Does a Mississippi justice court judge get an automatic raise when the county's population grows past a salary-tier threshold?
Plain-English summary
A Harrison County Justice Court Judge asked the AG two questions about how Section 25-3-36 sets justice court judge salaries:
Question 1: If the county's population grew from 190,000 to 204,000 according to the 2020 census, does that automatically increase the judge's salary from $51,005 to $55,559 (the next salary tier)?
The AG said no. Section 25-3-36(2)(b) sets the judge's salary at "[o]ne hundred three percent (103%) of the salary authorized under this section as of September 30, 2008, for a justice court judge in that county." The frozen reference point is the 2008 salary scale, not the current population. Even if the county's population has crossed a higher tier under the 2008 scale, that does not automatically increase the judge's salary, because the 2008 scale is a snapshot.
Question 2: If the county supervisors approved a raise for themselves, is the justice court judge entitled to the same raise?
Yes, but only if supervisors actually received the raise. Section 25-3-36(2) provides: "If supervisors of a county receive a salary increase, justice court judges whose salary is determined under this paragraph shall be paid an amount reflecting a commensurate increase." This applies to judges paid under both Section 25-3-36(2)(a) (which ties their salary to actual supervisor pay) and Section 25-3-36(2)(b) (the 103%-of-2008 floor).
Critical nuance: the trigger is supervisors receiving the raise, not the legislature authorizing one. In 2019, the legislature authorized supervisor raises but made them optional. A county where supervisors did not actually take the raise would not trigger judge raises. A county where supervisors did take the raise must give judges a commensurate increase.
What this means for you
If you're a Mississippi justice court judge
Your salary structure under § 25-3-36(2):
- The greater of (a) the amount paid to a member of the county's board of supervisors, or (b) 103% of the 2008-era salary tier for a justice court judge in your county.
- The 2008 tier is fixed; population growth alone does not move you up.
- If your county's supervisors got a raise (e.g., under 2019 SB 2827 or 2022 SB 2719), and they actually took it, you are entitled to a commensurate increase. The increase takes effect on the same date as the supervisors'.
Practical: when supervisors take a raise, the county's payroll office should automatically pass the commensurate increase through to you. If they do not, raise the issue with the county administrator or board attorney. You may need to ask the AG for a follow-up if there is dispute.
If you're a county supervisor
When you decide whether to take an authorized salary increase, recognize that the decision flows downstream to your justice court judges. If you take the raise, the judges get a commensurate increase. If you decline, they stay at their existing salary.
The "commensurate increase" requirement removes the political flexibility some supervisors have used to take a raise without commensurate impact on others. Under the statute as the AG reads it, if supervisors raise their own salaries, judges' salaries also have to rise.
If you're a county payroll clerk
When supervisor pay changes, check whether justice court judges' salaries should change too. The AG opinion makes clear:
- Population alone does not change judge pay.
- Authorization of supervisor raises does not change judge pay.
- Actual supervisor raises (recorded in payroll) do change judge pay, by a commensurate amount.
Document the supervisors' actual raise, calculate the commensurate amount for judges, and process payroll accordingly. Use the same effective date.
If you're a Mississippi legislator
Section 25-3-36 created an unusual structural link between supervisor pay and judge pay. The 103%-of-2008 floor freezes part of the formula, while the supervisor-link runs forward in time. Periodic legislative updates to the 2008 figure (or to the 103% multiplier) would be needed to keep judge pay reasonable absent supervisor action.
This is also a gentle reminder of how legislation creates sticky formulas. The 103% number was a one-time bump in 2008. Without further legislative action, that bump is the floor forever, indexed only to whatever supervisors do.
If you're a state auditor
When auditing county payroll, check that judge raises track supervisor raises by the commensurate amount. A county that took a supervisor raise but did not commensurately raise judges has an underpayment exposure.
Common questions
Q: What if my county's population just crossed a tier line in the 2020 census?
A: Population alone does not increase your salary. The salary tier is locked to what § 25-3-36 said on September 30, 2008. Population is just one input to the 2008 formula; it does not refresh.
Q: Does the supervisor-trigger apply to all justice court judges?
A: Yes, to all whose salary is determined under § 25-3-36(2). The "commensurate increase" applies regardless of whether the judge's salary is set under (2)(a) (matched to actual supervisor pay) or (2)(b) (103% of 2008 baseline).
Q: When do supervisor raises take effect for judges?
A: The same date as for supervisors. MS AG Op., Barbour (Nov. 18, 2016).
Q: What if supervisors got a raise some time ago, but my pay was never adjusted?
A: If your county's supervisors actually took an increase and your pay did not commensurately rise, you have a compensation dispute. The fix is administrative (payroll correction). A back-pay claim is possible; consult county counsel and the State Personnel Board (if applicable) on procedure.
Q: What was the 2008 salary scale?
A: The 2008 scale is documented in § 25-3-36(1) by population tier. The September 30, 2008 snapshot freezes those numbers. Even if county population data has changed since, the scale itself does not move.
Q: Why 103%?
A: Pure legislative arithmetic. When the 2008 formula was adopted, the legislature set a 3% bump over the prior year's salaries as the locked-in floor.
Background and statutory framework
Mississippi judicial compensation is statutory, not constitutional. The legislature sets pay levels and formulas. Section 25-3-36 is the justice court judges' compensation statute.
Subsection (1) sets a population-based scale, last refreshed in 2008. Subsection (2) makes that scale the floor (at 103%) and provides that if supervisor pay exceeds the floor, judges get supervisor pay instead.
Section 25-3-13 sets supervisor pay based on assessed county valuation. Recent legislation has authorized increases:
- Laws 2019, Ch. 485 (SB 2827) § 4, eff. Jan. 1, 2020: increased supervisor salaries.
- Laws 2022, Ch. 304 (SB 2719) § 1, eff. July 1, 2022: further increased supervisor salaries.
Notably, the 2019 increases were optional. AG Op., Slover (Aug. 9, 2019), confirmed that whether supervisors actually take the authorized increase is up to them. The "commensurate increase" trigger for judges follows actual supervisor receipt, not legislative authorization.
The structural effect over time: as supervisor pay rises, justice court judge pay rises in lockstep. As supervisor pay stagnates (because supervisors decline raises), judge pay stagnates. Population shifts do not move the needle; they're locked into the 2008 floor.
Citations and references
Statutes:
- Miss. Code Ann. § 25-3-13 (supervisor salaries)
- Miss. Code Ann. § 25-3-36 (justice court judge salaries)
- Miss. Code Ann. § 25-3-36(1) (population-based scale, frozen at 2008)
- Miss. Code Ann. § 25-3-36(2) (current salary formula)
- Miss. Code Ann. § 25-3-36(2)(a) (link to actual supervisor pay)
- Miss. Code Ann. § 25-3-36(2)(b) (103% of 2008 floor)
Legislation:
- Laws 2019, Ch. 485 (SB 2827) § 4 (supervisor salary increase, effective Jan. 1, 2020)
- Laws 2022, Ch. 304 (SB 2719) § 1 (supervisor salary increase, effective July 1, 2022)
Prior AG opinions referenced:
- MS AG Op., Slover (Aug. 9, 2019), 2019 supervisor raise was optional
- MS AG Op., Barbour (Nov. 18, 2016), commensurate increase effective same date as supervisors
Source
- Landing page: https://attorneygenerallynnfitch.com/divisions/opinions-and-policy/recent-opinions/
- Original PDF: https://attorneygenerallynnfitch.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/B.Ladner-May-18-2023-Mississippi-Code-Annotated-Section-25-3-36.pdf
Original opinion text
May 18, 2023
The Honorable Brandon Ladner
Harrison County Justice Court Judge
Post Office Box 1754
Gulfport, Mississippi 39502
Re: Mississippi Code Annotated Section 25-3-36
Dear Judge Ladner:
The Office of the Attorney General has received your request for an official opinion.
Questions Presented
-
If a justice court judge lives in a county with a population of 190,000 people, and according to the latest federal decennial census of 2020, the population is now 204,000, would that increase the judge's salary from $51,005 to $55,559?
-
If the Board of Supervisors approved a raise for themselves, is a justice court judge entitled to the same amount of raise?
Brief Response
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No. A justice court judge's salary that is based upon county population pursuant to Section 25-3-36(2)(b) would not increase based upon an increase in population. Rather, it is based upon the salary authorized for a justice court judge in that county as of September 30, 2008.
-
If the supervisors receive a salary increase, the justice court judges whose salaries are determined pursuant to Section 25-3-36(2) shall receive a "commensurate increase."
Applicable Law and Discussion
Section 25-3-36 provides, in relevant part:
(2) From and after October 1, 2008, every justice court judge shall receive as full compensation for his or her services, and in lieu of any and all other fees, costs or compensation heretofore authorized for such justice court judge, an annual salary in an amount that is the greater of the following:
(a) The amount paid to a member of the board of supervisors in the same county in which the justice court judge presides; or
(b) One hundred three percent (103%) of the salary authorized under this section as of September 30, 2008, for a justice court judge in that county.
If supervisors of a county receive a salary increase, justice court judges whose salary is determined under this paragraph shall be paid an amount reflecting a commensurate increase.
(Emphasis added). Subsection (2)(b) references the salary scale for justice court judges outlined in Subsection (1), which is based on the population of the county "according to the latest federal decennial census" as of September 30, 2008. Miss. Code Ann. § 25-3-36(1).
The provision granting an increase in justice court judges' salaries based upon the supervisors' salary increase applies to all justice court judges whose salaries are determined "under this paragraph," which refers to all of Subsection (2).
In response to your first question, it is the opinion of this office that based upon the plain language of the statute, justice court judges are not entitled to a raise due to an increase in county population because the salary authorized under Section (2)(b) is set as of September 30, 2008, a specific point in time.
Salaries for members of the boards of supervisors are provided in Section 25-3-13 and are based upon the total assessed valuation of the county. In 2019, the Legislature amended Section 25-3-13 to increase the salaries for supervisors. Laws 2019, Ch. 485 (S.B. 2827) § 4, eff. Jan. 1, 2020. Supervisors' salaries were again increased in 2022. Laws 2022, Ch. 304 (S.B. 2719) § 1, eff. July 1, 2022. In 2019, this office opined that the increase in salaries for the county boards of supervisors authorized under S.B. 2827 was optional but not mandatory. MS AG Op., Slover at 2 (Aug. 9, 2019). "[J]ustice court judges are not entitled to a salary increase unless the board of supervisors increased their salaries as well." Id. at 1. This office has also opined that "it is clear that in subsection (2)(a), the amount paid to a member of the board of supervisors means the amount the supervisors are actually receiving and not the amount of salary that is fixed pursuant to Section 25-3-13." MS AG Op., Barbour at *3 (Nov. 18, 2016) (citation omitted).
Thus, in response to your second question, regardless of whether a justice court judge's salary is set in accordance with Subsection (2)(a) ("[t]he amount paid to a member of the board of supervisors in the same county in which the justice court judge presides") or Subsections (1) and (2)(b) ("[o]ne hundred three percent (103%) of the salary authorized under this section as of September 30, 2008, for a justice court judge in that county"), if the members of the county board of supervisors actually receive a salary increase, the justice court judges are entitled to a commensurate increase. (Emphasis added). Such salary increase would be effective on the same date as that of the board of supervisors. Barbour at *2.
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/ Beebe Garrard
Beebe Garrard
Special Assistant Attorney General