Simpson County Reports on Bad Larry Buffington

The Simpson County newspaper has reported on bad Larry Buffington. This is becoming quite a story.

Simpson County has put former Supreme Court Justice Oliver Diaz on the payroll.

In a board meeting, the Simpson County Board of Supervisors adopted an order by Chancery Court Judge Larry Buffington instructing them to hire recently defeated Supreme Court Justice Oliver Diaz as the youth court public defender for Simpson County, effective January 1,2009.

The rate of pay for Diaz is $400 per month and retirement benefits.

According to the supervisors, they have no options. They must comply with the judge's order. In the past they have tried to challenge judge's orders and basically discovered that it was not worth the battle.

Judge Buffington said that he offered the position to Diaz so that he would be eligible for his state retirement, and he said that Diaz will only serve in the position for one year.

No one in the legal community was willing to comment about the
appointment.

Did Bad Larry Buffington Respond?

Some of the comments on Sid Salter's blog, seem to be an actual response from Judge Larry Buffington. Here are the statements by someone identifying theirself as "larrybuffington" as well as responses from Salter and others.

larrybuffington wrote:

sid, if you are going to criticize me, fine, but at least tell the people the truth. First, at least check the facts and don't assume. In order to run all courts in the state you have to have personnell. Up until last year we had a youth court public defender in all my counties. Because of the previous administrator she failed to fund the position without any discussion between me and the board. There was and is still an outstanding order to pay the previous public defender, a position that is a must since the law requires repesentation for those accused of a crime. Even though I could have forced them at that time I used who I could with the understanding that at the next budget year they would reinstate. When he court budget was prepared this was put in. They elected to not fund fullly even though they knew this had to be done to comply with the law to provide indigent represenation. Now you are crying that I am affecting the education of the children of Simpson County. You know full well that the board funds the school budget based on the schools request and the school board has to make the cuts from their budget from state provided funds not local funds. The schools will recieve the full amount they requested from the supervisors. If you would have checked you would also find that the Board budgeted itself funds for conferences that they go to. These are helpful, however, i am sure that if you check with the people of Simpson County they would rather make sure that delinquent children have representation so that i can do my job rather than have the supervisors go to conferences if their such a shortage. It is also strange to hear you question properly running a court when you have constatnly ranted about the appeal process on criminal cases because in the past the courts didn't have proper representation for defendants. You also would have found out that they did budget $2000 so the actual cost for the remainder of the budget year would only be ab [1/23/2009 2:10 PM CST]

larrybuffington wrote:

$2300. You also know that if Ed or i had got elected that the governor would have appointed(which you have constantly sought) for the remainder of the term. No special election-no costs to my counties. The only one who cost the taxpayers a dime extra was your candidate, Judge Carlton, since the governor had to call a special election, strange we heard nothing about this. Wonder why? If you disagree with a law, get changed like you did, but don't try to add untruths to your statements to rant against me. Finally I will again trust the people of the 13th district when election time comes. I feel sure that they will make their vote based on the job they feel I have done, thankfully, not on the opinion of a Jackson newspaper writer that doesn't tell it straight. They thankfully are smart enough to know fact from fiction and realize that I do care about doing my job right and if I had been elected they would not have had to pay for a do-over election. [1/23/2009 2:27 PM CST]

sid salter wrote:

LARRYBUFFINGTON — Running for two offices simultaneously is a lot different than running for higher office in a different branch of government when you have oneyear left in a term, as Virginia Carlton did. In order to make a valid comparison, Carlton would have had to have been running for the Chancery Court and the Court of Appeals in the same election on the same ballot as you did. She was in the third year of a legislative term and as you know, but ignore, the legislative and judicial elections are on different cycles. Your Chancery Court race and the Court of Appeals race were in the same cycle on the same ballot. You can compare your dual candidacy and Carlton's single candidacy until the cows come home, but it's certainly not a valid comparison. Running for two offices simultaneously is merely an indication that you somehow think the taxpayers owe you a living — just as you apparently also think that the taxpayers owe Justice Diaz another year on his state retirement. Is Diaz qualified? You bet. But should Simpson County voters who rejected him at the ballot box be forced to employ him because you want to help him complete his PERS years? Were there no Simpson County attorneys who could have done that part-time work in Simpson County?

larrybuffington wrote:

Sid, I agree that there is a difference in what I did and Carlton did. You still need to address why you told the people that I would have cost a special election when you knew different. Judges who are elevated are replaced by appointment. The reason I brought up Carlton is because to replace her did cause a special election and you seemed so concerned about the cost of special elections should I win and that it would be a disservice to he people of Simpson County. I was not trying to compare our candidacy just show the people to read this blog, that you were untruthfull about my causing a special election. I don't know where you get that I feel that the taxpayers owe me anything. The law allowed me to do what I did just like the law allowed Carlton to do what she did. If she had lost she still had a taxpayer job. Since the law has been changed concerning dual candidacy then maybe it should be changed to require elected officials who want to run for other offices that would require a special election should they win to resign so that the election could be at the same time. You also have not responded to why you would lead people to believe that I am taking money from the school budget when you know or should that the schools get their money at the start of the fiscal year and that the millage is set and can't be changed up or down. The only one cutting the budget is the state not the county. [1/26/2009 4:18 PM CST]

larrybuffington wrote:

As to the hiring of Oliver, yes there are Simpson County lawyers that are qualified and in fact I have 4 that do youth court jobs in other counties for me. Because of the makeup of the counties(rural) attorneys from other counties serve to fill the needed legal jobs in both chancery and circiut courts. In fact the two public defenders for Simpson County are not from Simpson County and they are paid nearly 15 times what Oliver makes. Also the previous County Administrator hire by the board did not live in Simpson County even though there are many qualified people. In fact I believe that today 3 people from Simpson County serve as County Administrators in other counties. I say this to point out that the people elect the officials and we make our decisions on who to hire. Of my people hired in my district for youth court positions 7 of 12 are from Simpson County. So as you can see the taxpayers of Simpson County receive more benefits than my other counties even though there are the same amount of jobs to run youth court in each county. And yes all of these individuals receive Pers benefits and yes I consider all of them freinds. With the requirements of youth court we depend on attorneys to work for a small amount of money each month and thankfully they are willing to give up the time from making money to help. Finally all of the people I hire I feel comfortable that they will do the job. Oliver is no different from the rest. If he is fortunate enough to finish out his Pers requirement then that is a small benefit for what he will be required to do. [1/26/2009 4:39 PM CST]

sidsalter wrote:

LARRYBUFFINGTON - The fact that the Legislature moved to outlaw dual candidacies, as you note, after your simultaneous races says all that needs to be said. The Legislature decided to take action to keep self-serving politicians from exploiting the previous law to their own benefit. Good for them.

And then here are a few comments responding to bad Larry Buffington, apart from Salter.

spencerg wrote:

Buffington's posts on this thread are prime examples of why he shouldn't be on ANY bench... not only are they full of spelling and punctuation errors but he also fails to answer the most telling question: Is Diaz qualified for this job or is this just political cronyism at work? Aside from being a disgraced former Mississippi Supreme Court Justice, does Diaz have any other pertinent qualifications... like a distinguished criminal law practice or any significant Youth Court experience in Harrison County?

skyClarence wrote:

Is that really Judge Buffington responding to this blog, or is someone impersonating him? Whoever it is sounds arrogant "my people" and "my counties" and "the people I hire." Does a Chancery Judge really hire these positions? I thought he ordered the Supervisors to hire him.

confederaterose wrote:

Judge Buffington: The fact that the law allows you to do something does not mean you should do it. Okay,so the tax payers would not have had to pay for a special election to fill the Chancery Court position if you had been elected to that position and Appellate Court at the same time. So what? What it would have meant is that you would have effectively taken away the right of the voters to elect their Chancery Court Judge! It means that Hayley Barbour would have appointed someone to that position. The appointment would have been for a full term and it would have been based on politics rather than the will of the people. It means that you care more about advancing your political career than you do about the peoples right to choose!
The same thing is true about you "ordering" the Board of Supervisors to hire Oliver Diaz. Legally,you may have had the authority to order the Board to hire "a" Public Defender but I seriously question your legal and/ or ethical authority to "order" the Board to hire a specific individual! The people elected the Board to make decisions for the county,not you. Certainly no one would question whether it was ethical for you to recommend Diaz for the job but it sounds to me like you went out of your way to reopen the closed position for the purpose of appointing him to it! What happened to the individual who held it previously? Was he/ she suddenly unavailable?
As far as I am concerned, these decisions on your part demonstrate the arrogance of a man who has been in public office for so long that he has become overblown with self importance and contemptuous of the little people (voters) who entrusted him with the office! Shame on you Larry Buffington.

Sid Salter on Bad Larry Buffington

Clarion Ledger Perspective Editor Sid Salter has blogged about bad Larry Buffington.

When I heard the news that Chancery Judge Larry Buffington of Collins had ordered the Simpson County Board of Supervisors to hire defeated former state Supreme Court Justice Oliver Diaz as a Simpson County Youth Court public defender, I wasn't at all surprised. Buffington told the Clarion-Ledger that he ordered the supervisors to hire Diaz because the board had cut out of their county budget a public defender post he wanted filled — AND — because Diaz told him he needed one more year to qualify for his state retirement benefits.

The move will cost the Simpson County taxpayers about $4,300 in the current fiscal year and $5,750 over the next calendar year - money that Simpson County had cut from the budget in a lean budget year. Mississippi Adequate Education Funds have already been cut for the Simpson County public schools for kids who aren't in trouble. The county already has two other appointed public defenders. But Buffington is going to force the Simpson County Board of Supervisors to pay Diaz and there's nothing they can do about it.

But who should be surprised. Buffington, in 2006, sought re-election to his chancery judgeship while simultaneously running for an open seat on the state Court of Appeals. Had he won the Court of Appeals race - which he didn't — his constituents in Covington, Jefferson Davis, Lawrence, Simpson and Smith counties would have had to turn around and pay for a special election. But he didn't care. It was legal, so he did it.

Forcing Simpson County to help Oliver Diaz finish out his retirement - or forcing them to pay for another public defender their elected representatives didn't believe they could afford - isn't a great leap from not caring if you make the taxpayers pay for a do-over election so you can run for higher office with a safety net.

But I suspect Simpson County voters will remember this come the next judicial election...or at least they should.

Dozens of comments have been posted, and again, here are a few of the choice ones.

GeneFrenkle wrote:

It is not incumbent upon the people of Simpson County to ensure that Justice Diaz has a soft place to land now that he is off of the court, nor is it Judge Buffington's place to guarantee that Justice Diaz will be provided the generous benefits provided by state retirement.

spencerg wrote:

Consider this: Buffington has been rejected by voters from large districts TWICE -- once in 2006 for the 4th Dist. Appeals Court seat and once in 2002 for Southern Dist. Supreme Court Justice. Meanwhile he keeps getting elected to his local post.

BillT wrote:

Wait a minute. A judge not only gets to tell a county to fill a position, but also gets to pick who gets hired? When a head hunter puts you in a new job they get a cut of your salary. Does the judge get his cut?

spencerg wrote:

Not only is Buffington going to force the county to fill a position but then to dictate who gets that position, it had better be for more that just doing a political buddy a favor. So I repeat my question: Was either criminal law or Youth Court ever a significant part of Oliver Diaz's Harrison County legal practice?

spencerg wrote:

My original argument was that despite two full posts of Larry Buffington ranting in a manner that shows a complete lack of judicial temperament he had failed to offer ANY evidence that Oliver Diaz has the skills needed to provide effective counsel to clients facing criminal charges in a Youth Court. If your argument is that the only qualification needed to fill the position is a law license then you are right. But that means that ANY attorney would do and therefore the ONLY reason that Diaz, a man who doesn't even live in the affected jurisdiction, was selected by Buffington was as a result of political cronyism.

Clayton wrote:

The point is, if this was a pressing issue, why didn't Judge Buffington make the appointment earlier? Because it wasn't important to him until his friend Oliver Diaz needed to finish out his retirement. Then he orders, not that the position be filled, but it be filled with his pick so his friend can finish out retirement.

SharonD23 wrote:

When a judge decides to appoint people like this, how does he go about it? Does he take resumes? Does he announce the position and ask for applications? What rules do they have? Can they just pick their friends and set their salaries?

Y'ALLing it up on Buffington's Diaz Appointment

The politicos over at Y'allPolitics are talking up Buffington's appointment of Diaz. Just a few comments at this one: SALTERBLOG - Chancery Judge Larry Buffington strikes again but more than twenty comments at this one: Diaz ordered to Simpson job. A lot of them are simply discussing semantic issues regarding retirement funds. Here are just a few choice thoughts.

This effects all PERS retirees and the fund and is just plain wrong. -north ms lawyer

So Judge Buffington and Diaz are hurting the tax payers of Simpson County, the tax payers of all of Mississippi, and Mississippi retirees. I hope someone in Simpson County can stop this and make Diaz call on some other friend to help him get his state retirement. Or, he could just apply for a regular job like anyone else. -josepacheco

We can’t reward bad behavor, especially in the conduct of a judge, no matter how close they are to retirement. Granted, small potatoes in the whole scheme of all the wrong things that are happening in our world but the voters of Simpson County should not be penalize because someone feels sorry for him. -catty

But this one is the best one.

Judge Buffoon is utilizing his judicial office to take care of a buddy and supporter. Basic rule - that is wrong...Taking care of your friends by use of the public watering hole is wrong. And in my opinion its even worse when it is a judge...Buffington is appropriating taxpayer dollars from the citizens of Simpson County when that is a proper function of the Supervisors - not a Judge. Remember your 8th grade Civics - legislative branch appropriates, judicial branch has no authority to appropriate. Same thing applies to the hiring of employees. The Supervisors are charged with deciding WHO to hire, not the Judge. IF - and that is a big “if” - the youth court needed a public defender and it was not being provided for by the county - and the only way to get this required service done would be by court order - the judge cannot name who the county hires. (There are established procedures for making such a selection - not just hiring your buddy because he needs a job.) He might require that they get the service provided, but he can’t compel them to hire his choice for the job. And he doesn’t specify the pay rate or other details. The five members of the Board of Supervisors were elected to take care of these administrative issues, not the Chancery Judge. If a person is hired for this position, surely there are lawyers in Simpson County that would like to at least apply for it. Currently, there are two defenders in Simpson County, and according to the records there, every time their services have been needed in youth court, they have provided them. Every youth court defendent that needed a public defender has been provided one by the county. Why does the Chancery Judge decide to add to the county’s employee burden by hiring his buddy just so that he can qualify for state retirement? Understand this might not be the only time he has abused his discretion in Simpson County on issues like this. Might just be the beginning of an interesting story here. - pete perry

Buffington Orders Retirement, With Budget Bust on the Side

Jimmie Gates at the Clarion Ledger did a great story on Buffington's latest exploit.

Former state Supreme Court Justice Oliver Diaz Jr. has been appointed as a Simpson County Youth Court public defender, though the county doesn't have enough money set aside to pay him.

A chancery judge ordered that Diaz, who lost a re-election bid last year, be given the job.

Diaz, a former appeals court judge and lawmaker, had told Chancery Judge Larry Buffington of Collins he needed one more year to qualify for the state retirement system.

But Buffington explained that Diaz will fill a position that had been cut out of the budget that he he had told Simpson County officials he wanted restored.

"I needed someone, and (Diaz) needed a job," Buffington said.

County Administrator Rhuel Dickinson said because Diaz's part-time position was ordered by a judge, the county will have to come up with the funds to pay him.

Buffington ordered on Jan 6 that Diaz work as of Jan. 1st $400 per month, plus retirement.

Dickinson says only $2,000 was put in this fiscal year's budget for a Youth Court public defender. For the remainder of this fiscal year, which ends in October, Diaz's position will cost the county $4,300 in unbudgeted funds. That figure includes retirement.

For the calendar year, it will cost roughly $5,750, Dickinson said.

He said the county has two other appointed public defenders.

Buffington said Diaz, in a meeting after the November general election, told him he lacked about a year's employment to qualify for the state retirement system and asked him for consideration should a position open up.

Youth Court meets once a month in Simpson County.

But the best part of the stories are the comments on the online edition. There are a bunch. Here are a few.

There are two from "Begood":

The more I think about this the more upset I get. What happened to announcing job vacancies and letting all the local attorneys apply? Why not give young attorneys a way to make a few extra bucks. Why force Simpson Co,. to contribute to someone out the counties retirement. I will do all I can to defeat Judge Buffington. I wonder how long he has to draw a state retirement...This stinks to high heaven. Diaz is not from any of the counties in this Judicial District. How can a Judge order a County to hire someone that he wants to help out? Forget the $400 monthly pay. It's the years of retirement he will draw afterwards. Want to see how much public service he does then. I have nothing againist either man, but this is totally wrong. The Simpson County Board of Supervisors should refuse to fund this position.

"OldBallard" wrote:

You've got these two trial lawyer judges (Buffington and Diaz) in cahoots to get taxpayer dollars. Meanwhile on the same page in the Clarion Ledger is an article about Hinds County Special Judge Breland Hiburn who is now going to volunteer his time and not get paid, but still be a judge. Hinds County can't pay but he is helping out and when asked why he said, "Hinds County has been good to me." That is public service. Not like Buffington and Diaz who are making their decisions based on money not judicial service.

These thoughts from "SharonD23":

This is outrageous. We're in a major economic recession. Simpson County has cut its budget. It doesn't even have the money for this position. Now Judge Larry Buffington, in violation of judicial ethics, has ordered Simpson County to give his friend Oliver Diaz a job, so he can finish out his state retirement. Simpson County taxpayers will be paying Oliver Diaz for a year, so Mississippi taxpayers can pay him for the rest of his life. Arrogance and abuse of power. Taxpayers should not be paying Diaz OR Buffington!

"PaulWBrown" opines:

A bargain price for a former supreme court justice who escaped prosecution and prison as some of his buddies, but that is not the point. An arrogant judge appoints Diaz so he can get his retirement. The county does not have the money. No matter, the good old boys take care of each other. Just another example of why people have so little faith in politiicans and bureaucrats. Begood is right, the supervisors should stand tall and refuse to fund the position.

WLOX-Biloxi and WLBT-Jackson both reported on the matter.

Diaz says Chancery Judge Larry Buffington called him up and asked him to take the position. Diaz will also qualify to be part of the state retirement system with the new job. He said he "lacked a little bit of time" to qualify for full retirement.

The AP also had a story.

We are not alone

Bad Larry Buffington has a history of upsetting people. Check out these two previous blogs.

http://larrybuffington.blogspot.com/

http://victimsofjudgebuffington.blogspot.com/