JACKSON (AP) — The Mississippi Supreme Court has ordered a public reprimand for former Hinds County Justice Court Judge Nicki Boland for comments she made in 2005 at a National Drug Court Training Conference in Dallas.

Boland was defeated last fall in her re-election bid.

The Mississippi Commission on Judicial Performance filed a complaint against Boland in April 2007. The commission claimed that during a training session with the Hinds County Drug Court Planning team, Boland became upset and combative with the group and said that as far as she was concerned ‘‘the African-American community can just go to hell.’’

Boland, according to the commission, also said the Hinds County Board of Supervisors gave no leadership and that supervisors were not intelligent. Three of the five Hinds supervisors are black.

The commission found that ‘‘inflammatory, derogatory language and disruptive behavior’’ rose to the level of judicial misconduct.

Boland contended that what she talked about at the Texas conference was her frustration with ‘‘so-called black leaders trying to sabotage the drug court system for their own personal and political gain.’’

Justice Chuck Easley, writing Thursday for the Supreme Court, said it was clear that Boland made derogatory comments about fellow elected officials, program participants and the members of the community she served as a justice court judge.

‘‘This conference was not a forum for expressing personal concerns about the alleged lack of educational background or demeanor of fellow judges or the alleged lack of intelligence of supervisors, nor was it the proper place for an alleged personal attack on a team participant, or an alleged attack on residents of Hinds County,’’ Easley wrote.



AP-CS-02-28-08 1532EST