must be employed or elected in specific positions at the time of their appointment, as a police chief, sheriff, district attorney, or nonsupervisory rank-and-file law enforcement officer.

It is, therefore, the opinion of this office that Section 45-6-5(2)(a) must be read and interpreted according to its plain language and, as such, places only two requirements on those eligible for appointment as the representative of higher education. First, the individual must serve as a representative of higher education, as determined by the Governor, and second, the member must have a degree in corrections, criminal justice or public administration.

If this office may be of any further assistance to you, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Sincerely,

LYNN FITCH, ATTORNEY GENERAL

By: /s/ Abby Cummings
Abby Cummings
Special Assistant Attorney General