Forrest County, Mississippi (Judicial)

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Ballotpedia provides comprehensive coverage of the 100 largest cities in America by population as well as mayoral, city council, and district attorney election coverage in state capitals outside of the 100 largest cities. This county is outside of that coverage scope and does not receive scheduled updates.

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Forrest County is one of 82 counties in Mississippi. The county is served by several courts. The Forrest County Court is one of nineteen county courts and has exclusive jurisdiction over eminent domain proceedings and juvenile matters in the county. The county court judge also serves as the youth court judge.

The 10th Chancery District has jurisdiction over disputes in matters involving equity; domestic matters including adoptions, custody disputes and divorces; guardianships; sanity hearings; wills; and challenges to constitutionality of state laws.

Forrest County also contains a justice court, which handles small claims, misdemeanors and "any traffic offense that occurs outside a municipality." The 12th Circuit District Court hears "felony criminal prosecutions and civil lawsuits."

The United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi has jurisdiction in Forrest County. Appeals from the Southern District go to the United States Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit.

Judges

Forrest County, Mississippi

County Court

Forrest County Court, Mississippi

• Michael W. McPhail

Chancery Court

Mississippi 10th Chancery District

• Rhea Sheldon
• Ronald Doleac
• Deborah J. Gambrell
• Johnny Lee Williams

Circuit Court

Mississippi Twelfth Judicial District

• Robert Helfrich
• Jon Mark Weathers

See also

• Courts in Mississippi
• Mississippi counties

External links

• State of Mississippi Judiciary, accessed June 16, 2014

Footnotes

Mississippi courts

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Federal courts:

Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Northern District of Mississippi, Southern District of Mississippi • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Northern District of Mississippi, Southern District of Mississippi

State courts:

Mississippi Supreme Court • Mississippi Court of Appeals • Mississippi circuit courts • Mississippi Chancery Court • Mississippi county courts • Mississippi justice courts • Mississippi youth courts • Mississippi Municipal Courts

State resources:

Courts in Mississippi • Mississippi judicial elections • Judicial selection in Mississippi

Elections

See also: Mississippi judicial elections

Mississippi is one of 43 states that hold elections for judicial positions. To learn more about judicial selection in Mississippi, click here.

• Mississippi local trial court judicial elections, 2024
• Mississippi local trial court judicial elections, 2023
• Mississippi local trial court judicial elections, 2022
• Mississippi local trial court judicial elections, 2021
• Mississippi local trial court judicial elections, 2020
• Mississippi local trial court judicial elections, 2019
• Mississippi local trial court judicial elections, 2018
• Mississippi local trial court judicial elections, 2017
• Mississippi local trial court judicial elections, 2016
• Mississippi judicial elections, 2015
• Mississippi judicial elections, 2014
• Mississippi judicial elections, 2012
• Mississippi judicial elections, 2010

Election rules

Primary election

Mississippi does not hold primary elections for judicial candidates.

General election

Qualified judicial candidates, including those running unopposed, appear on the general election ballot. There is no indication of party affiliation. When two or more candidates are competing for a seat, they are listed in alphabetical order.

The winner of the general election is determined by majority vote. If no candidate receives a majority (over 50 percent) of the total vote, the top two candidates advance to a runoff election that takes place three weeks later.