A chancery judge has ordered Simpson County supervisors to appear before him next week to discuss his order to hire former state Supreme Court Justice Oliver Diaz as a Youth Court public defender.
“He told the chancery clerk to have us there at 8:30 a.m. on next Wednesday, Feb. 11,” supervisors’ President Harvey Blakeney said.
Chancery Judge Larry Buffington of Collins couldn’t be reached Wednesday. He told The Clarion-Ledger in a previous interview he wanted to know who in the county was upset with his order to hire Diaz and who had contacted the media.
“If they think they’re embarrassing me, they’re not,” Buffington said last month.
But Blakeney said Wednesday, “It has gotten blown all out of proportion. We have not said anything other than we didn’t have the money in the budget.”
Magnolia Tribune
