Adams County supervisors deciding who to appoint as judge

NATCHEZ, Miss. – Adams County supervisors are pondering who to appoint as Justice Court judge in place of Audrey Minor, who resigned earlier this month amid published reports she was being sued by a court clerk and was the subject of a complaint filed with the Mississippi Commission on Judicial Performance.

In a letter presented today to the Adams County Board of Supervisors, Minor said she resigned for health reasons.

Supervisor Kevin Wilson suggested former Justice Court judge Eileen Maher, who was unseated by Barber in the 2023 election. However, Supervisor Ricky Gray said that a Black judge should be selected. Black people make up the majority of the north Adams County district Minor was first elected from in 2019 and again in 2023.

“It shouldn’t be a Black or White issue, but – at the end of the day – we can’t appoint a White judge,” Gray said.

Wilson – who noted the two Adams County Justice Court judges’ caseloads aren’t divided by district – said a higher priority should be placed on selecting someone with legal experience like Maher. She’s an attorney as well as a former judge. 

Justice Court judges – who are not required to have law degrees – have jurisdiction over civil cases involving amounts of $3,500 or less, misdemeanor criminal cases and traffic offenses that occur outside a municipality. Justice Court judges may also conduct bond hearings and preliminary hearings in felony criminal cases, and they can issue search warrants.

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The Board of Supervisors also accepted the resignation of long-serving county Election Commissioner Larry Gardner. He’s moving to Alabama after living 45 years in Natchez, according to his resignation letter.

Wilson said he has someone to potentially appoint to replace Gardner, but that will be determined later by his fellow supervisors. 

Going back to 2000, Gardner has chaired the Adams County Election Commission, a five-member board that’s elected by voters and tallies ballots cast in county and city elections.  The current four-year term for county election commissioners began this past January.