MS 2022-10-M-Douglas-October-11-2022-Authority-of-Town-to-Enforce-Speeding-and-Other-Moving October 11, 2022

How does a tiny Mississippi town like Satartia enforce speed limits and write traffic tickets?

Short answer: A Mississippi town governs traffic by passing ordinances and employing a police force or marshal under §§ 21-13-1 and 21-21-3. The municipal court clerk issues uniform traffic ticket books. Towns under 10,000 population need not appoint a municipal judge, but without one, ordinances can't be enforced.

Disclaimer: This is an official Mississippi Attorney General opinion. AG opinions are persuasive authority but not binding precedent. This summary is for informational purposes only and is not legal advice. Consult a licensed Mississippi attorney for advice on your specific situation.

Plain-English summary

The Village of Satartia is a small Mississippi municipality with a single elected official structure. The mayor wrote in with three foundational questions: how do we enforce traffic violations, how do we get ticket books and set fines, and do we need to have a municipal judge?

The AG walked through the statutes that build a small-town enforcement system from scratch.

Enforcing traffic. § 21-13-1 lets municipalities pass and enforce ordinances. § 21-21-3 lets a municipality employ a police force or appoint a town marshal. Satartia elected a town marshal for the first time in 2021. Under § 21-21-1, the marshal is the chief law enforcement officer of the municipality. As an elected official, the marshal is exempt from the law-enforcement-officer training and certification requirements that bind hired officers (§ 45-6-3(c) carves elected officials out of the "law enforcement officer" definition). The marshal can apply for certification voluntarily under § 45-6-11(5) but is not required to. The marshal must post a surety bond of at least $50,000 before performing any duties.

Tickets and fines. § 63-9-21(3)(a) requires all traffic tickets to be issued on the uniform traffic ticket. § 63-9-21(4) makes the municipal court clerk responsible for issuing traffic ticket books to municipal officers. § 21-13-1 lets the governing authorities set fines by ordinance, capped at $1,000 or 90 days' imprisonment, or both.

Municipal judge. § 21-23-1 says all Mississippi municipalities must establish a municipal court. But for towns under 10,000 population, § 21-23-5 makes the appointment of a municipal judge discretionary. Here is the practical kicker: § 21-23-7 gives the municipal judge jurisdiction over violations of municipal ordinances and state misdemeanors made offenses against the municipality. Without a municipal judge, the village has no judicial officer to adjudicate the cases its marshal would write. The 1999 Hatcher AG opinion said it directly: "without a municipal judge, a town cannot enforce its municipal ordinances."

Satartia's choice is binary. Appoint a municipal judge (a Mississippi-licensed attorney or a county justice court judge) and have a working enforcement system, or don't appoint and have a system on paper that cannot prosecute anyone.

What this means for you

If you are the mayor or alderman of a small Mississippi town

Set up the system in four steps. (1) Pass ordinances on speeding, stop signs, and other moving violations using § 21-13-1, capped at $1,000 fine and/or 90 days' jail. (2) Confirm your town marshal is in place under § 21-21-1, with the bond posted (at least $50,000). If you also want hired officers, make sure they meet § 45-6-11 certification before they exercise law-enforcement powers. (3) Direct the municipal court clerk to issue uniform traffic ticket books to the marshal under § 63-9-21(4). (4) Appoint a municipal judge under § 21-23-5. The judge must be a Mississippi-licensed attorney or a county justice court judge.

If your population is well under 10,000 and you cannot afford a dedicated municipal judge, the most common solution is to designate a county justice court judge, who can serve under § 21-23-5 and whose pay arrangement can be modest. This is how many Mississippi villages run.

If you are a town marshal

You do not have to be POST-certified because you are an elected official. But the public safety value of training is real, and § 45-6-11(5) gives you a voluntary certification path. Whether or not you certify, post your bond before you perform any duties. Carry copies of the uniform traffic ticket. Coordinate with the county sheriff's office for backup, especially on traffic stops.

If you are a small-town resident or a driver passing through

The uniform traffic ticket is the only valid traffic ticket in Mississippi (§ 63-9-21(3)(a)). If you receive a non-uniform ticket, that is a procedural defect. Pay or contest tickets at the municipal court if the town has a municipal judge; if it does not, the town has a structural problem with enforcement.

If you are a Mississippi attorney advising a small municipality

The Douglas opinion is a tidy framework for small-town setup. Use it as a checklist when a new mayor takes office. The "need a judge to enforce" point is the most commonly missed: many small Mississippi towns adopt ordinances they cannot prosecute because they lack the judicial capacity.

Common questions

Q: What is the difference between a town marshal and a police chief?
A: § 21-21-1 designates the elected town marshal as the chief law enforcement officer of a municipality. A police chief is typically a hired position created under § 21-21-3. A small town often has only the elected marshal; larger municipalities have both an elected and a hired structure.

Q: Does the marshal need POST training to issue traffic tickets?
A: § 45-6-3(c) excludes elected officials from the definition of "law enforcement officer," which is the statutory category subject to mandatory POST training. The marshal therefore is not required to train. § 45-6-11(5) makes voluntary certification available.

Q: How much can fines for ordinance violations be?
A: Up to $1,000 per offense, with up to 90 days' jail time, under § 21-13-1.

Q: What if our town has fewer than 10,000 people but more than zero?
A: § 21-23-5 makes appointment of a municipal judge discretionary. If you appoint, the judge must be either a Mississippi-licensed attorney or a county justice court judge. If you do not appoint, the town's ordinances cannot be enforced through a municipal court because there is no judge to hear cases.

Q: Can the county justice court judge handle Satartia's ordinance cases instead?
A: § 21-23-5 lets a justice court judge serve as the municipal judge. That is one of the practical solutions for small towns, sharing judicial capacity with the county.

Q: Can a town with no police force or marshal still pass traffic ordinances?
A: It can pass them, but it would have no one to enforce them. § 21-21-3 contemplates either a police force or a marshal as the enforcement arm. Without an enforcement arm, ordinances are unenforceable as a practical matter.

Q: What is the uniform traffic ticket?
A: A standardized state-issued ticket form. Mississippi requires its use across all jurisdictions to ensure consistency and to facilitate court processing, recordkeeping, and DMV tracking. § 63-9-21 sets the requirement.

Q: Can a town set higher fines than $1,000 by ordinance?
A: No. § 21-13-1 sets the cap at $1,000 fine and 90 days' jail. Higher penalties exceed municipal authority.

Background and statutory framework

Mississippi gives municipalities the foundational authority to govern themselves. § 21-13-1 carries the core power: pass and enforce ordinances. The state also creates standardized building blocks that small towns can rely on, so they do not have to invent their own systems.

For law enforcement: § 21-21-1 (town marshal), § 21-21-3 (police force), §§ 45-6-1 et seq. (Mississippi Law Enforcement Officers Training Academy framework). The training requirements bind hired officers but exempt elected officials.

For tickets: § 63-9-21 mandates the uniform traffic ticket and ties ticket-book issuance to the municipal court clerk.

For courts: § 21-23-1 (every municipality has a court), § 21-23-3 (judge required for larger municipalities), § 21-23-5 (judge optional for under-10,000 municipalities, with a clear list of who can serve), § 21-23-7 (jurisdiction).

The system has redundancy and discretion built in for small jurisdictions. The Douglas opinion's value is in mapping the pieces together so a new mayor knows exactly what to set up.

Citations

Miss. Code Ann. § 21-13-1 (municipal authority to pass and enforce ordinances; fine cap)
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-21-1 (town marshal as chief law enforcement officer)
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-21-3 (police force authority)
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-23-1 (every municipality has a municipal court)
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-23-3 (municipal judge required threshold)
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-23-5 (discretionary judge for under-10,000; who can serve)
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-23-7 (municipal court jurisdiction)
Miss. Code Ann. § 45-6-3 (definitions; elected officials not law enforcement officers)
Miss. Code Ann. § 45-6-11 (training and certification requirements)
Miss. Code Ann. § 45-6-11(5) (voluntary certification)
Miss. Code Ann. § 45-6-17(1) (training compliance for officer powers)
Miss. Code Ann. § 63-9-21(3)(a) (uniform traffic ticket required)
Miss. Code Ann. § 63-9-21(4) (municipal court clerk issues ticket books)
MS AG Op., Hutcherson (Jan. 3, 1991) (town marshal training requirements)
MS AG Op., Hatcher (Sept. 24, 1999) (no judge means no enforcement)

Source

Original opinion text

October 11, 2022
The Honorable Michelle Douglas
Mayor, Village of Satartia
100 Richards Avenue
Satartia, Mississippi 39162
Re:

Authority of Town to Enforce Speeding and Other Moving Violations

Dear Mayor Douglas:
The Office of the Attorney General has received your request for an official opinion.

Questions Presented
1. How does the Village of Satartia enforce municipal speeding and other municipal moving
violations?
2. How do we obtain ticket books and set fines?
3. Does the Village have to have a municipal judge?
Brief Response
1. The governing authorities of a municipality have the power to pass and enforce ordinances
and to employ a police force and/or elect or appoint a town marshal to enforce ordinances
related to speeding and other moving violations.
2. The municipal court clerk is responsible for issuing ticket books to municipal police
officers, and the municipal governing authorities have the power to set the fines by
ordinance.
3. State law does not require municipalities with a population of less than ten thousand
(10,000), according to the latest available federal census, to appoint a municipal judge.
However, without a municipal judge, the Village of Satartia will not be able to enforce its
ordinances.

Applicable Law and Discussion
In response to your first question, Mississippi Code Annotated Section 21-13-1 authorizes the
governing authorities of municipalities to pass and enforce ordinances. Section 21-21-3 provides
that the governing authority of a municipality has the power to employ, regulate and support a
sufficient police force or night marshals, define their duties, and furnish and supply all suitable
and necessary equipment. The Village of Satartia (the "Village") does not have a police force, but
a town marshal was elected for the very first time in 2021. In accordance with Section 21-21-1,
the town marshal shall be the chief law enforcement officer of the municipality.

Section 45-6-11 requires all appointed and employed law enforcement officers to be certified, and
Section 45-6-17(1) prohibits full-time and part-time law enforcement officers from exercising their
powers generally, particularly the power of arrest, if they are not in compliance with the statutory
training requirements. We have previously opined that an individual serving as town marshal
would be required to meet the training requirements if he falls within the definition of a "law
enforcement officer" as defined in Section 45-6-3. MS AG Op., Hutcherson at *1 (Jan. 3, 1991).
Section 45-6-3(c) provides that "law enforcement officer" shall not mean or include any elected
official. Because the Village's town marshal is an elected official, he may apply for certification
in accordance with Section 45-6-11(5), but he is not required to. Therefore, the fact that he will
not attend law enforcement training and be certified until January of 2023 will not hinder his ability
to execute his duties in the meantime. We note, however, that Section 21-21-1 requires the town
marshal, before performing any of the duties of his office, to "give bond, with sufficient surety, to
be payable, conditioned and approved as provided by law, in an amount to be determined by the
municipal governing authority (which shall not be less than Fifty Thousand Dollars
($50,000.00))."
In response to your second question, Section 63-9-21(3)(a) requires all traffic tickets issued by
municipal police officers for any violation of traffic or motor vehicle laws to be issued on the
uniform traffic ticket, and the municipal court clerk shall issue traffic ticket books to each
municipal police officer in accordance with Section 63-9-21(4). Further, Section 21-13-1 states
that the governing authorities of municipalities may enforce its ordinances by fines not exceeding
One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) or imprisonment not exceeding ninety (90) days, or both.

Finally, and in response to your third question, while Section 21-23-1 requires all municipalities
in the state to establish a municipal court, whether or not a municipality requires a municipal judge
depends on its population as of the latest available federal census in accordance with Sections 21-23-3 and 21-23-5. Section 21-23-5 states that "[i]n any municipality having a population of less
than ten thousand (10,000) according to the latest available federal census, it shall be discretionary
with the governing authorities of the municipality as to whether or not a municipal judge or a
prosecuting attorney, or both, shall be appointed."
In this instance, the Village needs a municipal judge in order to enforce its ordinances regarding
traffic violations and other misdemeanors because the municipal judge "shall have the jurisdiction
to hear and determine, without a jury and without a record of the testimony, all cases charging
violations of the municipal ordinances and state misdemeanor laws made offenses against the
municipality and to punish offenders therefor as may be prescribed by law." Miss. Code Ann. §
21-23-7 (emphasis added). We have previously opined that "a municipality with a population of
less than ten thousand may choose not to appoint a municipal judge to manage a municipal court.
However, without a municipal judge, a town cannot enforce its municipal ordinances." MS AG
Op., Hatcher at *1 (Sept. 24, 1999). Accordingly, whether to appoint a municipal judge is
discretionary for the Village, but it remains the opinion of this office that if it does not appoint one,
the Village will be unable to enforce its ordinances. If the Village does appoint a municipal judge,
according to Section 21-23-5, the judge must be either an attorney that is licensed in the State of
Mississippi or a justice court judge of the county in which the municipality is located.
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/ Abigail C. Overby
Abigail C. Overby
Special Assistant Attorney General