These Rules govern the practice and procedure in all proceedings in the county courts of this state. They are intended to provide for the just determination of every proceeding. They shall be construed to secure simplicity in procedure, fairness in administration, and elimination of unjustifiable expense and delay. The county courts may amend or waive any of the provisions of these Rules when, in the opinion of the court, justice requires.
Each term of conduct shall commence and be held on the second (2) Monday of each consecutive calendar month at nine o'clock (9:00) a.m. unless otherwise ordered by the court. Unless recessed or adjourned by the court, such terms of court shall continue from day to day until the end of the Friday session before the beginning of the next succeeding term.
(a) Each term of the county court shall be opened formally in a fitting and dignified manner which shall be prescribed by the judge.
(b) There shall be no disturbance of the court by unnecessary noise or conversation and no disorderly conduct, such as standing along or sitting upon the rail of the bar, or sitting upon or putting feet upon the tables, and there shall be no demonstration of approval or disapproval at any stage of the trial or upon the rendition of the verdict, and the judge may order the courtroom cleared of spectators if this rule is not respected and obeyed.
(c) There shall be no eating or drinking (water excepted) in the courtroom. Smoking in the courtroom shall be left to the discretion of each county court.
(d) There shall be no solicitation of funds in the courtroom.
(e) No person shall use profane or vulgar language or undertake to tell any indecent anecdote in court during its sessions.
(f) Only officers of the court, attorneys, judges, members of the press and litigants, or one representative of a litigant, in the case on trial, may be allowed within the rail constituting the bar of the court.
(g) In the interest of security, all persons entering the courtroom may be searched to determine if they are carrying a weapon.
(h) It shall be the duty of the sheriff to enforce this Rule.
Any person offending against these Rules may be punished as for contempt.
All corporations that are party plaintiffs must be represented by a member of the bar, whose name must appear on the pleading prior to the filing of the pleading.
In a civil action wherein a single party is represented by multiple counsel, the initial pleading filed on behalf of such party shall designate a single attorney as lead counsel for the purposes of the court, clerk, and other parties, and for receipt of all papers to be served upon such parties, as well as for receipt for all notices and orders of the court.
No person shall undertake to discuss with or in the presence or hearing of the judge the law or the facts or alleged facts of any litigated case then pending in the court or likely to be instituted therein, except in the orderly progress of the trial, and arguments or briefs connected therewith; nor attempt in any manner, except as stated above, to influence his decision in any such case or matter.
(a) No record, or any part of a civil or criminal file of court papers, shall be taken from the clerk's custody except by permission of the court or the clerk; and the clerk in civil cases shall keep a register of all files checked out by attorneys, and where, by permission of the court, papers are allowed to be taken from the clerk's custody, the same shall be redelivered to the clerk on the day provided for in the order from the judge, or before the opening of the next term.
(b) Before docketing an appeal from a justice court or municipal court, the clerk shall make certain that all the necessary papers are present, including the transcript of the record of the justice or judge. If said transcript is not complete, he shall see that all necessary papers are present before filing and docketing said appeal.
No district attorney, county attorney, attorney at law, county or county district officer, or any other officer of the court shall sign bonds in civil or criminal cases, either from the lower courts to the county court, or from the county court to the circuit or chancery court, or from the county court to the Supreme Court of the State. It shall be the duty of each county judge to so instruct such officers at the time he delivers his charge to the grand jury, and also to instruct all appropriate officers not to accept bonds with the names of any such persons or attorneys signed to them as sureties. All bonds when executed shall be delivered promptly to the sheriff, or other officer granting said bond, to the county court. The clerk of the court shall file and keep these bonds separately in a safe place where they can be kept for presentation at the trial of said cause.
Judgments on forfeited recognizances or bonds will not be set aside unless it be made to appear to the court that the default was unavoidable and final judgment will be rendered at the term to which the scire facias is returned executed.
The county judge should wear a judicial robe at all times when presiding in open court. However, this is discretionary where court facilities make it unfeasible.
(a) With the exception of default or agreed orders and judgments, all orders and judgments to be signed by the court shall be submitted to the court by an attorney and not through the clerk or through correspondence, unless otherwise permitted by the court.
(b) The name of the attorney submitting the order or judgment shall appear on all orders or judgments. In the event of agreed orders and judgments, all agreeing parties or their representatives must sign said order or judgment.
When an attorney makes an appearance in court for any party in a case, the attorney will not be allowed to withdraw as counsel for that party without evidence of notice to that party of the attorney's intention to withdraw and permission of the court.
The matter of docket setting, the handling of vacation matters, and the time of starting court are administrative practices of the local courts, and attorneys having such cases or practicing before such courts should contact the clerks of such courts to ascertain the practices of the local courts.
See Mississippi Rules of Civil Procedure.
See Mississippi Rules of Civil Procedure.
See Mississippi Rules of Civil Procedure.
See Mississippi Rules of Civil Procedure.
The court may in its discretion direct counsel representing both parties to submit trial briefs on the issues contested.
Requests for subpoenas for hearing on trial must be made in writing and delivered to the clerk at least one week before the day the case is set for trial, giving location of witnesses and other information, so as to furnish sure guides to the officer serving the subpoena, which request shall be preserved by the clerk. And service shall be required on a witness but once, but when a case is continued, witnesses must be notified when to return by the respective attorneys. For all other subpoenas, see, Mississippi Rules of Civil Procedure.
It shall be the duty of the movant, when a motion or other dilatory pleading is filed, including motions for a new trial, to pursue said motion to hearing and decision by the court according to local county court administrative practices. Failure to comply with the above procedure shall be considered to be an abandonment of said motion or dilatory pleading, and attorneys having such motions or pleadings before such courts should contact the clerks of such courts to ascertain the local Rules pertaining to such practices.
See Mississippi Rules of Civil Procedure.
All discovery shall be completed within ninety (90) days from service of answer by the applicable defendant. Additional discovery time may be allowed with leave of Court upon written motion setting forth good cause for the extension.
No civil case which has been set down for trial by order of the court shall be continued or rescheduled for trial except by order of the court.
For failure of counsel to notify the court and witnesses of settlement of his case after it has been set down for trial before three (3:00) p.m. on the court day before the trial, or for failure to try his case, the court may, in its discretion, assess all costs, including fees and mileage of jurors and witnesses who have been notified and required to be present for the trial, against whichever part litigant it deems appropriate.
Each summons shall include an instruction that an answer or other responsive pleading is required within thirty (30) days of delivery of the summons and attachments thereto with the original response to be filed with the clerk of the court and a copy served on the attorney for plaintiff, and the consequence of failure to do so. For specific details regarding the form, see, Mississippi Rules of Civil Procedure and the forms therein.
All jurors, officers of the court, witnesses and attorneys, whose presence is necessary for the trial of the cases set down for that day, shall be on hand promptly at the time fixed for the opening of the court.
In the voir dire examination of jurors the attorneys shall direct his questions to the entire panel and shall be permitted to examine an individual juror only when the answer to the question propounded to the entire panel makes such separate examination proper, or for good cause stated by counsel to the court. The attorney shall not propound hypothetical questions that would tie the jury down to finding a particular verdict in a hypothetical situation. In civil cases the voir dire examination shall be limited to fifteen (15) minutes at the discretion of the court.
(a) Counsel shall not in the summation to the jury abuse or personally criticize opposing counsel. Counsel shall not call any juror by name, slap, pat, or have any personal contact with the jury whatsoever, nor attempt to converse with or solicit audible answers from the jurors individually.
(b) In the argument to the jury, counsel will be required to keep within proper bounds, and any attempt to inject improper matter should be stopped by the court without the necessity of objection by counsel; but the court's failure so to do, where there is no objection made, will not constitute a ground for exception.
(c) In their closing argument the attorneys will refrain from thanking the jury for acting as jurors and after return of a verdict by the jury neither the attorneys, parties, nor spectators shall offer their congratulations or thanks to the jury for the verdict returned.
The parties may request that the witnesses be excluded from the floor. Where the Rule is invoked the court may require the parties or their representatives excused from the Rule to testify before any witness for them testifies. If a party refuses to testify before such witness is examined, he may be put under the Rule while the witness is being examined.
(a) The examination of witnesses shall be limited to the direct examination, the cross-examination, and the redirect examination concerning matters brought out on cross-examination. The same attorney must conduct both the direct examination and the redirect examination, and only one attorney will be allowed to cross-examine the witness.
(b) In all cases the examination must be conducted in an orderly and decorous manner without improper interruptions from opposing counsel except for the purpose of interposing objections. Counsel and witness must be courteous to each other. Counsel shall not abuse and mistreat witnesses and the witnesses shall show counsel proper respect. If a witness shall attempt to evade or refuse to answer any proper question, the court will, on request of counsel, require the witness to answer. All objections to testimony must be made to the judge and not to opposing counsel. The objection must be specific and not general. Counsel will not be permitted to argue between themselves. Irrespective of personal feeling opposing counsel shall be respectful to the court and to each other. The attorneys shall stand when addressing the court, examining witnesses, and addressing the jury except when excused for good cause by the Court.
(c) The attorney shall limit himself to asking questions and shall refrain from making statements, quips, or side remarks in his examination of a witness. This, however, shall not preclude the necessary statement of facts in propounding a hypothetical question.
(d) Leading questions will not be allowed by the party having the affirmative, except where proper, and specifically allowed; nor shall counsel be allowed to ask the witness again a question where there has been a full answer given to the question; but this rule shall not apply rigidly to cross- examination, where more latitude may be required to test the truthfulness, bias, or interest of the witness. And it shall be the duty of the court to enforce this rule of its own motion and without objection being made, but the court's failure so to do, where there is not objection made, will not constitute a ground for exception.
No subpoena instanter shall issue, during the trial of a case, without the consent of the court.
In civil cases neither the plaintiff nor the defendant shall summons numerous and unnecessary witnesses to repeatedly prove the same fact or set of facts. The court or judge may, in his discretion, tax the per diem and mileage of all such unnecessary witnesses against the party causing them to be summoned, whether they are called to testify or not. And in all cases the mileage and per diem of all witnesses who are not called to testify shall be taxed against the party causing them to be summoned, unless good cause to the contrary be shown. Conference with witnesses must be had prior to the commencement of trial, and will only be allowed afterward as to witnesses inaccessible before that time.
After the opening argument to the jury counsel for opposing side will not be allowed to submit the case and cut off further argument, unless before the argument begins they announce that they will not argue the case.
(a) At least twenty-four (24) hours prior to the time that a case is set for trial each of the attorneys shall number and file his jury instructions with the clerk and submit to opposite counsel a numbered copy of the instructions so filed in the case. Except for good cause shown and as justice so requires, the court will not entertain a request for additional instructions which have not been pre-filed.
(b) When the requested instructions are submitted to the court at the conclusion of the taking of testimony, the opposing attorney shall dictate into the record his specific objections to the requested instructions and specifically point out his ground for objection.
(c) The county judge may instruct the jury. His instructions shall be in writing and shall be submitted to the attorneys who shall dictate their specific objections into the record.
(d) The attorneys may submit no more than six instructions on the substantive law of the case.
Supplemental to any statutory requirement the following Rules shall govern appeals to the county court from justice court and municipal court.
Before docketing an appeal case from either justice court or municipal court, the clerk of the county court shall make certain that all necessary papers are in the appeal record, including, but not limited to, a transcript of the records of the judge, the appeal bond, a list of the names and addresses of the witnesses (if available), the prosecutor, and defense attorney, if any; and if any such appeal record is not so completed, the clerk shall require that the same be completed before filing and docketing the appeal.
Appeals taken during a term of the county court, from a lower court, are triable at the term then in session, at the discretion of the judge.
The Mississippi Rules of Civil Procedure as adopted and amended by the Mississippi Supreme Court shall control to the extent that they may be in conflict with these Uniform Rules of County Court Practice; otherwise these Rules apply.