NATCHEZ — Adams County Justice Court Judge Charlie Vess said he might seek an attorney general’s opinion to clarify if he can run for Natchez municipal judge.

Vess, a 25-year veteran on the Adams County Justice Court bench, qualified in the municipal judge’s race last week.

The problem is that the city charter requires the municipal judge to have a law license and be in good standing with the Mississippi State Bar Association. Vess does not have a law degree, which is not required of justice court judges.

Vess said when he qualified, he was operating under the assumption state statute 21-23-5, which states, “If the authorities of any municipality having a population of less than twenty thousand according to the latest available federal census appoint a municipal judge, he shall be an attorney licensed in the State of Mississippi or a justice court judge of the county in which the municipality is located,” applied to the race.

A separate law, statute 21-15-2, states that municipalities operating under a special charter — such as Natchez — shall not impose additional requirements on holding any municipal elective office beyond what the state requires. Vess said he believes the municipal judgeship would fall under that statute as well.

“I meet the statutory requirement, and I was going under the color of law on state statutes,” Vess said Tuesday.

“I interpret that they are imposing additional requirements by making the municipal judge have to be a lawyer.

“I think state law should trump city charter law, and that may be a legal question that would have to come up, but I don’t think anybody would argue that I am not qualified experience-wise and training-wise to be a judge.”

Some attorney general’s opinions in the past have favored municipalities, Vess said, but his attorney was looking into it.

Vess also said he looked into having some kind of clarifying language adopted by the Legislature, but the deadline for new bills was passed and no suitable statutory bills were available for which legislators could attach an amendment. Vess said he thinks the law ultimately needs to be fixed so the matter is uniform statewide, whether that fix is local or at the state level.

For now, Vess said he considers himself a legitimate candidate until he hears otherwise.

“If I am not able to do this, I will bow out gracefully, but I think there are some questions that need to be answered,” he said.