In Mississippi, there are two federal district courts, a state supreme court, a state court of appeals, and trial courts with both general and limited jurisdiction. These courts serve different purposes, which are outlined in the sections below.

Click a link for information about that court type.

• Federal courts
• State supreme court
• State court of appeals
• Trial courts

The image below depicts the flow of cases through Mississippi's state court system. Cases typically originate in the trial courts and can be appealed to courts higher up in the system.

The structure of Mississippi's state court system.

Judicial selection process

See also:Mississippi judicial elections andJudicial selection in Mississippi

Selection of the state court judges in Mississippi occurs through the nonpartisan election of judges (except in the municipal courts, where judges are appointed).Mississippi was the first state in the union to begin electing judges by popular vote.^[1][2][3]

While the general jurisdiction courts have varying policies on judge qualifications, (e.g., chief justice selection and term length), they share common regulations on re-election and the filling of interim vacancies. Likewise, the limited jurisdiction courts function largely the same across the board, differing primarily in judge qualifications.^[2][4]

Judges of theMississippi Supreme Court andMississippi Court of Appeals serve eight-year terms. Circuit, chancery, county, and justice court judges serve four-year terms.^[5]

Judges' terms on the supreme court and the court of appeals begin on the first Monday in January following election.^[6][7]

To read more about judicial elections in Mississippi,click here.

Federal courts

Thefederal district courts in Mississippi are the:

• United States District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi
• United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi

Appeals from these districts go to theU.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit.

Active judges

Northern District

Below is a display of the number of active judges by the party of the appointing president. It does not reflect how a judge may rule on specific cases or their own political preferences.

• Democratic appointed: 1
• Republican appointed: 2

Southern District

Below is a display of the number of active judges by the party of the appointing president. It does not reflect how a judge may rule on specific cases or their own political preferences.

• Democratic appointed: 1
• Republican appointed: 5

District map

Judicial selection

Judges who sit on the federal district courts are nominated by thepresident of the United States and confirmed by theUnited States Senate. These judges serve life terms. To read more about the judges on these courts, clickhere.

Bankruptcy courts

There are twofederal bankruptcy courts in Mississippi. These courts have subject-matter jurisdiction over bankruptcy cases. The federal bankruptcy courts in Mississippi are:

• United States bankruptcy court, Northern District of Mississippi
• United States bankruptcy court, Southern District of Mississippi

State supreme court

See also:Mississippi Supreme Court

Founded in 1817, theMississippi Supreme Court is the state'scourt of last resort and has nine judgeships. The current chief of the court isMike Randolph.^[8][9]

The Mississippi Supreme Court has jurisdiction over appeals in capital punishment cases, along with "annexations, bond issues, constitutionality challenges, ... disciplinary matters involving attorneys and judges, election contests, certified questions from federal court, utility rates, cases of first impression and issues of broad public interest."^[9]

The following judges sit on the court:

State court of appeals

See also:Mississippi Court of Appeals

TheMississippi Court of Appeals is the intermediate-levelappellate court forMississippi. The court was created by theMississippi Legislature to relieve a backlog of cases in theMississippi Supreme Court; it commenced operations in 1995.^[10]

The Mississippi Court of Appeals hears and decides appeals from the various trial courts of the state. The cases the court hears are assigned to it by the state supreme court and generally relate to issues where the law is already settled but the facts are in dispute. For this reason, it is known as an "error correction court." The supreme court may review appellate court decisions, but if the supreme court declines review, the decision of the court of appeals stands.^[10]

The court's geographic jurisdiction is divided into five districts. Some of the state's counties are divided between districts.^[10][11]

There are 10 judges on the Mississippi Court of Appeals.

Trial courts

Circuit courts

See also:Mississippi Circuit Courts

TheMississippi circuit courts aretrial courts that hear felony criminal prosecutions and civil lawsuits. They also hear appeals from thecounty courts, thejustice courts, themunicipal courts and from various administrative boards and commissions such as the Workers’ Compensation Commission and the Mississippi Department of Employment Security.^[12]

Chancery courts

See also:Mississippi Chancery Court

TheMississippi chancery courts aretrial courts that have jurisdiction over disputes regarding equity, domestic matters (including adoptions, custody disputes and divorces), guardianships, juvenile cases, (in counties which do not have a county court), sanity hearings, wills, and challenges to the constitutionality of state laws. Land records are also filed in chancery court.^[12]

There are 20 chancery court districts, with one to four chancery court judges (chancellors) per district. Chancellors areelected to four-year terms in nonpartisan elections.^[12]

Chancery court trials are typically heard without ajury, but a party may request one if desired.^[12]

County courts

See also:Mississippi County Courts

TheMississippi county courts have exclusive jurisdiction over eminent domain proceedings and juvenile matters inMississippi. The state has 22 county courts and 30 county court judges.^[12]

According to the Mississippi Judiciary's website, "In counties which have a County Court, a County Court judge also serves as the Youth Court judge. County Courts share jurisdiction with Circuit and Chancery Courts in some civil matters. The jurisdictional limit of County Courts is up to $200,000. County Courts may handle non-capital felony cases transferred from Circuit Court. County Court judges may issue search warrants, set bond and preside over preliminary hearings. County Courts have concurrent jurisdiction with Justice Courts in all matters, civil and criminal."^[12]

Justice courts

See also:Mississippi Justice Courts

TheMississippi justice courts "have jurisdiction over small claims civil cases involving amounts of $3,500 or less, misdemeanor criminal cases and any traffic offense that occurs outside a municipality. Justice Court judges may conduct bond hearings and preliminary hearings in felony criminal cases and may issue search warrants."^[12]

Unlike other judicial elections in Mississippi, elections to the Justice Court are partisan. A term on the Justice Court is four years. There are 197 judges and 82 courts in the system.^[12]

Municipal courts

See also:Mississippi Municipal Courts

According to the Mississippi Judiciary's website, "Municipal courts have jurisdiction over misdemeanor crimes, municipal ordinances and city traffic violations. Municipal judges may conduct initial appearances in which defendants are advised of the charges being filed, as well as bond hearings and preliminary hearings."^[12]

Unlike other types of judges in Mississippi, municipal judges are appointed by local authorities, and there is no standard term length. There are 237 municipal courts in Mississippi. Most municipalities have a single judge.^[12]

In other states

See also

• Judicial selection in Mississippi
• Mississippi judicial elections

External links

Suggest a link

• Search Google News for this topic
• State of Mississippi Judiciary

Footnotes

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