Tag: Mississippi Supreme Court

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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Double Issue: Mississippi Supreme Court Decisions of May 7 and May 14, 2026

I was tied up last week and had to let the blogging slip. The Mississippi Supreme Court has made the task of catching-up on their column easier with just one opinion over the last two weeks.

Bonus Content: The Attala County Courthouse looking great this morning.

May 7, 2026

Pryor v. J.B. Hunt Transport, Inc., 2025-CP-00354-SCT (Civil – Torts)
Affirming dismissal of a suit for emotional distress and malicious prosecution, holding that the statute of limitations began to run on the emotional distress claim when the alleged injury occurred and was not tolled until he was diagnosed with heart palpitations were diagnosed and the statute of limitations began to run on the malicious prosecution claim began to run when the charges were retired to the file not when the record was expunged.
(6-1-0: Coleman for the Court; King concurred in result only without writing)

Other Orders

  • Saddler v. State, 2024-CT-00099-SCT (denying cert)
  • Moody v. State, 2024-CT-00407-SCT (denying cert)
  • North Sunflower Medical Center v. Keith, 2026-M-00135-SCT (denying interloc)

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May 14, 2026

No opinions.

Other Orders

  • In Re: Rules Governing Admission to The Mississippi Bar, 89-R-99012-SCT (appointing Matthew A. Baldridge to succeed Anthony R. Simon, deceased, as a member of the Mississippi Board of Bar Admissions for the balance of the term expiring on October 31, 2026)
  • Bird v. Ladner, 2024-CT_00245-SCT (granting cert)
  • Hodge v. Hodge, 2024-CT-00745-SCT (denying cert)
  • Roley v. Roley, 2024-CT-01004-SCT (denying cert)

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Mississippi Supreme Court Decisions of April 23, 2026

The Mississippi Supreme Court handed down three opinions today. The headliner is a decision in Phil and Deborah Bryant’s lawsuit against Mississippi Today. There is also a first-degree murder case and a civil lack-of-prosecution case.

First Security Bank v. Richmond, 2025-IA-00012-SCT (Civil – Torts)
Reversing the chancery court’s decision to deny one defendant’s motion to dismiss for failure to prosecute and grant one for another defendant, holding it was an abuse of discretion for its disparate treatment of the defendants’ Rule 41(b) motions.
(7-0: Branning for the Court)

Johnson v. State, 2024-KA-01140-SCT (Criminal – Felony)
Affirming conviction of first-degree murder, holding that the trial court did not err instructing the jury, the trial court did not err in denying a motion to suppress evidence from a warrantless search because the inevitable-discovery doctrine applied, that the claim of error related to the introduction of body-camera video was procedurally barred, that the Court’s sustaining of an objection to defense counsel making biblical references during closing did not warrant reversal, and that the verdict was not against the overwhelming weight of the evidence.
(7-0: King for the Court)

Bryant v. Deep South Today, 2025-CA-00380-SCT (Civil – Torts)
Reversing the trial court’s grant of the defendants’ 12(b)(6) motion, holding that the plaintiffs sufficiently pleaded claims of defamation, false light, and loss of consortium and dismissing as moot the plaintiffs’ appeal of the denial of their motions for partial summary judgment.
(7-0: Coleman for the Court)

Other Orders

  • Cunningham v. State, 2023-CT-01213-SCT (denying cert)
  • Russell v. Booneville Police Department, 2024-CT-00757-SCT (dismissing pro se “petition for rehearing”)
  • In Re: Administrative Orders of the Supreme Court of Mississippi, 2026-AD-00001-SCT (directing the disbursement of $157,868.74 in civil legal assistance funds among the MS Center for Legal Services, MS Volunteer Lawyers Project, and North MS Rural Legal Services)
  • Mississippi Commission on Judicial Performance v. Thomas, 2026-JP-00402-SCT (ordering suspension with pay from all duties pending further and denying motion to seal the order)

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Mississippi Supreme Court Decisions of April 16, 2026

The Mississippi Supreme Court handed down four opinions today. The must-read case from a factual standpoint is an organ recovery/personal injury case. There is also a med mal expert case where the Supreme Court reversed the Court of Appeals. There others are a slip-and-fall on interlocutory appeal and a zoning case.

Longo v. City of Waveland, 2025-CA-00625-SCT (Civil – State Boards & Agencies)
Affirming the circuit court’s decision affirming the City’s approval of applications, holding that the City’s approval of applications for conditional use and plat approval for a residential development project was supported by substantial evidence and was neither arbitrary nor capricious.
(6-0: Griffis for the Court)

Lee v. Doolittle, 2023-CT-00969-SCT, consolidated with 2022-CT-00186-SCT (Civil – Med Mal)
Reversing the Court of Appeals and reinstating the judgment of the circuit court striking the plaintiff’s expert and granting summary judgment, holding that the trial court was within its discretion to exclude the expert testimony.
(5-2: Branning for the Court; King dissented joined by Sullivan)

Denison v. Mississippi Organ Recovery Agency, Inc., 2024-CA-00644-SCT (Civil – Personal Injury)
Reversing the trial court’s dismissal of the Estate’s claims against MORA and medical providers after the decedent was prematurely declared dead, holding that the trial court erred by not converting MORA’s motion to dismiss based on a claim of immunity under the Revised Mississippi Uniform Anatomical Gift Act the Estate’s case into a motion for summary judgment but that the trial court did not err in granting a motion to dismiss a family member’s bystander claim for failure to state a claim.
(5-2: Sullivan for the Court; Griffis concurred in part and dissented in part, joined by Branning)

Note – My summary does not do justice to the facts. Here is how the opinion opens:

Rush Health Systems, Inc. v. Sparrow, 2024-IA-01185-SCT (Civil – Personal Injury)
Affirming denial of summary judgment on interlocutory appeal, holding that the trial court did not err in finding that there are questions of fact as to the existence of a dangerous condition and the plaintiff’s status as invitee or licensee.
(4-2: Sullivan for the Court; Coleman dissented, joined by Branning)

Other Orders

  • Nelson v. State, 2023-CT-00647-SCT (granting cert)
  • The Mississippi Bar v. Carr, 2025-BD-00731-SCT (order of suspension from the practice of law)

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Mississippi Court of Appeals Decisions of April 7, 2026

The Mississippi Court of Appeals handed down six opinions today. There are two appeals of felony convictions, a breach of contract case, a medical malpractice/wrongful death/savings statute case, a zoning ordinance case, and a PCR case.

Vu v. State, 2024-KA-01117-COA (Criminal – Felony)
Affirming conviction of burglary, holding that the conviction was supported by sufficient evidence and that the issue of whether prior bad acts were not properly admitted was waived, and dismissing the ineffective-assistance-of-counsel claim without prejudice.
(9-1-0: Lawrence for the Court; Westbrooks concurred in part and in the result without writing)

Magdi Corporation v. Beruk Construction, Inc., 2024-CA-01310-COA (Civil – Contract)
Reversing the dismissal of a breach of contract case after a bench trial, holding that the chancellor manifestly erred by granting an involuntary dismissal based on a finding that the subject construction project had reached “substantial completion” and that the plaintiff’s failure to pay at that point put the plaintiff in breach.
(9-1-0: Lawrence for the Court; Wilson concurred in part and in the result without writing)

Burdine v. State, 2025-KA-00154-COA (Criminal – Felony)
Affirming conviction of two counts of felony voyeurism and three counts of indecent exposure, holding that the trial court did not err in admitting the contents of the defendant’s cell phone, that there was sufficient evidence supporting the convictions, that the trial court did not err in admitting lay opinions, that the State proved the elements for habitual sentencing, and that the two life sentences were not constitutionally disproportionate.
(10-0: McDonald for the Court)

Humphrey v. State, 2024-CP-01444-COA (Civil – PCR)
Vacating and rendering the trial court’s judgment denying the petitioner’s Rule 60(b)(6) motion, holding that the circuit co0urt lacked jurisdiction.
(10-0)

Knight v. Glover, 2024-CA-01157-COA (Civil – Wrongful Death)
Reversing the dismissal of a medical malpractice case based on the statute of limitations, holding that the suit was not time-barred because it was filed within one year of the dismissal of the first suit without prejudice and was thus saved by the savings statute.
(6-4: Wilson for the Court; Emfinger dissented, joined by Barnes, Carlton, and McCarty)

Haman Construction, LLC v. Marshall County Board of Supervisors, 2025-CA-00340-COA (Civil – State Boards & Agencies)
Reversing the circuit court’s decision affirming the Board’s denial of a petition to amend zoning ordinances, holding that the decision was arbitration and capricious because it was based on the incorrect interpretation of controlling ordinances.
(6-1-2: Lassitter St. Pe’ for the Court; McCarty dissented, joined by Carlton, and joined in part by Barnes and McDonald)

Other Orders

  • Thornton v. Thornton, 2024-CA-00320-COA (denying rehearing)
  • Bodie v. State, 2024-KA-00634-COA (denying rehearing)
  • Polk v. State, 2025-CP-00260-COA (denying rehearing)

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Mississippi Supreme Court Decisions of April 2, 2026

The Mississippi Supreme Court handed down to opinions today. One is an appeal of an MTCA personal injury award and the other stems from a messy domestic relations matter involving a criminal contempt issue.

City of Jackson v. Lawson, 2024-CA-01174-SCT (Civil – Personal Injury)
Affirming a personal injury award under the MTCA, holding that the City was not immune where it had prior knowledge of a pothole that caused the injury.
(6-1: Coleman for the Court; Branning dissented without writing)

Jones v. Jones, 2024-CA-00690-SCT consolidated with 2024-CA-01307-SCT (Civil – Domestic Relations)
Vacating the chancellor’s order imposing sanctions for criminal contempt and remanding the case for the chancellor to recuse from contempt proceedings and ordering the return of a $1,500 sanction; affirming the chancellor’s order requiring one party to reimburse the other party for medical debt of her child by another man; declining to require the chancellor to recuse from future cases involving one party of its attorneys; and declining to refer the chancellor to the judicial performance commission.
(5-1: Randolph for the Court; Griffis concurred in part and dissented in part, joined in part by Coleman and Ishee)

Other Orders

  • Cameron v. Miller, 2023-CT-01388-SCT (denying cert)
  • Cooper v. State, 2024-CT-00592-SCT (denying cert)
  • Mayfield v. State, 2024-KA-00822-SCT (denying rehearing)
  • Bennett v. State, 2025-DR-01074-SCT (granting motion to seal exhibits)

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Mississippi Supreme Court Decisions of March 26, 2026

The Mississippi Supreme Court handed down four opinions today. Two are med mal cases, one of which addresses the application of statutory immunity for medical treatment during the COVID state of emergency. The other med mal case was up on an arbitration issue. The other two cases are direct criminal appeals. There is a judicial performance matter among the “other orders.”

Secrist v. Rush Medical Foundation, 2024-CA-01034-SCT (Civil – Med Mal)
Affirming the dismissal of a medical malpractice case, holding that the trial court did not err in finding that the defendant medical providers were immune under section 11-71-7 (Supp. 2025) which provides legal immunity for healthcare providers for healthcare services performed during the COVID-19 state of emergency.
(4-2: Griffis for the Court; Coleman specially concurred, joined in part by Randolph, Ishee, Griffis, and Sullivan; King concurred in result only without writing; Branning did not participate)

Note – Coleman’s specially concurred to discuss the role of legislative history in judicial decision-making:

…

Mallette v. Revette, 2024-CA-01277-SCT (Civil – Wrongful Death)
Affirming the circuit court’s denial of a motion to compel arbitration, holding that the trial court’s finding of fact regarding the authenticity of the signature was entitled to deference, that the defendants did not carry their burden of proving actual authority, and that direct-benefits estoppel did not apply.
(7-0: Coleman for the Court)

Gardner v. State, 2023-CT-00903-SCT, consolidated with 2018-KA-01337-SCT (Criminal – Felony)
Affirming in part and reversing in part the Court of Appeals and reinstating and affirming the circuit court’s judgment, holding that the argument that the trial court erred by admitting prior felony convictions into evidence was procedurally barred by failure to object at trial and that there was no plain error.
(4-2-1: Randolph for the Court; Coleman concurred in part and in the result without writing; King dissented, joined by Sullivan and joined in part by Coleman)

House v. State, 2024-KA-01432-SCT (Criminal – Felony)
Affirming conviction of first-degree murder, holding that the verdict was supported by sufficient evidence and that the verdict was not against the overwhelming weight of the evidence.
(7-0: Coleman for the Court)

Other Orders

  • In Re: Gibson, 2024-CP-01303-SCT (per curiam affirmance)
  • In Re: Local Rules, 89-R-99015-SCT (granting motion to rescind a local rule in the First Chancery District)
  • Taylor v. State, 2023-CT-00738-SCT (denying cert)
  • Dew v. Greenwood Leflore Consolidated School District, 2024-CA-00067-SCT (denying rehearing)
  • Mississippi Commission of Judicial Performance v. Littleton, 2026-JP-00306-SCT (suspending a county court judge without pay pending further order of the Court)

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Mississippi Supreme Court Decisions of March 12 and March 19, 2026

I am a bit behind because I was out of the office last week, and yesterday I had court in Neshoba County. The Mississippi Supreme Court handed down one opinion last week and six opinions this week. Last week’s opinion was an election context. Of the six this week, three were dismissals of appeals from youth court restitution orders, two were appeals of felony convictions (with one reversal) and the other was a real property case.

March 12, 2026

Randle v. Ivy, 2025-EC-00299-SCT (Civil – Election Contest)
Affirming the special judge’s decision in an election contest, holding that the issue was moot after the election and that there was substantial evidence to support the decision that the primary-election candidate did not meet the residency requirement.
(7-0: King for the Court)

Other Orders

  • Arbor Landing Homeowners’ Association, Inc. v. Rankin County Development Group, LLC, 2025-IA-01286-SCT (granting interlocutory appeal)

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March 19, 2026

In Re: Interest of L.L., A Minor, 2024-CA-00872-SCT (Civil – Juvenile Justice)
Dismissing appeal from a youth court restitution order, holding that the order was not a final, appealable order.
(6-1: Branning for the Court; King dissented without writing)

Gibson v. State, 2024-KA-01301-SCT (Criminal – Felony)
Reversing conviction of second degree murder, holding that the trial court abused its discretion in denying a jury instruction for excusable homicide.
(4-3: Sullivan for the Court; Randolph dissented, joined by Griffis and Branning)

In the Interest of R.H., a Minor, 2024-CA-00873-SCT (Civil – Juvenile Justice)
Dismissing an appeal of a restitution order from youth court, holding that it was not a final, appealable order.
(6-1: Griffis for the Court; King dissented without writing)

Hewitt v. TJM Properties, Inc., 2024-CA-01312-SCT (Civil – Real Property)
Affirming the chancellor’s dismissal of a claim for reimbursement and property-based claims by a developer who never acquired title to the subject property, holding that the chancellor did not err in finding that the plaintiff lacked a legally cognizable property interest.
(7-0: Ishee for the Court)

McDaniel v. State, 2025-KA-00202-SCT (Criminal – Felony)
Affirming conviction of second degree murder, holding that trial counsel was not ineffective for not requesting an accidental homicide instruction, that there was no abuse of discretion granting jury instruction on deliberate design, and that the conviction was not against the overwhelming weight of the evidence.
(7-0: Randolph for the Court)

In the Interest of D.G., a Minor, 2024-CA-00868-SCT (Civil – Juvenile Justice)
Dismissing an appeal of a youth court restitution order, holding that it was not a final, appealable order.
(6-1: Ishee for the Court; King dissented without writing)

Other Orders

  • Snyder v. Pilger, 2024-CT-00460-SCT (denying cert)
  • The Mississippi Bar v. Newcomb, 2025-BD-00835-SCT (suspending from the practice of law for two years retroactive to Aug. 22, 2022)
  • In Re: Administrative Orders of the Supreme Court of Mississippi, 2026-AD-00001-SCT (ordering (1) that the AOC shall be authorized to disclose to the Mississippi Commission on Judicial Performance information gathered in compliance with 2025 Extraordinary Session House Bill 38, Section 34, as well as any other information pertaining to youth courts that would reasonably lead to the investigation of judicial misconduct and (2) that the Commission shall not disseminate or otherwise disclose any information it receives from AOC pertaining to Youth Courts except as necessary to recommend discipline in accordance with the Rules of the Mississippi Commission on Judicial Performance)

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Mississippi Supreme Court Decisions of March 5, 2026

The Mississippi Supreme Court handed down one opinion on Thursday in a direct criminal appeal.

The bigger news from yesterday is that the NCAA filed a petition for interlocutory appeal in the Trinidad Chambliss case. Trinidad’s lawyers have two weeks to file a response and then we wait for the Supreme Court to decide whether to allow an appeal of the preliminary injunction. I wrote about this process in an earlier post.

Vance v. State, 2025-KA-00444-SCT (Criminal – Felony)
Affirming conviction of first-degree murder, holding that trial counsel was not constitutionally ineffective by not objection to two jury instructions or for not requesting a manslaughter instruction other than culpable-negligence manslaughter, that the trial court did not err in sustaining an objection to the defendant’s question to a lay witness about whether she perceived the defendant was being abused at home, that the verdict was not against the overwhelming weight of the evidence and that the conviction was supported by sufficient evidence, and that the ineffective-assistance-of-counsel claim regarding a failed attempt to introduce security camera recording.
(7-0: Sullivan for the Court)

Other Orders

  • Harris v. State, 2023-M-00195 (denying application for leave to file motion for PCR, finding it frivolous, and restricting the petitioner from filing further applications in forma pauperis)
  • Buck v. State, 2024-CT-00025-SCT (denying cert)
  • Ralston v. Ralston, 2025-TS-01096 (denying emergency motion to for stay of incarceration)

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Double Issue: Mississippi Supreme Court Decisions of February 12 and February 26, 2026

The Mississippi Supreme Court handed down one opinion on February 12 (a direct appeal of a felony conviction) and one today (an annexation case). In addition to the opinions, there was no shortage of rulings on petitions for cert with a couple of grants in the mix.

February 12, 2026

Goods v. State, 2023-KA-00955-SCT (Criminal – Felony)
Affirming conviction of depraved-heart murder, holding that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in admitting autopsy photographs or in instructing the jury and that the verdict was not against the overwhelming weight of the evidence.
(7-0: Randolph for the Court)

February 26, 2026

In the Matter of The Enlarging, Extending and Defining The Corporate Limits and Boundaries of The City of Olive Branch, DeSoto County, Mississippi: City of Olive Branch v. Dobbins, 2024-AN-00749-SCT (Civil – Municipal Boundaries & Annexation)
Affirming the chancery court’s denial of the City’s petition to annex two parcels of land, holding that the chancery court’s finding that the annexation was unreasonable was supported by substantial credible evidence.
(4-2: Ishee for the Court; Griffis dissented, joined by Branning; Coleman did not participate)

Other Orders

February 12, 2026

  • Walker v. State, 2023-CT-01012-SCT (denying cert)
  • Gombako-Amos v. Amos, 2023-CT-01253-SCT (granting cert)
  • Brodie v. Brodie, 2023-CT-01397-SCT (denying cert)
    Hines v. PERS, 2023-CT-01400-SCT (denying cert)
  • Martin v. Martin, 2924-CT-00222-SCT (denying cert)
  • Brown v. State, 2024-CT-00307-SCT (denying cert)
  • P.K. Loyacono, PLLC v. Raymond James Financial Service, Inc., 2024-CA-00791-SCT (denying reconsideration)

February 26, 2026

  • Howard v. Howard, 2023-CT-01029-SCT (denying cert)
  • Moyer v. Blades, 2023-CT-01180 (denying cert)
  • Swims v. State, 2023-CT-01244-SCT (denying cert)
  • Mortera v. Kona Villa Owners Association, Inc., 2023-CT-01297-SCT (dismissing cert)
  • Tauzin v. Tauzin, 2024-CT-00141-SCT (denying cert)
  • Heirs of Morsi by and through Morsi v. JB Hunt Corp., 2024-CT-00399-SCT (granting cert)
  • James v. Memorial Hospital at Gulfport, 2024-CT-00459-SCT (denying cert)
  • Corr Properties, LLC v. City of Oxford, 2024-CT-00665-SCT (denying cert)

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February 26, 2026, Hand Down Page