Mississippi Court of Appeals

A creation of the Mississippi Legislature, the court began operations in 1995 for the purpose of relieving a backlog of cases before the Supreme Court of Mississippi.

The cases the court hears are assigned to it by the Supreme Court of Mississippi, and generally concern issues in which the law is already settled, but the facts are in dispute.

Thus, contrary to federal procedure, Mississippi does not protect the common law right to a trial by jury, since it permits appellate review of facts found by a jury.

The court's ten judges are elected from five districts and serve eight-year terms.

Jim Herring, who served on the court from 1997 to 1999 under appointment of Governor Kirk Fordice, later became the state chairman of the Mississippi Republican Party.