State of Mississippi Judiciary

A study committee of judges and journalists has recommended that some Mississippi trial court proceedings be opened to camera coverage.

A recent study of state court districts shows an imbalance in case load and population distribution among districts and supports adding more chancery and circuit judges to some districts.

The Mississippi Supreme Court on Tuesday set a Jan. 8, 2003, execution date for Mississippi death row inmate Ronald Chris Foster.

Mississippi Supreme Court Justice George C. Carlson Jr. on Monday spoke to four government classes at his alma mater, South Panola High School in Batesville.

A four-year study of attitudes in the Mississippi court system has concluded that gender bias is not a widespread problem.

Mississippi Supreme Court Chief Justice Edwin L. Pittman on Wednesday said he hopes the Legislature will allow voters to decide whether to switch to an appointed system for the Supreme Court and Court of Appeals.

Mississippi Supreme Court Chief Justice Edwin L. Pittman today announced creation of a task force to formulate and recommend to the Legislature a Constitutional Amendment which would change the method by which Mississippi selects judges of the Supreme Court and Court of Appeals.

The Mississippi Council of Youth Court Judges in a recently adopted resolution said the staffing shortage at the Department of Human Services "creates a crisis for children at risk."

Mississippi Supreme Court Chief Justice Edwin L. Pittman on Thursday said he will ask legislators during the 2003 session to abolish "herd" districts for judges, give pay raises for judges and implement a system of regional drug courts.

Helen McDonald of Summit, a recovering OxyContin addict, said her children recently told her that they hope she stays in Drug Court forever because it has kept her off drugs.

Mississippi Supreme Court Chief Justice Edwin L. Pittman on Wednesday asked state judges to seek help for lawyers or judges whom they suspect have alcohol or drug problems.

Mississippi Supreme Court Chief Justice Edwin L. Pittman on Monday called for creation of a statewide drug court program.

The Mississippi Supreme Court on Thursday, Oct. 17, adopted a new rule addressing motions which request that appellate judges disqualify themselves from hearing certain cases.

Mississippi Supreme Court Chief Justice Edwin L. Pittman is expected to be the keynote speaker at the 14th Circuit Court District Drug Court graduation on Oct. 21 in Magnolia. The graduation is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. at the Pike County Courthouse.

The Mississippi Bar and the Mississippi Supreme Court on Tuesday honored 63 members of the bar who died during the past year.

Frank McGriggs said he expected his life of drug dealing and using to end at the grave or jail. He surprised himself with a happier fate.

Two students from the University of Mississippi School of Law are representing indigent criminal defendants in their appeals.

Pike County Circuit Court is getting an electronic evidence presentation system.

Mississippi Supreme Court Justice James E. Graves Jr. last week was a guest instructor at Harvard Law School.

The Supreme Court Media and the Courts Study Committee will meet at 1 p.m. Friday, Oct. 11, at the Lauderdale County Courthouse in Meridian. The meeting will be in the circuit courtroom on the third floor.

A majority of the former justices of the Mississippi Supreme Court have endorsed the Constitutional amendment which would create six-year terms for state trial judges.

The Mississippi Supreme Court on Tuesday announced that it has unanimously adopted a resolution endorsing the Constitutional amendment which would create six-year terms for chancery and circuit judges.

The Judicial Advisory Study Committee, created by the Legislature to recommend improvements for the justice system, reaffirmed its recommendation of longer terms for trial judges.

Justices of the Mississippi Supreme Court have named three new members to the lawyer disciplinary Complaint Tribunal and reappointed two veteran members.

Mississippi Supreme Court Chief Justice Edwin L. Pittman on Friday pledged to take a leadership role in finding ways to make the state's civil justice system accessible to poor people who can't afford to hire lawyers to represent them in their legal problems.

The nonprofit national Legal Services Corporation on Friday announced that Mississippi will receive a $500,000 grant to set up a statewide toll free legal aid intake and referral hotline.

Poor people who can't afford to hire a lawyer face problems in gaining access to the civil justice system, Mississippi Supreme Court Chief Justice Edwin L. Pittman said.

The Supreme Court Media and the Courts Study Committee will meet at 1 p.m. Friday, Sept. 20, at the Washington County Courthouse in Greenville. The meeting will be in the chancery courtroom on the first floor.

The Supreme Court Media and the Courts Study Committee will meet at 1 p.m. Friday, Aug. 30, in Gulfport.

Mississippi Court of Appeals Judge David Chandler recently participated in a six-week study of constitutional law at the University of Virginia.

Jackson County Circuit Court was approved this week to receive electronic evidence presentation equipment through a grant program designed to aid jurors and make trial presentations more efficient.

The State Law Library in Jackson is now offering free access to computerized legal research.

Court of Appeals Judge William H. Myers recently helped present a continuing legal education seminar dealing with the handling of evidence in civil litigation.

Coahoma County Circuit Court will soon get electronic equipment designed to make evidence easier for jurors to understand and make evidence presentation quicker and more efficient.

The U.S. Department of Justice on Monday approved a proposed constitutional amendment that would increase Mississippi trial judges' terms from four years to six years. The Justice Department also approved one new county court judgeship each for Madison and Rankin counties.

The Mississippi Bar Foundation recently named Supreme Court Justice James E. Graves Jr. as recipient of its Law-Related Public Education Award.

Mississippi Supreme Court Chief Justice Edwin L. Pittman named as recipients of this year's Chief Justice Awards former Justice Fred L. Banks Jr., Hattiesburg attorney Carroll H. Ingram and the members of the Board of Bar Commissioners.

A U.S. Supreme Court ruling that struck down a Minnesota judicial canon as a violation of free speech does not affect Mississippi's Code of Judicial Conduct, Chief Justice Edwin L. Pittman told lawyers and judges attending the annual Mississippi Bar Association Convention in Sandestin, Fla. on Wednesday.

Mississippi Supreme Court Justice Oliver E. Diaz Jr. of Biloxi is one of 30 judges from across the country to be accepted into the University of Virginia School of Law Master of Laws in the Judicial Process program.

The Judicial Advisory Study Committee on Friday recommended that the Mississippi Supreme Court adopt a rule that would automatically identify cases pending before a trial court judge for six months without a ruling.

Justice George C. Carlson Jr. told north Mississippi lawyers last week that work at the Supreme Court involves a high volume of cases, constant deadlines and a requirement for consensus.

The Supreme Court Media and the Courts Study Committee will meet at 1 p.m. Thursday, July 25, at the Lee County Justice Center in Tupelo. The meeting will be in the small courtroom on the second floor.

Colleagues remembered the late Presiding Justice Michael D. Sullivan as a man of wit and wisdom Thursday as they gathered to pay tribute to him and unveil his portrait at the Mississippi Supreme Court in Jackson.

More than 200 judicial candidates, campaign managers, finance chairpersons and consultants gathered in Jackson Thursday for a seminar on campaign conduct rules, ethics and finance law.

Supreme Court Justice George C. Carlson Jr. on Tuesday, May 28, in Grenada, told graduating law enforcement officers to wear the uniform proudly, be fair, and never be afraid to admit making a mistake.

Smith County voters re-elected Bob Purvis as tax assessor in 1943, but he never knew about his victory at home. Before his parents' letter about his election success could reach him, Purvis was killed on Aug. 11, 1943, in fighting in Sicily when a shell hit his tank.

A memorial to combat veterans of four wars will be unveiled Sunday, May 26, at the Smith County Courthouse in Raleigh. A ceremony is scheduled for 2 p.m. on the courthouse lawn.

Lee County Circuit Court will get state-of-the-art electronic evidence presentation equipment in June. Equipment is expected to be installed in the second floor Circuit Court courtroom at the Lee County Justice Center in Tupelo during the week of June 17.

A portrait of the late Presiding Justice Michael D. Sullivan will be unveiled at the Mississippi Supreme Court at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, May 30. A reception will follow in the third floor lobby of the Gartin Justice Building.

Chancery Judge Edward E. Patten Jr. of Hazlehurst was recently named as one of two representatives of the Mississippi Conference of Chancery Judges on the Supreme Court Advisory Committee on Rules.

The Jackson County Children's Services Coalition has named Chancery Judge Jaye Bradley of Pascagoula as recipient of its Champion for Children Award.

Benton County officials hope their new courthouse can be a model for technology on a budget. The converted garment factory incorporates state-of-the-art technology and courtroom efficiency with a price tag of $625,000.

The Mississippi Supreme Court on Monday appointed attorney Samuel D. Habeeb, 33, as a special judge to hear cases in the Warren County Court. The appointment came as a result of the April 24 suspension of Warren County Judge H. Gerald Hosemann.

Circuit Judge Robert G. Evans of Raleigh began his duties as chairman of the Conference of Circuit Judges last week at the Mississippi Trial and Appellate Judges Spring Conference in Biloxi.

Mississippi Supreme Court Chief Justice Edwin L. Pittman on Thursday said that the Mississippi Bar may seek new regulations regarding lawyer advertising.

Mississippi Supreme Court Chief Justice Edwin L. Pittman has appointed Court of Appeals Judge William H. Myers to serve on the Committee on Continuing Judicial Education.

Benton County officials turned the loss of a local industry into space for county government. A former garment factory in Ashland became the Benton County Courthouse.

The Mississippi State University Pre-Law Society has named state Supreme Court Chief Justice Edwin L. Pittman as recipient of the Distinguished Jurist Award for 2002.

Copiah County will celebrate the centennial of its courthouse in Hazlehurst on May 4 with a music festival featuring local high school and college bands and a performance by the Mississippi Symphony Orchestra.

The Mississippi Supreme Court on Thursday adopted a new Code of Judicial Conduct and revised a rule of attorney discipline to prohibit readmission to the practice of law of felons convicted of crimes of deceit and certain drug crimes.

Mississippi Supreme Court Chief Justice Edwin L. Pittman on Wednesday told a Brookhaven civic club that he favors proposed legislation which would abolish special elections for trial court judges and extend trial judges' terms to six years.

The Mississippi Supreme Court on Monday gave 30 computers to Starkville's Armstrong Middle School. It is the first of several expected property transfers intended to turn outdated equipment into teaching tools for public schools.

Outdated equipment for the Mississippi Supreme Court will become free technology for Byram Middle School and Terry High School this week.

Pike County's Drug Court is expanding April 1 with a separate program to offer treatment for alcoholics facing third offense felony charges of driving under the influence of alcohol.

A judicial committee studying public access to the courts and the relationship between the media and the courts plans to hold a series of meetings with representatives of news media.

The Supreme Court's Task Force on Gender Fairness will conduct the first of three public hearings on Thursday, March 21, in Jackson. The hearing is scheduled for 5:30 to 7 p.m. at the Mississippi Bar Center at 643 North State Street.

Mildred Chandler of Weir watched her son in court for the first time Wednesday when she visited the Mississippi Court of Appeals in Jackson.

The Mississippi Association of Educators on Monday, March 11, will honor Supreme Court Justice James E. Graves Jr. at its annual Human and Civil Rights and Scholarship Awards Banquet.

Mississippi Supreme Court Justice Chuck McRae helped extend a hero's welcome and thanks to New York Firefighter Matt Moore Jr. during a visit to Natchez on Friday.

The head of a national drug court education, training and research organization told a Jackson audience Tuesday that drug courts work and the proof is in the numbers.

Chancery Judge Jaye Bradley recently began ordering divorcing parents and their children in George County to attend counseling classes.

The Supreme Court's Gender Fairness Task Force is conducting a public opinion survey and has scheduled three public hearings to gauge public attitudes about gender fairness or bias in state courts.

Members of Delta Emerging Leaders met with Court of Appeals Judges Tyree Irving and Leslie D. King Tuesday as part of a three-day study tour in Jackson.

Circuit Judge James W. Backstrom announced Tuesday that he will not seek re-election this year to a third term in the 19th Circuit Court District. The district is made up of Greene, George and Jackson counties.

The Mississippi Supreme Court on Friday sent a revised proposal to amend the Code of Judicial Conduct to the conferences of chancery, circuit and county court judges for comment.

A perception of gender bias lingers in Mississippi state courts, according to surveys of judges, court staff and lawyers.