NATCHEZ — Those who have shown contempt for Adams County Justice Court now have to pay their due — literally.

Justice Court Judge Charlie Vess earlier this year approached the Adams County Board of Supervisors about the possibility of holding contempt of court hearings for those who owe the justice court overdue fines. The court has a backlog of late fines so significant that Justice Court Clerk Audrey Bailey told the supervisors the list of names is hundreds of pages long.

Now, the judge is following up his suggestion with action.

“Ms. Bailey printed out a master list of people who had past due fines, and we are going through those to see which ones have gone through the collection agency and set something up,” Vess said. “Those who have not (set something up with the collection agency), we are sending notices.”

When a judge sentences someone to a fine, they may give the defendant time to gather the money, Bailey said. Once that deadline has been missed, the court sends them a notice, and continues to do so every three months.

After a year of unanswered notices, the matter is turned over to the county’s collection agency, Receivable Solutions.

Justice Court has had two rounds of contempt of court hearings for those with past-due fines, and will have another one April 24. The cases are handled on special days so they don’t interfere with the regular docket.

Vess said the contempt hearings are being held not because he has anything to gain, but in the name of justice.

“You don’t owe Judge Vess or Judge (Patricia) Dunmore the money, you owe the money to Adams County,” he said. “I am merely trying to collect this debt, especially on the criminal fines.”

The judge said he’s also continuing a practice he’s employed for some time, which is to check if anyone who appears in Justice Court on new criminal charges has any previous unpaid penalties.

He said he gives them notice of the old fine, and if they fail to pay he will sentence them to 60 days jail.

“You can spend 60 days in jail and then make bond on your new charges, or it will be six minutes if you get your old fine paid,” he said.

“It has been very successful.”

Vess said on April 20 he will be holding contempt hearings on behalf of Receivable Solutions for unpaid medical bills associated with Natchez Regional Medical Center.

“We are doing this to lower the hospital debt and lower the criminal fine debt, with the ultimate goal of avoiding any tax increases this fall,” he said.

Receivable Solutions collects money owed to the county, and recoups its fees by charging an additional percentage to the person who owes the bill.