Miss. Supreme Court: Attorney General, not auditor, can prosecute state fund recoveries
The Mississippi Supreme Court unanimously ruled Thursday that Attorney General Lynn Fitch, not State Auditor Shad White, has the authority to prosecute and manage litigation seeking the recovery of state funds, Justice Jenifer Branning wrote for the court.
The ruling resolves a nearly two-year dispute between the two Republican statewide officials. Fitch appealed a November 2024 Hinds County chancery court order by Chancellor J. Dewayne Thomas that said the auditor could institute a lawsuit while the attorney general would prosecute it. The Supreme Court heard arguments in January and issued its decision Thursday.
“Because the chancery court’s order breaks new ground as a total departure from the legislatively prescribed role of the auditor, we reverse the orders of the chancery court,” Branning wrote. She noted a 1952 amendment that changed the statute from giving prosecutorial powers to the auditor to assigning prosecution to the attorney general. Branning also wrote that the attorney general is the state’s “chief legal officer” and must be an attorney, while the auditor’s duties focus on accounting, auditing and investigations and the office has no such requirement.
The dispute began after Fitch objected to White’s effort to sue NFL Hall of Famer Brett Favre to recoup misspent Temporary Assistance for Needy Families funds. Fitch filed a petition in February 2024 to prevent White from pursuing a counterclaim against Favre in a defamation case, accusing White of hampering the state’s TANF investigation and the progress toward recouping funds in civil litigation “as well as potential criminal prosecutions.” In her petition, Fitch wrote that “the actions of the Auditor’s office are aid to our legal adversaries and a disservice to the people.”
White said Fitch “failed to sue Favre for everything he owes — and then sued to stop me from trying to get the money back, too. Just let me do the job, even if you won’t,” and after the Supreme Court ruling he issued a statement saying, “Now that the court has ruled that Lynn Fitch has the sole authority to file suit to get misspent taxpayer money back, I can only assume the Attorney General will now change course and begin to aggressively fight in court for the recovery of all the welfare money. Maybe she will fight as hard to do that as she fought to stop me from recovering the money. Mississippi taxpayers deserve nothing less.” The two officials have been reported as possible candidates for Mississippi governor in 2027.
Source: Original Article
