Section 9-17-1 - Establishment of office; appointment and compensation of court administrator(1) If a circuit or chancery district contains more than one (1) judge or chancellor, the judges or chancellors may establish jointly the office of court administrator for that judicial district with an order entered on the minutes of each court in that judicial district. The establishment of the office of court administrator shall be accomplished by vote of a majority of the participating judges or chancellors in the district, and such court administrator shall be appointed by vote of a majority of the judges or chancellors and may be removed by a majority vote of the judges or chancellors. In case of a tie vote, the senior judge or senior chancellor shall cast two (2) votes.
(2) As an alternative to subsection (1), in a circuit or chancery district containing more than one (1) judge or chancellor, a judge or chancellor independently may establish the office of court administrator for that judge's or chancellor's office with an order entered on the minutes of each court in that judicial district appointing the court administrator to serve at the will and pleasure of the hiring judge or chancellor.(3) In a county court where there is more than one (1) county judge, the county judges may establish jointly the office of court administrator for that county court with an order entered on the minutes of that court. The establishment of the office of court administrator shall be accomplished by vote of a majority of the county judges in the county, and the court administrator shall be appointed by a vote of a majority of the county judges and may be removed by a majority vote of the county judges. In the case of a tie vote, the senior county judge shall cast two (2) votes.
(4) In a county court with one (1) county judge, the office of court administrator shall be established with an order entered on the minutes of that court. The appointment of the court administrator shall be accomplished with an order entered on the minutes of the court stating that the court administrator serves at the will and pleasure of the county judge.(5) Before a court administrator appointed under this section may be hired, the Administrative Office of Courts will evaluate the chosen applicant to determine if the applicant meets the minimum requirements of the position of court administrator.(6) The court administrators shall be provided office space in the same manner as such is afforded the circuit judges , chancellors and county judges.(7) The annual salary of the court administrator appointed pursuant to subsection (1) shall be set by vote of the circuit judges or chancellors of the district and shall be submitted to the Administrative Office of Courts for approval pursuant to Section 9-1-36. The salary shall be paid in twelve (12) installments on the last working day of the month by the Administrative Office of Courts after it has been authorized by the participating judges and chancellors and an order has been duly placed on the minutes of each participating court. Any county within a judicial district having a court administrator shall transfer to the Administrative Office of Courts one-twelfth (1/12) of its pro rata cost of authorized compensation, as defined in Section 9-1-36, for the court administrator by the twentieth day of each month for the compensation that is to be paid on the last day of that month. The board of supervisors may transfer the pro rata cost of the county from the funds of that county pursuant to Section 9-17-5(2)(b).
(8) The annual salary of each court administrator appointed pursuant to subsection (2) shall be set by the appointing circuit judge or chancellor and shall be submitted to the Administrative Office of Courts for approval pursuant to Section 9-1-36. The salary shall be paid in twelve (12) installments on the last working day of the month by the Administrative Office of Courts after it has been authorized by the appointing judge or chancellor and an order has been duly placed on the minutes of the participating court. Any county within a judicial district that has a court administrator shall transfer to the Administrative Office of Courts one-twelfth (1/12) of its pro rata cost of authorized compensation, as defined in Section 9-1-36, for the court administrator by the twentieth day of each month for the compensation that is to be paid on the last day of that month. The board of supervisors may transfer the pro rata cost of the county from the funds of that county pursuant to Section 9-17-5(2)(b). (9) The annual salary of the court administrator appointed to subsection (3) shall be set by a vote of the county judges of the county and shall be paid by the county's board of supervisors.(10) The annual salary of the court administrator appointed pursuant to subsection (4) shall be set by the county judge of the county and shall be paid by that county's board of supervisors.(11) For all travel required in the performance of official duties, the court administrator shall be paid mileage by the county in which the duties were performed at the same rate as provided for state employees in Section 25-3-41, Mississippi Code of 1972. The court administrator shall file a certificate of mileage expense incurred during that term with the board of supervisors of each participating county and payment of such expense shall be paid proportionately out of the court administration fund established pursuant to Section 9-17-5.Laws, 1978, ch. 531, § 2; Laws, 1993, ch. 518, § 41; Laws, 1994, ch. 506, § 2, eff. 3/23/1994.Amended by Laws, 2024, ch. 480, HB 1315,§ 2, eff. 5/8/2024.