Tag: Miranda

Double Issue: Supreme Court Decisions of May 21 and May 28, 2026

The Mississippi Supreme Court handed down one opinion last week and three this week. Two are custody cases, one is a direct criminal appeal, and one is a wrongful death case up on the issue of whether an arbitration agreement is enforceable. There are three Bar matters and one order amending the MRAP among the “Other Orders.”

May 21, 2026

Solop v. Solop, 2025-CA-01513-SCT (Civil – Custody)
Affirming the chancellor’s decision denying the father’s motion to delegate non-custodial time to his parents during his upcoming deployment, holding that the chancellor did not err in applying section 93-5-34 and did abuse her discretion awarding only extended visitation to the grandparents during the deployment.
(7-o: Branning for the Court)

Other Orders

  • Johnson v. State, 2024-CT-0065-SCT (dismissing notice construed as cert petition)
  • Hewitt v. TJM Properties, Inc., 2024-CA-01312-SCT (denying rehearing)
  • Strickland v. The Mississippi Bar, 2026-BR-00352-SCT (granting dismissal of reinstatement petition for noncompliance)

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May 28, 2026

Shipley v. Shipley, 2023-CT-00814-SCT (Civil – Custody)
Affirming in part and reversing in part on cert, holding that the chancellor did not err by not appointing a GAL, but that the chancellor did not perform a proper Albright analysis and reversed the Court of Appeals’ decision affirming the chancellor.
(7-0: King for the Court)

Practice Point – The Supreme Court specifically addressed whether the appointment of a mandatory GAL can be waived:

Zattoni v. State, 2024-KA-01382-SCT (Criminal – Felony)
Affirming convictions of kidnapping and felon in possession of a weapon, holding that the trial court erred by not accepting a stipulation that the defendant was a convicted felon until after the State has put on its case in chief and that the trial court erred in admitting an unredacted audio recording of the defendant’s interview with police on the basis that it was after he had been Mirandized without considering Rule 404(b) or Rule 403, but concluding that the errors were harmless.
(7-0: Sullivan for the Court)

Hubbard v. Nexion Health at Clinton, Inc., 2025-CP-00019-SCT, consolidated with Hubbard v. Estes, No. 2025-CP-00386-SCT (Civil – Wrongful Death)
Reversing the circuit court’s grant of a motion to compel arbitration, holding that the record contained insufficient evidence to establish the son’s authority to bind the father to arbitration when signing paperwork during the father’s admission to a rehab facility.
(7-0: Branning for the Court)

Other Orders

  • In Re: Mississippi Rules of Appellate Procedure, 89-R-99027-SCT (amending the Mississippi Rules of Appellate Procedure)
  • The Mississippi Bar v. Valley, 2008-BD-01884-SCT (suspending respondent from the practice of law)
  • Wooten v. State, 2023-CT-01318-SCT (denying cert)
  • Fields v. State, 2024-CT-00807-SCT (denying cert)
  • Hessler v. The Mississippi Bar, 2024-BR-01041-SCT (granting reinstatement from deferred suspension)
  • Jackson v. State, 2025-M-01401 (denying response to order denying recusal and renewed request for appointment of special justices)

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Mississippi Supreme Court Decisions of July 6, 2023 (catch-up post)

On Thursday, July 6, the Mississippi Supreme Court handed down three opinions. Two are direct criminal appeals and one is an civil appeal addressing the statutes of limitations for MTCA claims and state constitutional claims.

Stewart v. State, 2022-KA-00479-SCT (Criminal – Felony)
Affirming conviction of possession of meth, holding that the defendant waived his Fourth Amendment and Miranda rights arguments by not raising them at trial court, and then waived plain error arguments on appeal by not raising them until the reply brief after the State asserted waiver, and further that the “sparse record” did not show plain error.
(9-0)

Moton v. Clarksdale, 2022-CA-00216-SCT (Civil – Torts)
Denying rehearing but withdrawing the original opinions and substituting another holding that the trial court correctly found that a city commissioner’s tort law claims stemming from his arrest were barred by the MTCA’s statute of limitations and that the claims arising under the Mississippi Constitution were barred by the general statute of limitations.
(9-0)

Mitchell v. State, 2021-KA-00589-SCT (Criminal – Felony)
Affirming conviction of second-degree murder, holding that there was insufficient evidence in the record to find that a due process violation occurred when the trial court denied the defendant’s request for the production of an autopsy report and then denied a request to conduct an autopsy.
(9-0)

Other Orders

Barber v. State, 2022-KA-00291-SCT (per curiam affimance)

Lofton v. Lofton, 2021-CT-00035-SCT (denying cert)

Clark v. Vicksburg Healthcare, LLC, 2021-CT-00173-SCT (denying motion to strike cert petition, granting motion to suspend the rules, accepting the filing of a cert petition, and denying cert)

Griffin v. State, 2023-M-00262 (denying mandamus)

Carr v. State, 2023-DR-00503-SCT (remanding PCR issues to circuit court)

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