State of Mississippi Judiciary

Officials spanning the spectrum of the criminal justice system as well as religious and civil liberties organizations gathered Thursday, Dec. 19, to begin work on a program to help former inmates become productive, law abiding citizens and to reduce prison recidivism.

The Mississippi Commission on Children’s Justice has recommended creation of a state funded, uniform youth court system and called for a comprehensive review of all state laws related to child protection and foster care under the jurisdiction of youth courts.

Mississippi Supreme Court Chief Justice Bill Waller Jr. and the Commission on Children’s Justice are calling for legislation to create a statewide county court system.

The Mississippi Administrative Office of Courts will conduct an Ethics and Skill Building Seminar for individuals interested in becoming court interpreters on January 9-10, 2014, at the Gartin Justice Building, 450 High Street in Jackson. Seminar presentations are scheduled 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in the first floor training room.

Mississippi Electronic Courts Director Lisa Counts and MEC Counsel Clint Pentecost will discuss Lauderdale County’s implementation of an electronic filing system for court records during a Lauderdale County Bar Association meeting at noon Dec. 4 at Weidmann’s in Meridian.

The Mississippi Court of Appeals will hear oral arguments on the campus of Mississippi State University at 1 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. Nov. 20. A three-member panel of the court will convene at the Hunter Henry Center on the Starkville campus to hear two criminal appeals.

Twenty-seven legislators from across the country visited the Rankin County Juvenile Justice Center Oct. 17. Legislators from as far away as Alaska and Puerto Rico came to learn about a model program that provides days packed with activities and classroom instruction and little time spent in a cell.

The Mississippi Court of Appeals will hear oral arguments on the campus of the University of Southern Mississippi at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Oct. 3. A three-member panel of the court will convene at the Thad Cochran Center at 118 College Drive in Hattiesburg.

Hinds Circuit Court and Hinds County Court will begin accepting voluntary electronic filing of court documents in civil cases on Oct. 1, according to an order signed this week by Senior Circuit Judge Tomie Green. E-filing will become mandatory on Nov. 1 in civil cases.

Mississippi Supreme Court Chief Justice Bill Waller Jr. will emphasize ethics and professionalism in his Aug. 13 address to law students entering Mississippi College School of Law.

Madison County Chancery Clerk Arthur S. Johnston and Circuit Clerk Lee Westbrook are recipients of the 2013 Chief Justice Award.

The Mississippi Supreme Court and Court of Appeals will begin accepting electronic filing of briefs and motions July 1.

Chancery Judge Larry Primeaux and a dozen local lawyers are working to find ways to provide civil legal assistance to low income people in Lauderdale and Clarke counties.

The volatile combinations of drug abuse, mental illness and family violence are among topics to be discussed at the Mississippi Association of Drug Court Professionals Conference, which will be held May 22-24 at Harrah’s Conference Center in Tunica.

Judge Virginia Carlton of Jackson and former Judge Mary Libby Payne of Pearl were among outstanding women honored Thursday, May 9, by the Mississippi Commission on the Status of Women.

The Mississippi Court of Appeals will hear oral arguments on the campus of William Carey University at 11 a.m. April 25. A three-judge panel of the court will convene at the Smith Auditorium in Thomas Fine Arts Center on the Hattiesburg campus.

Supreme Court Chief Justice Bill Waller Jr. has appointed Circuit Judges Robert P. Chamberlin, Roger T. Clark and Robert Helfrich to the State Drug Courts Advisory Committee.

RULES OF THE MISSISSIPPI COMMISSION ON JUDICIAL PERFORMANCE

Hinds Chancery Court began accepting electronically filed documents today, April 3. E-filing will become mandatory June 1 in Hinds Chancery Court, according to an order signed today by Senior Chancery Judge Denise Owens.

A legal clinic scheduled for April 16 in Hernando will assist low income people with irreconcilable differences divorces, child support or custody modifications, name changes and other similar cases in DeSoto County Chancery Court.

Grenada County Chancery Court is the most recent of eight counties utilizing electronic filing of court records. E-filing became mandatory on March 18 in Grenada County Chancery Court.

The creation of a drug court for the Fifth Circuit Court District completes statewide coverage of drug courts in Mississippi. All 22 Circuit Court districts now operate drug courts.

Youth Courts in Adams, Forrest, Harrison and Rankin counties are participating in a pilot program which provides free legal representation for low-income parents in Youth Court hearings in which allegations of abuse or neglect could result in court-ordered removal of children from parents’ custody.

An investiture ceremony for Mississippi Supreme Court Justice Josiah D. Coleman will be held at 4 p.m. Feb. 26 at the Lafayette County Courthouse in Oxford.

Mississippi Supreme Court Chief Justice Bill Waller Jr. on Feb. 12 praised public officials who came to the aid of Webster County. When a Jan. 17 fire heavily damaged the Webster County Courthouse in Walthall, officials from around the state reached out immediately to help

Retired Mississippi Court of Appeals Judge William Harbin Myers, 71, of Ocean Springs died Feb. 7, 2013.

Webster County residents paid taxes and attorneys filed court documents Monday morning in Eupora as county government offices reopened in temporary facilities for the first time after a Jan. 17 fire heavily damaged the County Courthouse in Walthall.

Webster County government offices displaced by a fire will open to the public with limited services at 8 a.m. on Monday, Jan. 28, at 16 East Fox Avenue in Eupora.

An investiture ceremony for Court of Appeals Judge Ceola James will be held at 2 p.m. Jan. 16 at the Gartin Justice Building, 450 High Street in Jackson.

Electronic filing of court records will become mandatory in Rankin County Chancery Court on Feb. 4. Rankin Chancery Court began accepting voluntary e-filing Jan. 2.

An investiture ceremony for Court of Appeals Judge Ceola James will be held at 2 p.m. Jan. 16 at the Gartin Justice Building, 450 High Street in Jackson.

New Mississippi Supreme Court Justice Josiah Dennis Coleman of Toccopola will take the oath of office at 10 a.m. Jan. 7 in the second floor Supreme Court En Banc Courtroom at the Gartin Justice Building in Jackson. A formal investiture ceremony will be scheduled later.