A misdemeanor charge in Mississippi can end up in one of four different courts, tried under different rules than you might expect, and even if you lose, you may get a completely fresh start on appeal. In this video, Jackson criminal defense attorney Matt Eichelberger walks through the entire process: what counts as a misdemeanor, which court handles your case, what happens at trial, and how the appeals process can give you a genuine second chance.
Transcript
Hi, I'm Matt Eichelberger, head of the Criminal Division here at Eichelberger Law Firm in Jackson, Mississippi. We handle cases across the entire state, everything from misdemeanors through capital murder, as well as federal cases in Mississippi. I want to talk with you about the trial of misdemeanors in Mississippi.
There are multiple places a misdemeanor may be tried: municipal court, justice court, county court, or circuit court. The reason there are so many options is that the initial case is tried at the justice court or municipal court level, and then, on appeal, at either county court or circuit court, depending on which county you're in. Not every Mississippi county has a county court, most do, but not all. Where there isn't one, appeals go straight to circuit court. We'll cover appeals in detail toward the end of this video, but first, let's talk about what happens at that initial level.
Misdemeanors are, by definition, crimes carrying up to one year in the county jail, not prison, jail. Here's the reassuring part: the overwhelming majority of misdemeanor convictions in Mississippi don't actually carry jail time. Some do, and those should be taken seriously. This category covers things like traffic tickets, possession of a small amount of marijuana (under an ounce, including in a vehicle), public drunkenness, resisting arrest, failure to comply, simple assault, first and second offense DUI, trespassing, and minor shoplifting. Small amounts of drugs other than marijuana can occasionally be charged as misdemeanors too, though that's rare, most are handled as felonies.
Once charged with a misdemeanor, you'll be in either justice court for the county where you were charged, or municipal court. Which one depends entirely on which law enforcement agency was involved, not where the offense happened. If a municipal police department makes the arrest or writes the citation, you're in that city's municipal court, say, Clinton Police, and you're in Clinton Municipal Court. But if the Hinds County Sheriff's Department makes the exact same arrest, even inside Clinton's city limits, you're in Hinds County Justice Court instead. Highway Patrol and game wardens also send cases to justice court. The rule of thumb: a police department's arrest or citation goes to that city or town's municipal court.
Your first court date isn't always your trial date, often, it's a status conference. There, you and the prosecutor work out the path forward: pleading guilty, entering a non-adjudication program, going to trial, or pleading no contest. Most people don't fully understand all the options available to them, or which one fits their specific facts, potential defenses, and the tendencies of that particular court, which is exactly why having a lawyer matters. Sometimes the resolution reached at a status conference is simply to proceed to trial, and that's a perfectly normal outcome.
If the case proceeds to trial, the prosecution has to put on witnesses and prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. There's typically no jury present. A jury is possible in certain municipal or justice court trials, but it's very rare, it only attaches as a right when the possible sentence exceeds six months in jail. When a jury is involved, they're the trier of fact, deciding what the facts are and whether those facts prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. But roughly 99% of the time in justice and municipal court, the judge serves as the trier of fact instead.
Municipal court judges are almost always licensed attorneys, they've attended law school and passed the bar exam (with a narrow historical exception for some older attorneys who came up through Ole Miss Law School under a since-discontinued "diploma privilege"). Justice court judges are the exception to that rule: they aren't required to hold a law license at all. The requirements are a high school diploma or its equivalent, and winning election by the voters. A justice court judge can also go on to serve as a municipal court judge.
As trier of fact, the judge weighs the evidence, listens to testimony, reviews any video, and makes a credibility determination about who's telling the truth. If the judge finds the facts prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, they find the defendant guilty and move into sentencing, a distinct phase. The judge must sentence within the range set by the state legislature for that offense. A rare exception exists for certain local ordinances, occasionally seen with things like open container violations, where the punishment range and authority instead come from a city council or board of aldermen. The overall misdemeanor sentencing range is 0 to 365 days in jail, per charge.
Once the judge announces the sentence in open court, the defendant has 30 days to perfect an appeal. That requires filing a notice of appeal, along with both a cost bond and an appeal bond, two separate bonds, filed with the county or circuit clerk depending on the county. Filed properly and on time, the lower court's decision (from justice or municipal court) is stayed, meaning it's effectively as if it didn't happen. The case then proceeds as a trial de novo, "of new," on appeal, a genuine second bite at the apple in either county court or circuit court, depending on the county.
That covers how misdemeanor trials work in Mississippi's local courts, how to know which court you'll be in, and how the appeals process gives you a real opportunity to try again if the outcome doesn't go your way.