Can a Mississippi municipal court establish a veterans misdemeanor treatment court?

Plain-English summary

The Greenwood Municipal Judge had previously asked (in 2020) whether his municipal court could establish a municipal veterans misdemeanor treatment court. The AG said no, because the Legislature granted circuit courts the sole authority to establish veterans misdemeanor treatment courts.

In 2022, the judge re-asked, this time posing "several underlying questions concerning the classification and intent of intervention courts" before circling back to the same core question.

The AG reached the same answer. Section 9-25-1(2) provides: "[a] circuit court judge may establish a Veterans Treatment Court program. The Veterans Treatment Court may, at the discretion of the circuit court judge, be a separate court program or as a component of an existing intervention court program." Because the Legislature "so clearly vested the circuit courts of Mississippi with the authority to establish Veterans Treatment Court programs," the AG concluded a municipal court "does not have the authority to establish and operate a misdemeanor veterans intervention court."

What this means for you

For municipal judges

Under the opinion, a municipal court does not have authority to establish or operate a misdemeanor veterans intervention court. The AG reads Section 9-25-1 as vesting that authority solely in circuit court judges. The opinion does not lay out any alternative route for a municipal court; it answers only the question asked.

For circuit court judges and veterans advocates

The opinion restates that the authority to establish a Veterans Treatment Court rests with circuit court judges, who under Section 9-25-1(2) may run it as a standalone program or as a component of an existing intervention court. The opinion does not describe funding sources, partner agencies, or program design; it addresses only where the statutory authority sits.

Common questions

Q: Can a Mississippi municipal court set up its own veterans treatment court?
A: No. The opinion holds a municipal court "does not have the authority to establish and operate a misdemeanor veterans intervention court," because Section 9-25-1 grants that authority to circuit court judges.

Q: Where does the authority to establish a Veterans Treatment Court sit?
A: With circuit court judges. The opinion quotes Section 9-25-1(2): "[a] circuit court judge may establish a Veterans Treatment Court program," which may be a separate program or a component of an existing intervention court.

Q: Didn't the judge already ask this?
A: Yes. The opinion notes the same judge asked in 2020 and received the same answer (MS AG Op., Palmer, Sept. 29, 2020). The 2022 request reframed the question through several sub-questions about intervention courts, but the AG reaffirmed its earlier conclusion.

Q: Is this AG opinion binding on the courts?
A: No. AG opinions are persuasive authority, not binding precedent. The opinion rests its conclusion on the text of Section 9-25-1, which it reads as granting the authority to circuit court judges.

Background and statutory framework

• Section 9-25-1(2): "A circuit court judge may establish a Veterans Treatment Court program. The Veterans Treatment Court may, at the discretion of the circuit court judge, be a separate court program or as a component of an existing intervention court program."

The opinion treats the grant of authority to "[a] circuit court judge" as the dispositive point: because the Legislature vested that authority in the circuit courts, a municipal court has no parallel authority to establish its own veterans intervention court. The 2022 opinion is a reaffirmation of the 2020 Palmer opinion to the same requestor.

Citations and references

Statutes:

• Miss. Code Ann. § 9-25-1, Veterans Treatment Court program authorization

Prior AG opinions cited:

• MS AG Op., Palmer (Sept. 29, 2020), original opinion to same requestor on same issue

Source

• Landing page: https://attorneygenerallynnfitch.com/divisions/opinions-and-policy/recent-opinions/
• Original PDF: https://attorneygenerallynnfitch.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/C.Palmer-June-6-2022-Veterans-Treatment-Court-Program.pdf

Original opinion text

June 6, 2022

The Honorable Carlos D. Palmer
Greenwood Municipal Judge
406 Main Street
Greenwood, Mississippi 38935

Re: Veterans Treatment Court Program

Dear Judge Palmer:

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

Background

Recently, you requested our office to provide an opinion as to whether the Greenwood Municipal Court could establish a municipal veterans misdemeanor treatment court. In response we said, the Legislature has granted circuit courts the sole authority to establish veterans misdemeanor treatment courts. MS AG Op., Palmer at *1 (Sept. 29, 2020).

Question Presented

In your present request, you pose several underlying questions concerning the classification and intent of intervention courts in the State of Mississippi to ultimately ask, again, whether a municipal court may establish and operate a misdemeanor veterans intervention court based on the answers to the other questions.

Brief Response

It remains the opinion of this office that the sole authority for establishing and operating veterans treatment courts rests with the circuit courts of Mississippi because it is explicitly granted by the Legislature in Mississippi Code Annotated Section 9-25-1.

Applicable Law and Discussion

Section 9-25-1 states, in pertinent part, "[a] circuit court judge may establish a Veterans Treatment Court program. The Veterans Treatment Court may, at the discretion of the circuit court judge, be a separate court program or as a component of an existing intervention court program." Miss. Code Ann. § 9-25-1(2). Because the Legislature so clearly vested the circuit courts of Mississippi with the authority to establish Veterans Treatment Court programs, it is the opinion of this office that a municipal court does not have the authority to establish and operate a misdemeanor veterans intervention court.

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 C. Overby
Abby C. Overby
Special Assistant Attorney General