Buffington's "willful misconduct...brings the judicial office into disrepute"

The Mississippi Commission on Judicial Performance has suggested to the Mississippi Supreme Court that they publicly reprimand Chancery Court Judge Larry Buffington for his "misconduct" that "brings the judicial office into disrepute." The Commission lists four violations of the Code of Judicial Conduct of Mississippi and a violation of the Mississippi Constitution.

(Y'all Politics has the actual press release and documents.)

It is not uncommon for some justice court, municipal court, or even county judge to receive a reprimand. But this is a significant action against a Chancery Court Judge. If our quick search of the Mississippi Supreme Court actions is accurate, Buffington might well be only the fourth chancellor in recent years to have a public rebuke.

Hyde Rust Jenkins, II - 1998
Walter W. "Wes" Teel - 2003 (Teel is now in prison)
Ceola James - 2005

According to the Judicial Performance Commission's 2009 Annual Report, 226 complaints were filed against Chancery Court Judges from 2006-2009. Most were dismissed or dealt with in private. Buffington's charges rose above the trivial accusations to merit attention by the Mississippi Supreme Court.