Mississippi Code
Miss. Code Ann. § 25-1-37 (2026)
Acts of de facto officer valid
✓ current as of July 2026
The official acts of any person in possession of a public office and exercising the functions thereof shall be valid and binding as official acts in regard to all persons interested or affected thereby, whether such person be lawfully entitled to hold the office or not and whether such person be lawfully qualified or not; but such person shall be liable to all the penalties imposed by law for usurping or unlawfully holding office, or for exercising the functions thereof without lawful right or without being qualified according to law.
Codes, 1857, ch. 6, art 194; 1871, § 317; 1880, § 415; 1892, § 3065; 1906, § 3473; Hemingway's 1917, § 2811; 1930, § 2899; 1942, § 4045.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 13
cases (1 in the last 5 years), 1975–2025 · leading case: Crocker v. Sears, Roebuck & Co., 346 So. 2d 921 (Miss. 1977).
Crocker v. Sears, Roebuck & Co., 346 So. 2d 921 (Miss. 1977). “Crocker cannot raise the question of Judge Watkins' qualifications before this Court.”
Polk v. State, 612 So. 2d 381 (Miss. 1992). “Polk finally argues Beesley could not act, because a mayor as part of the executive branch of government cannot serve in a judicial function, namely as a magistrate.”
Jackson Redevelopment Auth. v. King, Inc., 364 So. 2d 1104 (Miss. 1978). “Section 25-1-37 Mississippi Code Annotated (1972) provides: The official acts of any person in possession of a public office and exercising the functions thereof shall be valid and binding as official acts in regard to all persons interested or affected thereby, whether such…”
Frazier v. State by & Through Pittman, 504 So. 2d 675 (Miss. 1987). “As to the contention of Anderson that the membership of the Commission was illegally and unconstitutionally appointed, this constitutes a collateral attack upon the membership, which Anderson cannot do in this proceeding.”
Nelson v. State, 626 So. 2d 121 (Miss. 1993). “539 (1929); Miss. Code Ann. § 25-1-37 (1972). These authorities make it clear that one who acts pursuant to the color of authority, though without legal authority, nevertheless performs valid acts.”
Miss. Real Est. Appraiser v. Schroeder, 980 So. 2d 275 (Miss. Ct. App. 2007). “The circuit court's analysis of this issue states, "[i]n light of the Court's ruling this argument need not be addressed except to say that section 25-1-37 Miss. Code Ann. (1972) provides that official acts are valid and binding whether the person is lawfully entitled to hold…”
Raper v. State, 317 So. 2d 709 (Miss. 1975). “[2] "The official acts of any person in possession of a public office and exercising the functions thereof shall be valid and binding as official acts in regard to all persons interested or affected thereby, whether such person be lawfully entitled to hold the office or not and…”
Barton v. Barton, 726 So. 2d 163 (Miss. 1998). “The Court of Appeals concluded that Chancellor Grist's authority ended when the divorce decree became final, and therefore, at the time of the contempt hearing, Chancellor Grist was not a de jure judge.”
Chambliss v. State, 801 So. 2d 824 (Miss. Ct. App. 2001). “Miss.Code Ann. § 25-1-37 (Rev.1999). ¶ 7.”
Robert Lenoir v. State of Mississippi (Miss. 2025). “Here, the April 6, 2021 order appointing Judge Johnson specifically ordered that “[a] copy of this [o]rder shall be immediately furnished to Chief Justice Michael Randolph as notice required by Miss.”
Charles Oliver v. State of Mississippi (Miss. Ct. App. 2019). “Further, Mississippi Code Annotated section 25-1-37 (Rev. 2018) states: The official acts of any person in possession of a public office and exercising the functions thereof shall be valid and binding as official acts in regard to all persons interested or affected thereby,…”
Wilma Walker v. Harry Sartin (Miss. 1995). “While noting that the source of the judge's authority under either the statute appointing a special judge acting for a sick or disabled judge or filling in judicial vacancies was not apparent from the record, this Court stated that the judge was a de facto circuit judge under…”
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