Tag: injunction

Mississippi Supreme Court Decisions of August 21, August 28, and September 4

I have been swamped the last few weeks and find myself behind on summaries. One contributing factor is that my firm, Wilkins Patterson, relocated at the end of August. In one form or another, the firm has resided at One LeFleur’s Square on Old Canton Road in Jackson for decades. That location served the firm well, and it was not left without a heap of nostalgia and a tinge of sadness. But as Bob Dylan reminds us, “He not busy being born is busy dying.” This move marks an exciting chapter of growth and opportunity for the firm that we are immensely thankful for. You can find us at 690 Towne Center Boulevard in Ridgeland.

With this post, we are caught up on Mississippi Supreme Court decisions. We may not ever catch up on the Court of Appeals decisions from the past three weeks. This is due, in part, to the fact that over that period of time the Court of Appeals handed down twenty opinions and the Supreme Court handed down four. If you are so inclined, you can follow these links to the COA hand downs: August 19, August 26, and September 2. Read on for Supreme Court decisions…

August 21, 2025

No Opinions

Other Orders

  • Parker v. State, 2023-CT-00550-SCT (denying cert)
  • Mount v. State, 2023-CT-00807-SCT (denying cert)
  • Turner v. State, 2023-CT-01167-SCT (denying cert)
  • Lynch v. State, 2024-M-01275 (finding that the application for leave to proceed in the trial court was frivolous and warning that future frivolous filings may result in sanctions)
  • Priority One Bank v. Hall, 2025-IA-00939-SCT (granting emergency petition for interlocutory appeal)

Hand Down Page

August 28, 2025

Reyes v. State, 2024-KA-00590-SCT (Criminal- Felony)
Affirming conviction of capital murder and life sentence, holding that the trial court did not err in denying the defendant’s motion suppress statements he made to law enforcement, that the State did not vouch for a witness’s credibility, that the issue of whether it was error to allow the State to play portions of a witness’s interview with law enforcement was procedurally barred, and that the ineffective-assistance-of-counsel arguments did not require reversal.
(9-0: Griffis for the Court)

Busby Outdoor LLC v. Ditto, 2024-IA-00209-SCT, consolidated with No. 2024-CA-00258-SCT (Civil – Other)
Reversing the chancery court’s injunction enforcing the City’s sign ordinance on a billboard situated on state-owned land, holding that “[t]he zoning ordinances must yield in this case to state sovereignty.”
(9-0: King for the Court)

Note – I thought for a moment that the Mississippi Supreme Court was about to tackle some big theological issues.

Though it passed on the issue of God’s sovereignty, the Court did hold in this case that that the created could not regulate its creator.

Other Orders

  • Sims v. State, 2017-M-01379 (finding that the application for leave to proceed in the trial court was frivolous and warning that future frivolous filings may result in sanctions)
  • Chamberlin v. State, 2022-DR-00546-SCT (granting cert)
  • Boone v. State, 2023-CT-00684-SCT (denying cert)
  • Burnette v. State, 2023-SCT-01330-SCT (denying cert)

Hand Down Page

September 4, 2025

Smith v. State, 2024-KA-00675-SCT (Criminal – Felony)
Affirming conviction of aggravated assault, holding that the trial court did not err in admitting lay opinion testimony from the victim’s treating physicians and that trial counsel was not ineffective for failing to object to that testimony.
(9-0: Chamberlin for the Court)

Sunshine Mills, Inc. v. Nutra-Blend, LLC, 2023-CA-01208-SCT (Civil – Torts)
Reversing the trial court’s grant of summary judgment for the defendant, holding that the Mississippi Products Liability Act did not govern the claims for breach of contract and implied warranty because they sounded in contract and did not allege damage stemming from a defective product.
(9-1-0: Coleman for the Court; Randolph concurred in the result only without writing)

Other Orders

  • In Re: Rules of Discipline for the Mississippi Bar,  89-R-99010-SCT (appointing or reappointing Hon. Haydn J. Roberts, John G. Holaday, Amy K. Taylor, Hon. Jennifer T. Schloegel, David A. Pumford, Jeremy T. England, Hon. Kelly D. Mims, Jason D. Herring, and Rachel Pierce Waide to three-year terms (9/01/25 to 8/31/28) as members of the Complaint Tribunals.)
  • In Re: Commission on Continuing Legal Education, 89-R-99011-SCT (denying Petition of the Mississippi Commission on Continuing Legal Education to Amend Rule 1(d) of the Rules and Regulations for Mandatory Continuing Legal Education)
  • In Re: Rules Governing Admission to The Mississippi Bar, 89-R-99012-SCT (reappointing Pieter Teeuwissen, Marcie Fyke Baria, and Gwendolyn Baptist-Rucker to three-year terms (11/1/25 through 10/31/28) as members of the Mississippi Board of Bar Admissions)
  • Weatherly v. Weatherly, 2022-CT-00804-SCT (dismissing cert)
  • Star v. State, 2023-CT-00788-SCT (denying cert)
  • Haynes v. State, 2023-CT-00861-SCT (denying cert)
  • Brown v. Madison County Board of Supervisors, 2024-EC-01059-SCT (denying rehearing)

Hand Down Page

Mississippi Court of Appeals Decisions of January 14, 2025

The Mississippi Court of Appeals handed down nine opinions today. Most are direct criminal appeals. There is also a judgment versus voluntary payment case, a contempt issue in a divorce case, a disinheritance case, and an injunction case.

Seales v. State, 2023-KA-01376-COA (Criminal – Felony)
Affirming conviction of attempted first-degree murder, holding that the evidence was sufficient to support to conviction.
(9-0: St. Pe’ did not participate)

Holstein v. Nicholas, 2023-CA-00548-COA consolidated with 2023-CA-00972 (Civil – Contract)
Reversing the circuit court’s decision ordering repayment of sums paid pursuant to an Ohio judgment enrolled in Mississippi after the Ohio judgment was overturned on appeal, holding that the evidence was not sufficient to determine whether the amount paid was a voluntary payment or a compulsory payment.
(9-0: St. Pe’ did not participate)

Baker v. State, 2023-KA-01111-COA (Criminal – Felony)
Affirming conviction of aggravated assault, holding that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying the defendant’s proposed self-defense jury instruction because there was no evidence to support it.
(8-1-0: Westbrooks concurred in result only; St. Pe’ did not participate.)

In the Matter of the Estate of Tate: Garfield v. Tate, 2023-CA-01262-COA (Civil – Wills, Trusts & Estates)
Affirming the chancellor’s decision disinheriting a father, holding that the father did not prove he should inherit under Miss. Code Ann. section 91-1-15(3)(d)(i).
(9-0: St. Pe’ did not participate)

Gibson v. State, 2023-KA-00704-COA (Criminal – Felony)
Affirming conviction of first-degree murder, holding that the trial court did not commit plain error by allowing the defendant’s wife to testify against him and that the verdict was not against the overwhelming weight of the evidence.
(8-1-0: Lawrence concurred, joined by Barnes and joined in part by Westbrooks and Weddle; St. Pe’ did not participate)

Davis v. State, 2023-KA-00178-COA (Criminal – Felony)
Affirming conviction of aggravated assault with a weapon and felon in possession, holding that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in excluding evidence of a witness’s prior convictions for forgery in violation of the defendant’s rights under the Confrontation Clause.
(9-0: St. Pe’ did not participate)

Yarbrough v. Sacred Heart Catholic School of Hattiesburg, Mississippi, 2023-CA-01219-COA (Civil – Other)
Affirming the chancellor’s rulings granting temporary and permanent injunctive relief in favor of a school, holding that there was a legally cognizable claim based on its right to take precautions necessary to minimize foreseeable risks to protect students, that the chancellor did not err in finding that there was a threat to the school, and that the chancellor did not abuse her discretion in issuing the preliminary and permanent injunction.
(8-1: Wilson dissented; St. Pe’ did not participate)

Powell v. Powell, 2022-CA-01258-COA (Civil – Domestic Relations)
Affirming the chancellor’s decision finding the mother in contempt in a divorce matter for failing to pay her half of children’s medical bills, holding that the chancellor did not violate the judgment of divorce, that the finding of contempt was not manifest error, and the the chancellor did not abuse his discretion in any of the evidentiary rulings.
(7-1-0: Wilson concurred in part and in the result without writing; Lawrence and St. Pe’ did not participate)

Stewart v. State, 2023-KA-00461-COA (Criminal – Felony)
Affirming conviction of one count of armed carjacking and three counts of armed robbery, holding that the trial court did not err in denying the motion for mistrial based on improper questioning during cross-exam of the defendant’s mother because it was waived and that the improper question was cured by jury instructions and that the defendant’s Confrontation Clause rights were not violated where a police officer testified via closed-circuit TV.
(7-2-0: Barnes and Lawrence concurred in part and in the result without writing)

Other Orders

  • LaFleur v. State, 2022-KA-00500-COA (denying rehearing)
  • Georgen v. Estate of Brown-Barrett, 2023-CA-000344-COA (denying rehearing)
  • Fox v. Allen Automotive, Inc., 2023-CA-00441-COA (denying rehearing)
  • Patton v. State, 2023-CP-00618-COA (recalling mandate and allowing pro se motion for rehearing to proceed on the merits)
  • Mallard v. State, 2023-CP-01155-COA (recalling mandate and allowing pro se motion for rehearing to proceed on the merits)

Hand Down Page