Mississippi Supreme Court

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Mississippi Supreme Court
Sitting Justices
James Smith
Oliver Diaz
Charles Easley
George Carlson
James Graves
Jess Dickinson
Mike Randolph
Ann Lamar
2008 challengers
Jim Kitchens
Ceola James
Paul Newton
Bubba Pierce
Gene Barton
David Chandler
Former justices
Mississippi on Judgepedia

The Supreme Court of Mississippi is the highest court in the state of Mississippi. The court includes nine Supreme Court justices who are elected from three districts. Non-partisan elections are staggered so that not all positions are up for election at once. Supreme Court justices serve eight-year terms. In 2008, ten candidates are competing for four seats on the high court.[1]

The court was created in the first constitution of the state following its admission as a State of the Union in 1817. Initially it was known as the "High Court of Errors and Appeals." The Court is an appellate court, as opposed to a trial court; thus, the Court's primary function is judicial review. The Court building is located in downtown Jackson, Mississippi, the state capital.

The Court has exclusive jurisdiction over reviewing capital punishment cases. The Mississippi Court of Appeals, the state's other appellate court, was created by the Legislature (Miss. Code Ann. § 9-4-1, effective September 6, 1994) to assist the high court in managing a large caseload. The Court of Appeals generally handles criminal cases and cases concerning family law issues, though its jurisdiction is also mandated by statute. All cases submitted for appellate review in the state are filed in the Supreme Court, which then re-directs the appropriate cases to the Court of Appeals and retains the cases over which it has exclusive jurisdiction. After the Court of Appeals makes its ruling, aggrieved parties in certain types of cases there may seek further review from the Mississippi Supreme Court by petitioning for a Writ of Certiorari.

Contents

Court Composition

The Court is made up of nine total justices - one chief, two presiding, and six associate justices. Generally, the justices are elected for eight-year terms, with staggered election years, from three geographical districts (three judges per district) to ensure fair representation. However, it is common for the governor of the state to appoint a justice to fill a seat vacated by a former justice who chose to leave office early. In this scenario, the newly-appointed justice will serve the remainder of the term of the elected justice who stepped down from office. After that time, the appointed justice must be elected to remain in office. Seniority of the justices is determined by length of time in office. The chief justice is the current justice who has been in office the longest, and the presiding justices are the two who have been there longer than the other six.

Sitting Justices

Current Justices of the Mississippi Supreme Court
Current Justices of the Mississippi Supreme Court

The current Mississippi Supreme Court, in order of seniority, includes:

Currently, Lamar is the only woman justice and Graves is the only African-American justice, though neither is the first such justice to serve on the Court. The first such woman was Lenore Prather; the first African-American, Reuben Anderson. To date, no female African-American justice has served on the Mississippi high court.

2008 Elections

Mississippi Supreme Court District Map
Mississippi Supreme Court District Map

2008 will be a busy year for Mississippi's highest court. Of the four seats up for renewal, all are being contested. They are as follows:[2]

Removal From Office

Mississippi judges may be removed in one of three ways:

  • On the recommendation of the Mississippi Commission on Judicial Performance, the supreme court may censure, remove, or retire a judge.[3]
  • Judges may be impeached by two thirds of the house of representatives and removed by the senate.
  • Judges may be removed by the governor on the joint address of two thirds of both houses of the legislature."[4]

In the News

Court Floods (5/9/08)

The Mississippi Supreme Court is rescheduling cases after the new Carroll Gartin Justice Building was flooded on all four floors. The building houses the Supreme Court and Court of Appeals, among others.

Judges and their staff moved into the building in February after nearly a decade of planning and more than five years of construction. It was flooded late May 6 or early May 7, said court spokeswoman Beverly Kraft. The building is still open, but offices are operating on a limited basis. Kraft said an investigation is under way to determine the cause of the flooding, which appears to have started on the fourth floor.[5]

Supreme Court races will renew conflicts

Since the state's first constitution was drafted in 1817, Mississippi has been arguing over whether to appoint or elect judges. Historically, the fight erupted between three groups-the "aristocrats" who favored the appointment of all judges, the "half hogs" who wanted to elect some judges and have others appointed, and the "whole hogs" who wanted all judges elected.

History shows that the "whole hogs" won in 1832 and Mississippi has been electing judges ever since. However, because of special interest spending that circumvents campaign finance laws, the battle is no longer between "whole dogs" or "aristocrats," but between pro-trial lawyer and pro-business/medical interests.[6]

See Also

External Links

References

  1. ↑ Jackson Clarion-Ledger, Supreme Court races, 2008, May 10, 2008
  2. ↑ What’s in contest in the Mississippi Supreme Court election campaigns this fall
  3. ↑ Mississippi Commission on Judicial Performance
  4. ↑ Methods of Selection: Removal of Judges
  5. ↑ New Court Building Floods
  6. ↑ Supreme Court Races Will Renew Conflicts

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