Mississippi House Speaker Pro Tem Greg Snowden, R-83, pleaded no contest and requested non-adjudication in his charge for refusing a breathalyzer in September in city court Monday. 

On Sept. 27, the Meridian Police Department charged Snowden with a DUI refusal after responding to an accident on Highway 39N without injuries in Meridian. 

Municipal Court Judge Robbie Jones sent the order for non-adjudication to the Department of Public Safety, which provides defendants in certain cases with alternatives to incarceration.

“The order of non adjudication lets them know that he’s participating in this program,” Jones said. 

To qualify for non-adjudication, a defendant must not have any prior DUI convictions and cannot drive under a commercial license.

By pursuing non-adjudication, Snowden, whose district includes Lauderdale County, also agreed to waive his right to appeal and attend the state’s DUI intervention course, known formally as the Mississippi Alcohol Safety Education Program (MASEP). 

“What Judge Jones did under the non-adjudication is the same thing that’s allowed for any citizen in Mississippi who is charged with (a) DUI-first offense,”  Bill Ready Jr., Snowden’s attorney, said. “What that means is that Mr. Snowden’s license is suspended for 120 days but he will be afforded the opportunity to drive with the interlock device that all citizens have the ability to do by the payment of the normal fines and costs and fees.”  

State law permits the two-day sentence for the first DUI to be substituted for a victim impact panel course. 

Ready asked that Snowden be permitted to fulfill these requirements in classes in Jackson since his legislative schedule will keep him there for much of the time in the upcoming months.

“He can schedule anywhere that is agreeable to him,” Jones said.

Additionally, Snowden agreed to pay $980 in fines, with a portion of that fine going to state assessments, an ignition interlock fund and non-adjudication fund. 

By his review date on March 28, Snowden must have completed the MASEP course, victim impact panel and paid his fine or else have his license suspended and be found in contempt of the court.

“I was raised to understand that when you make mistakes, when you mess up, that you deal with it and you work to do better,” Snowden said Monday. “The mistakes that I’ve made, I’m never, ever going to repeat – that I can promise. I’ve had to learn some hard lessons but I’m going to use those lessons to be a better person and a better public servant.”

Snowden declined to expand upon how the experience would change his legislative view and make him a better public servant. 

 “I really can’t elaborate on that other than to say that I’ve learned some hard lessons that I intend to apply and make myself a better person,” Snowden said. “And that’s what I’m going to work hard to do.”