JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A Mississippi judge will be suspended without pay for 30 days and have to pay a fine for threatening to use a gun against a defendant in his courtroom.
State Supreme Court justices on Thursday publicly reprimanded Adams County Justice Court Judge Charles L. Vess. They also imposed the suspension and $1,100 fine that were recommended last year by the state Commission on Judicial Performance.
Vess will lose about $2,200 in pay during the suspension.
Like many justice court judges, Vess is not a lawyer.
Court records show Vess admitted he acted improperly by threatening to use his gun and disparaging the parenting skills of the defendant’s mother in his Natchez courtroom.
This case was the ninth time since 1992 that the judicial watchdog group had found fault with Vess.
