Can a Mississippi county relocate its sheriff's office and county jail to a town that isn't the county seat?

Plain-English summary

Sheriff Gore of Webster County asked whether the sheriff's office and county jail could move to Mathiston, where a businessman had offered to donate two buildings (one currently housing the 911 office). Walthall is the county seat for Webster County. The current jail in Eupora was built in 1965 with legislative approval and a Webster-Eupora agreement.

The AG said no, generally. Two structural rules:

Sheriff's office: Must be at the county courthouse or within one-half mile of it (Section 25-1-99). This is location-locked to the courthouse complex.

County jail: Must be located at the county seat. AG opinions and case law are consistent (Nowak 2009, 2010; Carroll 2000). The 1952 Jackson County Historical Society case described a county seat as the "town or city where the seat of a county government is located, where the county court and other courts are held, and where the county officers perform their duties and functions." Mississippi Constitution Section 259 protects county-seat status, requiring 2/3 voter approval to move (or majority if the move is toward the county center).

There are exceptions:

• Specific legislation expressly authorizing a different location
• Joint construction under Section 17-5-1 between the county and a municipality

The 1965 Eupora jail likely fits the joint-construction exception (the AG could not opine on the specific 1965 agreement; that requires interpretation of the contract).

For Mathiston specifically: Mathiston is in both Webster and Choctaw counties. If Webster County and Mathiston jointly establish a jail there, it must be in the part of Mathiston in Webster County.

The practical paths for Webster County:

1. Build a new jail in Walthall (the county seat) on county-owned or acquired land
2. Pursue specific legislation authorizing a Mathiston jail
3. Use Section 17-5-1 joint construction with Mathiston (in the Webster County portion)
4. Hold a county-seat-removal referendum (2/3 voter threshold, or majority for moves toward county center)

Donation of buildings in Mathiston, while financially attractive, does not by itself authorize relocation.

What this means for you

For Mississippi sheriffs and jail administrators

Your office's location is statutory. The sheriff's office stays at the courthouse complex. If your county is considering jail relocation, the proper paths are limited:

1. New jail at the county seat (most common)
2. Section 17-5-1 joint construction with a municipality
3. Specific legislative authorization

Donations of buildings outside the county seat are useful only if they fit one of these paths.

For boards of supervisors

The opinion lays out a closed set of options. A county jail must be located in the county seat unless one of two things is true: "there is specific legislation expressly and clearly authorizing the jail to be located away from the county seat," or the jail "is constructed pursuant to Section 17-5-1," the joint-construction option with a municipality. The opinion understands the existing Eupora jail to have been built through the 17-5-1 method, but it declines to interpret the 1965 agreement.

For county attorneys

The opinion turns on two statutes and one constitutional section. Section 25-1-99 keeps the sheriff's office "at or within one-half mile of the county courthouse." A county jail must be at the county seat (Nowak 2009, 2010; Carroll 2000) unless specific legislation authorizes another location or Section 17-5-1 joint construction is used. The opinion expressly notes that "this office does not opine on or interpret contracts," so it offers no view on the 1965 Eupora-Webster County agreement.

For state legislators

The opinion recognizes the legislative path: it states that "legislation may be enacted to expressly and clearly authorize the jail to be located away from the county seat" (Nowak, May 12, 2010).

For residents concerned about the county seat

The opinion explains that Section 259 of the Mississippi Constitution provides no county seat shall be removed unless the removal is authorized by two-thirds of the electors voting, "but when the proposed removal shall be toward the center of the county, it may be made when a majority" votes for it. It quotes Justice Ethridge that the purpose of Section 259 is "to keep a county seat where it is located and prevent undue agitation of removal questions."

Common questions

Q: Can a Mississippi county move its sheriff's office and jail to a town that is not the county seat?
A: Generally no. The opinion holds the sheriff "must keep his office at or within one-half mile of the county courthouse" under Section 25-1-99, and the jail "must be located in the county seat unless there is specific legislation expressly and clearly authorizing" another location "or if a county chooses the joint construction option with a municipality in accordance with Section 17-5-1."

Q: What is the county seat for Webster County?
A: Walthall. The opinion notes the existing jail is in Eupora and the proposed relocation was to Mathiston, neither of which is the county seat.

Q: What does Section 259 require to move a county seat?
A: Two-thirds of the electors voting must approve, unless the move is "toward the center of the county," in which case a majority suffices. The opinion quotes Section 259 and the Ethridge treatise on its purpose.

Q: How does Section 17-5-1 joint construction work?
A: The opinion says Section 17-5-1 "permits a county to contract with a municipality for the joint construction, preservation and use of a jail," and that in such a case "the jail would not be required to be in the county seat." It understands the 1965 Eupora jail to have been built this way but declines to interpret that agreement.

Q: Could Webster County put a jail in Mathiston?
A: Only through specific legislation or Section 17-5-1 joint construction. The opinion adds that because Mathiston lies in both Webster and Choctaw Counties, a jointly established jail "must be located in the part of the municipality located in Webster County."

Background and statutory framework

The request came from Sheriff Gore of Webster County, where the existing jail was built in Eupora in 1965 "with the approval of the Mississippi Legislature and in accordance with an agreement between Webster County and the Town of Eupora." The jail had fallen into poor condition, and a local businessman had offered to donate two buildings in Mathiston for the sheriff's office and jail. Walthall is the county seat.

Section 25-1-99 requires several county offices, "including the sheriff's office," to be kept at the county courthouse or within a half-mile of it. For the jail, the opinion relies on a consistent line of opinions (Nowak, Jan. 15, 2009; Nowak, May 12, 2010; Carroll, Aug. 11, 2000) that a county jail must be located within the municipal boundaries of the county seat, and on the Corpus Juris Secundum definition of a county seat as "the town or city where the seat of a county government is located."

Section 259 of the Mississippi Constitution protects the county seat by requiring a two-thirds vote to move it (or a majority for moves toward the county center). The opinion quotes Judge Ethridge's treatise explaining that the section exists so that public buildings, "once located," are not removed "for the mere accommodation of ambitious towns and cities."

The two exceptions to the county-seat rule are specific legislation (Nowak, 2010) and joint construction under Section 17-5-1. The opinion stresses it does not interpret contracts and so offers no comment on whether the 1965 Eupora agreement satisfies Section 17-5-1.

Citations and references

Statutes:

• Miss. Code Ann. § 17-5-1, joint construction of jail by county and municipality
• Miss. Code Ann. § 25-1-99, county offices at or within one-half mile of courthouse

Mississippi Constitution:

• Miss. Const. art. 14, § 259, county-seat removal requires 2/3 voter approval (majority for moves toward center)

Case:

• Jackson County Historical Society v. Jackson County Board of Supervisors, 214 Miss. 156, 58 So. 2d 379 (1952), defining county seat

Prior AG opinions cited:

• MS AG Op., Carroll (Aug. 11, 2000), county jail must be at county seat
• MS AG Op., Nowak (Jan. 15, 2009), county jail location at county seat; Section 259 analysis
• MS AG Op., Nowak (May 12, 2010), legislation may authorize jail away from county seat

Source

• Landing page: https://attorneygenerallynnfitch.com/divisions/opinions-and-policy/recent-opinions/
• Original PDF: https://attorneygenerallynnfitch.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/D.Gore-February-24-2022-Location-of-County-Jail.pdf

Original opinion text

February 24, 2022

Sheriff David Gore
Webster County Sheriff's Office
87 Government Avenue
Eupora, Mississippi 39744

Re: Location of County Jail

Dear Sheriff Gore:

The Office of the Attorney General has received your request for an official opinion.

Background

According to your request, the current jail for Webster County was built in Eupora in 1965 with the approval of the Mississippi Legislature and in accordance with an agreement between Webster County and the Town of Eupora. However, you state that the current jail is now in poor condition. You further state that a local businessman has offered to donate two buildings, including one building that currently houses the 911 office, for the relocation to the Town of Mathiston of the sheriff's office and county jail. Walthall is the county seat for Webster County.

Question Presented

May the sheriff's office and county jail be relocated to a town that is not the county seat?

Brief Response

The sheriff must keep his office at or within one-half mile of the county courthouse in accordance with Section 25-1-99 of the Mississippi Code. The county jail must be located in the county seat unless there is specific legislation expressly and clearly authorizing the jail to be located away from the county seat or if a county chooses the joint construction option with a municipality in accordance with Section 17-5-1.

Applicable Law and Discussion

Several county offices, including the sheriff's office, must be kept at the county courthouse or within a half-mile of the courthouse if an office shall not be provided at the county courthouse for them. Miss. Code Ann. § 25-1-99.

With respect to the county jail, this office has consistently opined that a county jail must be located within the municipal boundaries of the county seat. See MS AG Op., Nowak (Jan. 15, 2009); MS AG Op., Nowak (May 12, 2010); MS AG Op., Carroll (Aug. 11, 2000). Corpus Juris Secundum defines a county seat as follows:

A "county seat" is the town or city where the seat of a county government is located, where the county court and other courts are held, and where the county officers perform their duties and functions. While a county seat is a place where a county courthouse is located, ordinarily, the term applies not merely to the lot and buildings used for transacting public business, but to the territory occupied by such town as may be designated a county seat.

20 C.J.S. Counties § 70.¹

Section 259 of the Mississippi Constitution provides:

No county seat shall be removed unless such removal be authorized by two-thirds of the electors of the county voting therefor; but when the proposed removal shall be toward the center of the county, it may be made when a majority of the electors participating in the election shall vote therefor.

As noted in MS AG Op., Nowak at *2-3 (Jan. 15, 2009), in its analysis of Section 259 of the Mississippi Constitution, the Mississippi Supreme Court quoted Justice Ethridge as follows:

In his able treatise on Mississippi Constitutions, Judge George H. Ethridge, who was a member of this Court for more than two decades, in discussing Section 259 of the Constitution, at page 449 of the text, said:

'The purpose of this section is to keep a county seat where it is located and prevent undue agitation of removal questions unless the demand is well warranted by the desires of a large portion of the voters of the county. At the county seat are situated the public offices, the court house and the jail and sometimes other public buildings. It costs a good deal of money to build suitable buildings for these purposes, and when they are once located they ought not to be removed for the mere accommodation of ambitious towns and cities. It was thought that it would be well to require more than a mere majority of the votes to authorize such removal in the interest of public peace and to save agitation and expense. It often happens that a majority of the voters of a county are situated on one side of the center of the county, and sometimes they are located in a city near one side of the county. If in such case the removal could be authorized by a mere majority it would result in the county seat being placed at great distance to the people who have business at the county seat, and would increase the expense of holding courts by having long mileage for jurors and witnesses. The section recognizes the desirability of having the court house near the center of the county. It therefore provided when the removal shall be towards the center of the county that a mere majority will control the election and settle the election in favor of removal if the majority favors such removal.'

MS AG Op., Nowak at *2-3 (Jan. 15, 2009); citing Jackson County Historical Society v. Jackson County Board of Supervisors, 214 Miss. 156, 58 So. 2d 379 (1952).

We have further opined that "legislation may be enacted to expressly and clearly authorize the jail to be located away from the county seat." MS AG Op., Nowak (May 12, 2010).

Separately, Section 17-5-1 permits a county to contract with a municipality for the joint construction, preservation and use of a jail between a county and any municipality within the county. In such case, the jail would not be required to be in the county seat. Based on the supplemental information you provided, we understand this to be the method by which the jail was built in Eupora. Notably, this office does not opine on or interpret contracts. Thus, we have not reviewed the 1965 agreement between Eupora and Webster County and offer no comment on its application to your question.

Accordingly, it is the opinion of this office that Webster County may only establish a county jail in the Town of Mathison if there is specific legislation expressly and clearly authorizing the jail to be located away from the county seat or if it is constructed pursuant to Section 17-5-1.²

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