Appeal denied in Lafayette County drug court dispute

February 27, 2012

Jackson, Mississippi: The Mississippi Supreme Court is staying out of an argument over the operation of the Lafayette County drug court. The case involved Judge Andrew Howorth of the Third Judicial District, who ordered the Lafayette County Board of Supervisors to stop interfering with the drug court. The Board of Supervisors appealed Judge Howorth's order.

The dispute seems to be centered around the monetary control of the drug court. Howorth, who started the drug court in 2008, had previously shifted the responsibility of administering federal funds to it from Lafayette County to Union County. In June of 2011, he filed a "cease and desist" against the Lafayette County Board of Supervisors who he claimed had been causing problems for the court from the beginning.

The Supreme Court said that the appeal was moot since "Union County has replaced Lafayette County as the lead county for the Third Circuit Drug Court." The court explained that the State Drug Court Advisory Committee would be the appropriate government body to deal with the problem.