Can a Mississippi justice court ask city police to serve criminal contempt warrants when constables and the sheriff have failed?
Plain-English summary
A justice court judge in Tallahatchie County had been issuing criminal contempt warrants for defendants who had skipped court and unpaid fines. Constables and the sheriff's department had not been able to make the warrants stick. The judge wanted to know whether municipal police could serve the warrants and, if so, whether the justice court could collect the constable's fee under § 25-7-27 and pay it to the city.
The AG split the question in two.
Service of the warrant. Yes, within municipal jurisdiction. Mississippi Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.2(c)(1) provides that arrest warrants "shall be directed to and may be executed by any officer authorized by law within the State of Mississippi." § 99-3-1(1) authorizes "any marshal or policeman of a city, town or village" to make arrests within the same. Combined, that means a municipal police officer can lawfully arrest someone named in a justice court warrant, as long as the arrest happens within the city limits. The 1981 Bennett opinion said it directly: "A municipal police officer may effect a lawful arrest under a proper warrant issued by a justice court judge. However, a municipal police officer is not required to serve a warrant so issued." Two limits the opinion draws: outside the city limits, the municipal officer's authority does not extend (the AG cited the Hammack and Chamblee opinions for that). And the municipal officer is not obligated to serve a justice court warrant; under Bennett, the officer "may" serve but "is not required to."
Fee pass-through. No. The opinion found no statutory provision authorizing the justice court to collect a constable's fee under § 25-7-25 and pay it to the city when a municipal officer serves the warrant. It read the fee statutes (§ 25-7-19 for sheriffs, § 25-7-25 for justice court, § 25-7-27 for constables and marshals) and found no fee for an outside officer's service of a justice court warrant.
What this means for you
If you are a Mississippi justice court judge
Under the opinion, a city police officer may serve a warrant on a person found within the municipal limits, but Bennett holds the officer is not required to do so. The opinion also holds the fee statutes do not authorize the justice court to collect a constable's fee and pay it to the city for that service.
If you are a municipal police chief
The opinion reads § 99-3-1(1) and Rule 3.2 to let your officers serve a justice court warrant on a person within your city, town, or village, but not outside the municipal limits. Bennett holds an officer "may" serve such a warrant but "is not required to."
If you are a sheriff or constable
The opinion does not change your authority. It restates that warrants may be served within the county by the sheriff, deputy, constable, or conservator of the peace, and treats municipal service as available only inside city limits and only at the municipality's option.
If you are a defendant under a justice court contempt warrant
Under the opinion, if you are within a municipality, a city police officer can lawfully arrest you on a proper justice court warrant. Outside the municipal limits, the opinion holds the municipal officer has no jurisdiction to serve the warrant; the sheriff or constable does.
Common questions
Q: What's the difference between a contempt warrant and a regular arrest warrant?
A: A contempt warrant is issued for criminal contempt under MRCrP 32. The procedural rules in Rule 32 apply to the contempt aspect; the service rules in Rule 3.2 apply to executing the warrant. So service is the same as for any other arrest warrant.
Q: What if the person is just over the city line in unincorporated county territory?
A: A municipal police officer cannot make the arrest there. The sheriff or constable has county-wide authority and is the proper officer.
Q: Can the justice court reimburse a city directly for warrant-service costs?
A: The opinion addresses only the specific question asked: whether the justice court may collect a constable's fee under § 25-7-25 and pay it to the city. It found no statutory authority for that and did not address any other reimbursement arrangement.
Q: Does the same rule apply to civil warrants and writs?
A: The Ross opinion is about criminal contempt warrants and relies on the criminal-procedure rules (Rule 3.2) for service. It does not address civil writ service.
Q: Can the city police refuse to serve?
A: Yes. Bennett (1981) specifies that "a municipal police officer is not required to serve a warrant so issued." It is a discretionary cooperative function.
Background and statutory framework
Mississippi distributes arrest authority across several actors: sheriffs and deputies (county-wide), constables (county-wide), municipal police and marshals (within city limits). § 99-3-1 sets out who can arrest where. The Mississippi Rules of Criminal Procedure (Rule 3.2 in particular) align with this and make warrants serviceable by any officer authorized by law within the state.
Fee statutes are separately structured. § 25-7-19 fixes sheriff fees. § 25-7-25 lists fees in justice court (with no service-of-warrant fee for an outside officer). § 25-7-27 fixes fees for constables and marshals serving warrants in criminal cases. The statutes do not authorize a fee pass-through from justice court to a city for police service.
Citations
- Miss. Code Ann. § 25-7-19 (sheriff fees)
- Miss. Code Ann. § 25-7-25 (justice court fees)
- Miss. Code Ann. § 25-7-27 (constable and marshal warrant-service fees)
- Miss. Code Ann. § 99-3-1 (arrest authority)
- Miss. Code Ann. § 99-3-1(1) (sheriff, constable, conservator, marshal, policeman)
- MRCrP 1.1 (scope of rules)
- MRCrP 3.2(c)(1) (warrant service by any officer authorized by law)
- MRCrP 32.1(d)(2) (criminal contempt definition)
- MRCrP 32.3(a) (court initiation of indirect criminal contempt)
- MRJC 26 (justice court contempt procedure)
- Mingo v. State, 944 So. 2d 18 (Miss. 2006) (criminal contempt punishes past disobedience)
- In re Williamson, 838 So. 2d 226 (Miss. 2002) (quoted in Mingo on criminal contempt)
- MS AG Op., Bennett (Apr. 24, 1981) (municipal officer may serve justice court warrant within city)
- MS AG Op., Hammack (Sept. 28, 2018) (municipal officer authority limited to city limits)
- MS AG Op., Chamblee (June 13, 2008) (no jurisdiction outside city)
- MS AG Op., Delgado (Jan. 26, 2018) (Rule 3 governs warrant service)
Source
- Landing page: https://attorneygenerallynnfitch.com/divisions/opinions-and-policy/recent-opinions/
- Original PDF: https://attorneygenerallynnfitch.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/S.Ross-October-21-2022-Authority-of-Justice-Court-to-Seek-Assistance-from-Municipal-Police-for-Serving-Contempt-Warrants.pdf
Original opinion text
October 21, 2022
The Honorable Steve Ross
Justice Court Judge, Tallahatchie County, District I
Post Office Box 440
Charleston, Mississippi 38921
Re:
Authority of Justice Court to Seek Assistance from Municipal Police for
Serving Contempt Warrants
Dear Judge Ross:
The Office of the Attorney General has received your request for an official opinion.
Background
You state that you have issued contempt warrants to be served by constables and the sheriff's
department with no results. In a subsequent conversation, you clarified that the warrants in
question are criminal contempt warrants where defendants have neither showed up in court nor
paid the outstanding fines.
Questions Presented
1. May a justice court judge use municipal police officers for serving contempt warrants after
the justice court has issued those warrants to constables and the sheriff's department with
no results?
2. If so, can the constable's fee as authorized under Mississippi Code Annotated Section 25-7-27 be collected by the justice court and then paid to the city?
Brief Response
1. Yes. Arrest warrants may be served by any lawful officer with arrest powers pursuant to
Rule 3 of the Mississippi Rules of Criminal Procedure. However, Section 99-3-1 provides
that police officers may only serve arrest warrants within their municipal jurisdiction.
- No. We find no statutory provision authorizing the justice court to collect a constable's fee
for serving an arrest warrant as authorized under Section 25-7-25 and pay same to the city
when a municipal police officer serves an arrest warrant for the justice court.
Applicable Law and Discussion
We understand your question to involve criminal contempt. Procedures for contempt in justice
court "shall conform to Rule 32 of the Mississippi Rules of Criminal Procedure." MRJC26.
Criminal contempt means "willful disobedience or resistance of any person to a court's lawful writ,
subpoena, process, order, rule, or command, where the primary purpose of the finding of contempt
is to punish the contemnor. . . ." MRCrP 32.1(d)(2). Penalties for criminal contempt "are designed
to punish the contemnor for disobedience of a court order; punishment is for past offenses and
does not terminate upon compliance with the court order." Mingo v. State, 944 So. 2d 18, 32 (Miss.
2006) (quoting In re Williamson, 838 So. 2d 226, 237 (Miss. 2002)). A court is authorized to
prosecute indirect criminal contempt on its own initiative pursuant to MRCrP 32.3(a).
Regarding service of a warrant, the Mississippi Rules of Criminal Procedure control "in all
criminal proceedings, from arrest through post-trial motions, in all trial courts within the State of
Mississippi, except as otherwise provided in these Rules." MRCrP Rule 1.1. See MS AG Op.,
Delgado at 1 (Jan. 26, 2018) (opining that arrest warrants must be served pursuant to Rule 3 of
the Mississippi Rules of Criminal Procedure). Rule 3.2 of the Mississippi Rules of Criminal
Procedure states that arrest warrants "shall be directed to and may be executed by any officer
authorized by law within the State of Mississippi." MRCrP Rule 3.2(c)(1). A wide range of law
enforcement is authorized to make arrests under Section 99-3-1, which provides that "[a]rrests for
crimes and offenses may be made by the sheriff or his deputy or by any constable or conservator
of the peace within his county, or by any marshal or policeman of a city, town or village within
the same." Miss. Code Ann. § 99-3-1(1).
Therefore, in accordance with the criminal rules and statutes, it is the opinion of this office that
arrest warrants may only be served within the county by its sheriff, deputy sheriff, constable, or
conservator of the peace. Municipal police officers may serve warrants within their city, village,
or town but do not have jurisdiction to serve criminal warrants outside the municipal limits. MS
AG Op., Hammack at 2 (Sept. 28, 2018); MS AG Op., Chamblee at 1 (June 13, 2008). We have
said, however, regarding arrests of persons named in a justice court warrant and found within the
city limits, that "[a] municipal police officer may effect a lawful arrest under a proper warrant
issued by a justice court judge. However, a municipal police officer is not required to serve a
warrant so issued." MS AG Op., Bennett at 1 (Apr. 24, 1981). Our opinion remains the same.
In response to your second question, the fees authorized in justice court may be found in Section
25-7-25, but the statute does not include authority to charge and collect a fee for service of an
arrest warrant. Section 25-7-27 provides the fee to be charged when constables and marshals serve
warrants in all criminal cases, and Section 25-7-19 provides the fee for sheriffs. We find no
statutory authority for a justice court judge to pay a constable's or sheriff's statutory fee to a
municipal police officer for serving an arrest warrant. Therefore, it is the opinion of this office that
the justice court is not authorized to charge and collect the constable's fee for serving an arrest
warrant and then pay the same to the city when a municipal police officer serves an arrest warrant
for the justice 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/ Abigail C. Overby
Abigail C. Overby
Special Assistant Attorney General