Miss. Supreme Court Asked to Discipline Judge

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — The Mississippi Supreme Court has delayed acting on discipline for a former youth-court judge until it determines whether it can legally bar Leigh Ann Darby from holding a future judicial office.

The Mississippi Commission on Judicial Performance is charged with investigating allegations of misconduct by judges. By law, it recommends discipline to the Supreme Court, which has final say in judicial disciplinary matters.

Darby came under fire in July 2011 after she ordered three 15-year-olds to be given drug tests and transported to the Alcorn County Youth Detention Center in Corinth.

The commission said the teenagers had no previous arrests, and that Darby had no authority to order the drug tests or to order the teens sent to Alcorn County.

All three were eventually found not guilty of trespassing charges.