State of Mississippi Judiciary

Improving foster care for children is something that government can’t do alone, Gov. Phil Bryant told a planning meeting to recruit more foster parents in Jackson on Friday.

Gov. Phil Bryant, Chief Justice Bill Waller Jr., Justice Dawn Beam and Child Protection Services Director Dr. David Chandler will talk about the need for more foster parents during a Rescue 100 Vision meeting at 10 a.m. Friday, Sept. 9 at the Gartin Justice Building at 450 High Street in Jackson.

Fourth Circuit Drug Court Coordinator Tamela Hardy of Greenville is the new president of the Mississippi Association of Drug Court Professionals.

WINGS, the Working Interdisciplinary Network of Guardianship Stakeholders, will meet at 10 a.m. September 8 at the Gartin Justice Building in Jackson.

An online free civil legal website recently began operation to assist poor people. Volunteer Mississippi attorneys will answer civil legal questions via e-mail through the website, https://ms.freelegalanswers.org/.

The Mississippi Supreme Court has appointed five new members to the Bar Complaint Tribunal, and reappointed four members.

Mississippi Supreme Court Presiding Justice Jess Dickinson on Thursday challenged access to justice advocates to push for extension of right to counsel for the poor to the civil arena.

The Mississippi Association of Drug Court Professionals Twelfth Annual Conference is scheduled for Aug. 24-26 at the BanCorpSouth Conference Center, 387 East Main Street in Tupelo.

Mississippi Supreme Court Justice Ann H. Lamar of Senatobia will be the keynote speaker Aug. 18 during orientation for new law students at the University of Mississippi School of Law. Justice Lamar will speak at 9:50 a.m. in Weems Auditorium at the Robert C. Khayat Law Center in Oxford.

The Mississippi Access to Justice Commission will observe its 10-year anniversary Aug. 25 with a summit to reflect on a decade of work to improve civil legal access for the poor, and discuss the future.

Mississippi Supreme Court Justice Dawn Beam of Sumrall will administer the oath of professionalism to new law students entering Mississippi College School of Law during an orientation program Aug. 10.

The Sixth Annual Indian Child Welfare Act Conference will be held Aug. 10 at the Silver Star Convention Center at Choctaw.

The Mississippi Commission on Children’s Justice will meet at 10 a.m. Aug. 1 at the Supreme Court of Mississippi Carroll Gartin Justice Building, 450 High Street in Jackson.

Supreme Court Justice Ann H. Lamar of Senatobia is the recipient of this year’s Chief Justice Award.

The newly created Forfeiture Transparency Task Force will meet at 1 p.m. June 15 at the Gartin Justice Building, 450 High Street in Jackson.

The newly created Forfeiture Transparency Task Force will meet at 1 p.m. June 15 at the Gartin Justice Building, 450 High Street in Jackson.

The newly created Forfeiture Transparency Task Force will meet at 1 p.m. June 15 at the Gartin Justice Building, 450 High Street in Jackson.

The newly created Forfeiture Transparency Task Force will meet at 1 p.m. June 15 at the Gartin Justice Building, 450 High Street in Jackson.

The newly created Forfeiture Transparency Task Force will meet at 1 p.m. June 15 at the Gartin Justice Building, 450 High Street in Jackson.

Six free family law clinics are scheduled during July in Chancery Courts in Lee, Union, Alcorn, Tishomingo, Itawamba and Monroe counties. Low income people may be provided with free legal assistance with adoptions, child support modification, custody, conservatorships, guardianships, irreconcilable differences divorces, emancipations and name changes.

The Access to Justice Commission will meet at noon June 7 at the Mississippi Bar Center at 643 North State Street in Jackson. Commission members will gather for lunch at 11:30 a.m.

The Mississippi Parent Representation Committee will meet at 10 a.m. June 3 to discuss funding for pilot programs that provide legal representation to parents facing the possibility of having their children taken away and standards for attorney representation.

Retired Circuit Judge Marcus D. Gordon of Union died on Thursday, May 26, at St. Dominic Hospital in Jackson. He was 84.

The Mississippi Administrative Office of Courts is seeking to recruit language interpreters for court proceedings. AOC will conduct a seminar to introduce bilingual speakers to the requirements for court interpreting on June 15-16 at the University of Southern Mississippi Gulf Park Campus in Long Beach.

Commission on Children’s Justice to meet on May 16 in Jackson
May 10, 2016

The Mississippi Commission on Children’s Justice will meet at 11 a.m. May 16 at the Capitol in Room 103.

As graduation season approaches, schools aren’t the only institutions preparing to mark milestones. Eight people who have struggled with drug addiction and found sobriety and drug-free lifestyles will be honored at the Hinds Circuit Drug Court graduation ceremony at 6 p.m. May 18.

Mississippi trial court judges elected officers at the Spring Trial and Appellate Judges Conference in Biloxi on April 27.

Court of Appeals Judge David M. Ishee of Gulfport, Circuit Judge Dal Williamson of Laurel and Chancellor Cynthia Brewer of Madison County were inducted as a Fellows of the Mississippi Bar Foundation on April 14. They were among 20 inductees recognized at a dinner ceremony at the Old Capitol Inn in Jackson.

Investiture of Judge Linda Coleman set for April 24 in Cleveland
April 20, 2016

An investiture ceremony for Circuit Court Judge Linda F. Coleman is scheduled for 3 p.m. April 24 at the Bolivar County Courthouse in Cleveland. Justice Leslie D. King of Greenville will administer the ceremonial oath.

The Mississippi Access to Justice Commission, Mississippi State Department of Health’s Office of Health Disparity Elimination and the Mississippi Center for Justice will host a MedicalLegal Partnership Learning Session on May 4 at the University of Mississippi Medical Center Conference Room at the Jackson Medical Mall, 350 West Woodrow Wilson Avenue in Jackson. The session will begin at 9 a.m. and end at 1 p.m.

Gov. Phil Bryant today signed into law the Termination of Parental Rights Act and the Juvenile Detention Licensing Act.

The Mississippi Court of Appeals will hear oral arguments on the campus of the University of Mississippi at 1:30 p.m. and 3 p.m. April 21. A three-member panel of the court will convene at the Robert C. Khayat Law Center in Moot Court 1, Room 2078, to hear two criminal appeals.

The Mississippi Reentry Council today made recommendations regarding employment, housing, mental health care and other issues affecting former inmates after their release from prison.

WINGS, the Working Interdisciplinary Network of Guardianship Stakeholders, will meet at 10 a.m. April 15 at the Gartin Justice Building in Jackson.

A Gulfport church, courts and the Division of Family and Children’s Services are working together to train prospective foster parents in an effort to provide safe temporary homes for hundreds of abused and neglected children in Harrison County.

Free legal assistance events are scheduled for April 25 and May 6 in Jackson and on May 19 in Hattiesburg to help low income with record expungement.

1817 Mississippi Constitution to be on display at State Library in Jackson April 12

The original 1817 Mississippi Constitution will be on display on Tuesday, April 12, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the State Law Library in Jackson.

Retired Chancellor Sebe Dale died April 5, 2016

Retired Chancellor Sebe Dale Jr. died Tuesday, April 5, at his home in Columbia. He was 94.

Free family law clinic are scheduled during March and April in Chancery Courts in Lee, Union, Monroe, and DeSoto counties.

Judge Linda Coleman sworn in at the Capitol before former Legislative colleagues

Newly appointed Circuit Court Judge Linda F. Coleman of Mound Bayou took the oath of office at the Capitol before her former colleagues in the Mississippi House of Representatives on Tuesday, March 22.

Harrison County Youth Court recently added a Family Drug Court to assist parents whose drug problems have resulted in their children being taken into the custody of the Department of Human Services or being involved in proceedings with DHS and the Youth Court.

Harrison County Youth Court recently added a Family Drug Court to assist parents whose drug problems have resulted in their children being taken into the custody of the Department of Human Services or being involved in proceedings with DHS and the Youth Court.

Circuit Judge Marcus Gordon retires after more than 36 years on bench

Circuit Judge Marcus D. Gordon on Friday, March 4, announced his retirement from the Eighth District Circuit Court of Leake, Neshoba, Newton and Scott counties.

Investiture ceremonies for Mississippi Supreme Court Justice Dawn H. Beam are scheduled for March 7 at 11 a.m. at First Baptist Church in Gulfport and at 3p.m. at Bennett Auditorium on the campus of the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg.

Legislators commend Access to Justice Commission for work to help the poor

The Mississippi House of Representatives on Tuesday, March 1, recognized the Access to Justice Commission for a decade of work to improve poor people’s access to the civil justice system.

The Access to Justice Commission will meet at noon March 1 at the Gartin Justice Building, 450 High Street in Jackson.

Rick J. Coulter of Columbia is the new chairman of the Commission on Judicial Performance, and Circuit Judge James L. Roberts Jr. of Pontotoc is vice-chair.

Governor calls Justice Beam a calm, experienced judge

Gov. Phil Bryant said that a calm demeanor and extensive work with children, families and the Department of Human Services made Justice Dawn Beam his choice as the newest member of the Mississippi Supreme Court.

Mississippi Judical College Director and former Supreme Court Justice Randy Pierce will be the guest speaker at the Third Circuit Drug Court graduation ceremony scheduled for 2 p.m. Feb.16 at the Lafayette County Courhouse in Oxford.

Justice Beam to take Supreme Court oath of office Feb. 16

Mississippi Supreme Court Justice Dawn H. Beam of Sumrall will be sworn in at 9 a.m. Feb. 16 as the newest member of the state’s highest court

Judge Jim Greenlee takes oath of office

Mississippi Court of Appeals Judge Jim Greenlee of Oxford took the oath of office Wednesday, Jan. 20, before his new colleagues in the Court of Appeals courtroom in Jackson.

Justice Ann Lamar will not seek re-election to Supreme Court

Mississippi Supreme Court Justice Ann H. Lamar will not seek re-election to the court at the end of her term. She announced today that she plans to leave the court when her current term ends in December 2016.

Chancery Courts in Forrest and Lamar counties will begin voluntary electronic filing of court documents on January 18, and e-filing will become mandatory on February 15.

Stephen Parks selected as new head of State Law Library

Mississippi Supreme Court Justice Ann H. Lamar will not seek re-election to the court at the end of her term. She announced today that she plans to leave the court when her current term ends in December 2016.

An investiture ceremony for new Circuit Court Judge Claiborne "Buddy" McDonald is scheduled for 10 a.m. Jan. 9 at the Pearl River County Courthouse in Poplarville.