The county court judge’s race is a rematch of two candidates who vied for the position four years ago.
Incumbent C. Kent Haney, 71, was appointed to the position by Gov. Phil Bryant on July 1, 2014, to finish the term of retired judge Tommy Allen.
Haney, who has served in the position for four and a half years, defeated Wilbert Johnson and Darnell Felton in the 2014 election. Johnson, 57, is running against Haney once again in the upcoming general election on Tuesday, Nov. 6.
Haney is a 1965 Drew High School graduate, received his BS from Mississippi State in 1970, his Juris Doctor from Ole Miss in 1985 and his general jurisdiction from the National Judicial College in 2015.
He was a farmer from 1970 to 1985, an agricultural aviation owner, operator and pilot from 1974 to 1985, a municipal court judge in Drew from 1986 to 1988, and the Coahoma County prosecuting attorney from 1988 to 2014.
“Delinquency problems with juveniles have decreased,” said Haney when speaking of his accomplishments as county court judge. “I helped put them in detention when they needed to.”
Haney, who worked in private practice as an attorney until 2014, said he has worked with law enforcement, law offices and others during his tenure.
The county court judge handles child protection cases with the Department of Human Services. Haney believes this is one area that is underfunded.
“I just hope the state will come up with more money for the workers,” he said. “We don’t have enough workers.”
Johnson is a 1979 Prentiss High School graduate, earned his BS in criminal justice from Mississippi Valley State University in 1983 and earned his Juris Doctorate from Western Michigan University’s Thomas M. Cooley Law School in 2001.
He worked for the Mississippi Department of Corrections for 12 years taking on responsibilities as a correctional officer, correctional administrator and training officer. He has been a prosecutor for the city of Clarksdale for nine years and was a public defender for the five previous years. He still is a public defender in Tunica and Quitman counties. He has been a youth defender in Quitman County for 10 years and did the same in Coahoma County for five years.
Johnson, an attorney since 2001, worked with the late Ellis Pittman for two years and has been in private practice since 2003. One of the big issues faces local courts he cites is the backlog of cases has been out of hand.
“I believe the county court judge could play a more significant role in that because criminal cases can be tried in the county court,” Johnson said. “We have a drug court that is still newly implemented. I would like for it to expand to the county court as well as the municipal court.”
Johnson said he would like to see more programs with youthful offenders and for Coahoma County to have its own detention center.
Haney said he has done his job well for the past four-and-a-half years and believes he has earned the right to serve another term.
“Any judgeship has to have somebody who’s educated, knows the law and follows the law,” he said.
Johnson said his well-versed background working for the Mississippi Department of Corrections and as both a defender and prosecutor have prepared him to hold an elected office for the first time in his career.
“I get to see the law from both sides,” he said. “I try a tremendous amount of cases. I try, probably, 20 to 30 criminal cases per year.
“I get to judge my own work. It keeps me grounded. I see things from both sides, both points of view.”
