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The Mississippi Bar Association - 7 Litigation And General Practice

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The Litigation Section is involved in a wide range of activities of interest to the civil litigator, the general practitioner and to the bench. Through newsletters and CLE Seminars, this Section analyzes and discusses methods designed to promote justice in our courts. As a service to Mississippi attorneys, this Section also publishes the Mississippi Rules Annotated. View useful links, contacts and section officers and board members below.

Newsletters:

June 2010

July 2009

April 2009

January 2009

December 2008

October 2008

June 2008

 

MEC is Coming!

The Mississippi Electronic Court System (MEC) is only weeks away from being a reality.  On February 1, 2009, the system will go “live” in the Madison County Chancery Court.  Soon after, the Madison County Circuit Court will come on line.  Plans are to expand MEC to Scott County and Warren County as well as to other judicial districts in the State as requested.  If you are registered and using the federal court Electronic Case Filing System (ECF), MEC will look very familiar.  Our State is leading the country in adapting ECF for state court use.

 

MEC achieves three important goals: (i) public access to court records, (ii) electronic filing of pleadings and other papers, and (iii) electronic case management.  To see the current draft of MEC’s Administrative Procedures, click here.  To see the proposed rules changes and proposed AOC regulation, click here.

 

 

Decision in Lee v. Memorial Hospital Changes MTCA Compliance Analysis

For those attorneys who commonly work on matters governed by the Mississippi Tort Claims Act, the decision in South Central Regional Medical Center v. Guffy, 930 So.2d 1252 (Miss. 2006), has guided preparation of and analysis of tort claim notice letters for the past two years.  However, the Mississippi Supreme Court, in Lee v. Memorial Hospital at Gulfport, No. 2007-CA-01762-SCT (December 11, 2008) (click here), has recently characterized the bright-line Guffy standard as dictum.  According to paragraph 13 of the majority opinion in Lee:

 

Our holding today should not be interpreted as holding that the required elements do not need to be explicitly stated in the notice of claim. However, we continue to apply a substantial compliance standard to the notice requirements under Section 11-46-11(2). “What constitutes substantial compliance, while not a question of fact but one of law, is a fact-sensitive determination.” Carr v. Town of Shubuta, 733 So. 2d 261, 263 (Miss. 1999).

 

 

 

Practices and Preferences of District and Magistrate Judges of the Northern District of Mississippi

On September 5, 2008, the District and Magistrate Judges of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi hosted a CLE Seminar at the Oxford Conference Center. These are the materials distributed at the Seminar, "Practices and Preferences of District and Magistrate Judges of the Northern District of Mississippi".

Click here to view the PDF.

 

 

New Federal Rule of Evidence 502

On September 19, President Bush signed into law a bill creating new Federal Rule of Evidence 502. You may access the text of the new Rule by clicking here. You may access the Explanatory Note on FRE 502 prepared by the Judicial Conference Advisory Committee on Evidence Rules by clicking here.

 

Useful Links:

The Mississippi Supreme Court~  http://www.mssc.state.ms.us/
The Mississippi Court of Appeals~  http://www.mslawyer.com/mssc/appct.html
The Fifth Circuit~  http://www.ca5.uscourts.gov/
The US Southern District of Mississippi~  http://www.mssd.uscourts.gov/
The US Northern District of Mississippi~  http://www.msnd.uscourts.gov/
The Bankruptcy Districts of Mississippi~  http://www.lawdog.com/states/ms/st1b.htm
Mississippi State Court Judges:  http://www.mslawyer.com/mssc/cirjud2.html
www.uscourtdockets.com
Information, motion setting, docket, etc. 

CHANCERY COURT JUDGES

11th District
www.mslawyer.com/chanceryclerks/holmes2.htm
www.mslawyer.com/chanceryclerks/yazoo2.htm

12th District
www.lauderdalecounty.org/chancery_court.htm

13th District
www.mslawyer.com/chanceryclerks/jeffdav2.htm

14th District
www.mslawyer.com/chanceryclerks/chickasa.htm
www.mslawyer.com/chanceryclerks/lowndes.htm

15th District
www.15thcancerydistrictms.org

16th District
Jackson, George & Greene

Jackson County  
Myrna
Dennis, Court Administrator
myrna_dennis@co.jackson.ms.us
228.769.3193 (direct)

Sarah Westbrook, Asst. Court Administrator
sarah_westbrook@co.jackson.ms.us
228.769.3453 (direct)
Post Office Box 998
Pascagoula, MS 39568

www.co.jackson.ms.us 
to view court information, dockets, judges, calender, etc.

George County 
Allison Carmichael
355 Cox Street
Suite A
Lucedale, MS 39452
601.947.4801

Greene County  
Joyce
Freeman, Deputy Clerk
Post Office Box 610
Leakesville, MS 39451

601.394.2377

17th District
Adams, Claiborne, Jefferson & Wilkinson Counties 

Angela Thornburg, Court Administrator
Post Office Box 1144
Natchez, MS 39121

601.442.7454
chancery@telepak.net

18th District
Benton, Calhoun, LaFayette, Marshall & Tippah Counties 
Penny Pynkala, Court Administrator to Judge Alderson
Post Office Box 70
Oxford, MS 38655
662.236.0232

Marsha Kisner, Court Administrator to Judge Roberts
Post Office Box 49
Oxford, MS 38655

662.236.0233

19th District
Jones & Wayne Counties  

Noelle McKinnon, Court Administrator
Post Office Box 1961
Laurel, MS 39441

601.428.7625

20th District
Rankin & Madison Counties 

Merl Forbes, Court Administrator to Judge Zebert
Post Office Box 1437
Brandon, MS 39043

601.825.1473

Melvia Sumrall, Court Administrator to Judge Grant
Post Office Box 1437
Brandon, MS 39043
601.825.1477

www.rankincounty.org
General Information
CIRCUIT COURT JUDGES

11th District
www.ms11thcircuit.com

12th District
www.12thcircuitcourtsms.com

13th District
This district does not have any type of website.

14th District
Judge Starrett only - Users.telepak.net/~starrett/

15th District
This district does not have any type of website.

16th District
Clay, Lowndes, Noxubee & Okibbeha County
Dorothy Langford, Court Administrator
Post Office Box 1387
Columbus, MS 39703
662.329.5919

17th District
DeSota, Panola, Tallahatchie, Tate & Yalobusha Counties

Lata Lightsey, Court Administator to Judge Lamar
Latacca@bellsouth.net
202 French’s Alley
Senatobia, MS 38668
662.562.4196

Elizabeth Lentz, Court Administrator to Judge Baker
Elizabethcca@bellsouth.net
202 French’s Alley
Senatobia, MS 38668
662.562.4196

Jimmy Radford, Court Administrator to Judge Ready
Jimmyradford@desotocountyms.org 
2535 Highway 51
Hernando, MS 38632
662.429.1333

18th District
Jones County  

Rachel Stanley, Court Administrator
rstanley@c-gate.net
Post Office Box 685
Laurel, MS 39441
601.422.4228

19th District
Jackson, George & Greene

Jackson County  
Pat Smith, Court Administrator (criminal cases)
pat_smith@co.jackson.ms.us
228.769.3434

Pam Gephart, Asst. Court Administrator (civil cases)
pam_gephart@co.jackson.ms.us
228.769.3244
Post Office Box 998
Pascagoula, MS 39568

www.co.jackson.ms.us 
to view court information, dockets, judges, calender, etc.

George County  
James C. Cochran, Circuit Clerk
Kim Davis, Deputy Clerk
355 Cox Street, Suite C
Lucedale, MS 39452
601.947.4881

Greene County  
Scharlotte Fortenberry, Circuit Clerk
Post Office Box 310
Leakesville, MS 39451
601.394.2379

Http://greencircuit.tripod.com
to view general information

20th District
Rankin & Madison Counties 

Pat Green, Court Administrator for Madison County
Post Office Box 1626
Canton, MS 39046
601.8555.5555 

Kim Taylor, Court Administrator for Rankin County
Post Office Box 1885
Brandon, MS 39046
601.824.2427   
www.rankincounty.org

 21st Judicial District: Holmes/Humphrey/Yazoo

 22nd Judicial District : Copiah/Claiborne/Jefferson http://www.copiahcounty.org/22ndCircuitCourt.htm

 

Litigation Section

2010-2011 Officers

                                                                                                   

Chair

L Grant Bennett

Hicks & Bennett PLLC

P O Box 18350

Hattiesburg, MS 39404-8350

Phone: (601) 544-6770

Fax: (601) 544-6775

Email: grant@hicksandbennett.com

 

Vice Chair

J Doug Minor Jr

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP

P O Box 1789

Jackson, MS 39215-1789

Phone: (601) 592-9973

Fax: (601) 592-1473

Email: dminor@babc.com

 

Secretary/Treasurer

Brooke N Driskell

US District Court, Northern Dist

911 Jackson Ave E, Ste 242

Oxford, MS 38655-3621

Phone: (662) 234-3114

Fax:

Email: Brooke_Driskell@msnd.uscourts.gov

 

Past Chair

Kyle S Moran

Phelps Dunbar

2304 19th St Ste 300

Gulfport, MS 39501-2912

Phone: (228) 679-1130

Fax: (228) 679-1131

Email: morank@phelps.com

 

Executive Committee (8/2008-7/2011)

Edward P Connell Jr.

Merkel & Cocke

P O Box 1388

Clarksdale, MS 38614-1388

Phone: (662) 627-9641

Fax: (662) 627-3592

Email: tconnell@merkel-cocke.com

 

Executive Committee (8/2009-7/2012)

Rebecca L Wiggs

Watkins & Eager

P O Box 650

Jackson, MS 39205-0650

Phone: (601) 965-1900

Fax: (601) 965-1901

Email: rwiggs@watkinseager.com

 

Executive Committee (8/2010-7/2013)

Meade W Mitchell

Butler Snow

P O Box 6010

Ridgeland, MS 39157-6010

Phone: (601) 985-4560

Fax: (601) 985-4500

Email: meade.mitchell@butlersnow.com