The Oktibbeha County Board of Supervisors unanimously appointed Eupora-based lawyer George Mitchell Jr. as the special prosecutor for Starkville Alderman Henry Vaughn’s upcoming driving under the influence trial.
Vaughn’s court date was moved to Aug. 11 by Oktibbeha County Justice Court Judge William “Tony” Boykin last month after county prosecutor Haley Brown recused from the proceedings.
Oktibbeha County has used Mitchell, Maben’s city court prosecutor, in previous recusal situations, administrators confirmed this week.
Brown issued her recusal in court June 30 after Vaughn’s defense attorney, Roy A. Perkins, pressed for a trial to be held immediately.
Perkins is also a Starkville board member.
Vaughn’s previous attorney tentatively agreed to a plea bargain that would have given nonadjudication for the DUI first charge and, after successfully meeting certain court-ordered conditions, have the incident removed from his record.
DUI first convictions carry either a $250-$1,000 fine, a jail sentence of up to two days or both penalties, while nonadjudications do not carry a penalty of jail time.
Nonadjudications for eligible, first-time DUI offenders became effective last year after state lawmakers amended numerous criminal statutes.
Vaughn was arrested and charged with the misdemeanor, along with careless driving and no proof of liability insurance, about 2 a.m. June 19, 2014.
Little is known about what spurred the incident, as Oktibbeha County Sheriff’s Department officials have not commented on the arrest and denied a Freedom of Information Act request by The Dispatch for additional information.
OCSD officials first verbally denied the request on the grounds that publishing documents would taint a jury pool, but statute does not allow the option of trial by jury for cases in which the potential period of incarceration is less than six months in jail.
Sheriff’s department officials say they submitted the request to the district attorney’s office, and a written denial was requested but not supplied.
An incident report was unavailable in the justice court’s case file, while an available arrest and booking report contains no narrative of the arrest.
Court records show Vaughn refused to submit to a breath test following his arrest.
The insurance charge was dismissed last year after Vaughn showed that he had insurance.
Vaughn’s bail was set at $1,641, and he was released from custody about an hour after being booked.
Brown said last month in open court that she would step away from the case to avoid “an appearance of impropriety that could come with an elected, local official prosecuting another elected, local official.”
“Hiring a prosecutor outside of the county not affiliated with local politics will give (residents a sense of fairness),” she said to Boykin during June’s court session.
Perkins objected, asking the judge to proceed with the trial. He said the outside prosecutor requirement is a burden on taxpayers and the delay is strain on him and his client.
“This case has been pending for over a year. She’s had ample time, and this is untimely in our opinion,” Perkins told Boykin. “She should have gotten out before (the June 30 court date). The prosecutor is elected to prosecute cases in this county, and there’s no reason not to prosecute.”
Court documents show Vaughn’s former attorney, Charles Bruce Brown, withdrew as his representative in May after the alderman indicated his desire to hire new counsel.
Boykin eventually accepted Brown’s recusal and rescheduled the trial.
“I don’t worry about the time it takes to get justice, and I don’t worry about what it costs. Justice shouldn’t have a price. Having justice for Mr. Vaughn is greater than anything else,” he said last month. “I know the case has been passed around. I’ll take the blame since (the case is) in my court. We don’t need to get into a hurry about justice being served. I’m going to hear the case and make a decision based on the best of what I know, but it would be improper for me not to recognize (the recusal).”
EDITOR’S NOTE: Dispatch Reporter Carl Smith is engaged to Oktibbeha County Prosecutor Haley Brown. Information for this story was gathered from public records furnished by the Oktibbeha County Justice Court and in-court dialogue.
Carl Smith covers Starkville and Oktibbeha County for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter @StarkDispatch
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