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Don’t take your Gun to Court.
The Mississippi Supreme Court has reversed a Lowndes County Chancery Court Judge’s Order which essentially banned firearms from all areas of the courthouse.
This is somewhat controversially in light of several recent MS law clarifications on where one could and could not carry a firearm. A resident of the local community challenged the Court Order, alleging it contradicted state statutory law which limited broader restrictions to the wisdom of the legislature.
The law currently provides that if you have a concealed carry license and enhanced carry license endorsement you may carry in most public places, including Courthouses, so long as it is not in the Courtroom while Court is in session.
The Family law judges thought that did not go far enough and entered an Order, declaring the entire Courthouse a Courtroom, effectively banning firearms from the entire building.
The challenge was successful in having the Judge’s Order reversed. The Mississippi Supreme Court declared the Order an unconstitutional infringement on the rights of citizens to keep and bear arms.
“One of the clearest delegations of legislative power in our Constitution is found in
Article 3, Section 12. It provides: “The right of every citizen to keep and bear arms in
defense of his home, person, or property, or in aid of the civil power when thereto legally summoned, shall not be called in question, but the Legislature may regulate or forbid carrying concealed weapons.” (Emphasis in original.) Without equivocation, the Legislature is the branch of government that the citizens of Mississippi chose to regulate or forbid concealed weapons.”Justice Mike Randolph, Mississippi Supreme Court
The Lowndes County Chancellors have filed for a Rehearing and made several compelling arguments on why the Mississippi Supreme Court may have gotten this one wrong. Stay tuned for more.
Also, you may be wondering why the title says Don’t take your Gun to the Courthouse, even though the Supreme Court says you can, well, it’s just good advice.
Matthew Thompson is a Family Law attorney, gun enthusiast and practices in Lowndes Chancery Court and does not think family law litigants having guns at all times is a great idea.
Happy Father’s Day!
Depressing Depression.
Depression is a common and serious medical illness that negatively affects how you feel, the way you think and how you act. Fortunately, it is also treatable. Depression causes feelings of sadness and/or a loss of interest in activities once enjoyed. It can lead to a variety of emotional and physical problems and can decrease a person’s ability to function at work and at home.
Depression symptoms include:
- Feeling sad or having a depressed mood
- Loss of interest or pleasure in activities once enjoyed
- Changes in appetite — weight loss or gain unrelated to dieting
- Trouble sleeping or sleeping too much
- Loss of energy or increased fatigue
- Increase in purposeless physical activity (e.g., hand-wringing or pacing) or slowed movements and speech (actions observable by others)
- Feeling worthless or guilty
- Difficulty thinking, concentrating or making decisions
- Thoughts of death or suicide
Depression affects an estimated one in 15 adults (6.7%) in any given year. And one in six people (16.6%) will experience depression at some time in their life. Depression can strike at any time, but on average, first appears during the late teens to mid-20s. Women are more likely than men to experience depression. Some studies show that one-third of women will experience a major depressive episode in their lifetime.
Citing: https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/depression/what-is-depression
Depression is a common side effect of being involved in a family law case. Experiencing depression as part of a divorce and/or custody case is normal. It does not mean that you are crazy, weak or broken. Also, being a part of a case can exacerbate symptoms of depression.
Below is a simple “test” that is available online. It is the Beck Depression Inventory. It is the standard in helping diagnosing depression.
http://treat-depression.com/depression-test
The Beck Depression Inventory (BDI, BDI-1A, BDI-II), created by Aaron T. Beck, is a 21-question multiple-choice self-report inventory, one of the most widely used psychometric tests for measuring the severity of depression.
Matthew Thompson is a family law attorney and reminds you that an online test is no replacement for an evaluation by your physician, counselor or healthcare professional.
Get a Checkup.
Going to the Dr. is not what we most look forward to.
However, it is a good idea. Getting a check up is a part of a healthy life and if you are dealing with the stress and anxiety of a Family Law matter it is all the more important to live a healthy life.
In custody cases your physical and mental health matters. It is one of the Albright factors that the Court must consider in determining custody of children. It is one of the Armstrong factors; health and earning capacity are used to determine whether or not to award Alimony and these factors impact how much and how long the award may be for.
Health insurance coverage and expenses is an issue in almost every case. Pre-existing conditions, insurability and availability of health coverage matter.
Get a check up and get checked out.
Matthew Thompson is a family law attorney in Mississippi and recommends that you get a medical health check up.
Don’t be Cruel.
Elvis sang it well. “Don’t be cruel…”
Mississippi law was recently changed to specifically include spousal domestic abuse as a fault ground within the already existing habitual cruel and inhuman treatment fault ground. Below is the statute.
Miss. Code Ann. § 93-5-1
§ 93-5-1. Causes allowed
Habitual cruel and inhuman treatment, including spousal domestic abuse.
Spousal domestic abuse may be established through the reliable testimony of a single credible witness, who may be the injured party, and includes, but is not limited to: That the injured party’s spouse attempted to cause, or purposely, knowingly or recklessly caused bodily injury to the injured party, or that the injured party’s spouse attempted by physical menace to put the injured party in fear of imminent serious bodily harm; or That the injured party’s spouse engaged in a pattern of behavior against the injured party of threats or intimidation, emotional or verbal abuse, forced isolation, sexual extortion or sexual abuse, or stalking or aggravated stalking as defined in Section 97-3-107, if the pattern of behavior rises above the level of unkindness or rudeness or incompatibility or want of affection.
This change is primarily significant for a few reasons. It changed the corroboration requirement. Previously it required testimony and/or evidence not only from the victim but also from another witness or source, such as a third-party or the admission of police or medical records. Now, if the Judge finds the victim/witness credible the Court may grant the award of a fault based divorce.
Additionally, the statute specifically provides for a fault based divorce to be granted based on abuse other than physical, including emotional, verbal, sexual, and stalking behavior.
These are significant and welcomed changes in Mississippi law. More info on fault grounds can be read here.
Matthew Thompson is a divorce attorney in Mississippi. Only two states in the Country still require fault grounds for a divorce if the parties cannot agree to all issues; Mississippi and South Dakota.
Happy Mother’s Day!
The Race is ON! Electing Judges Mississippi style.
In Mississippi we pick our judges like we pick class favorites. The winner is whoever gets the most votes. The qualifying deadline passed, just minutes ago, and below are your candidates.
This post is focused on certain Family Law Judge races primarily, because that is what I primarily do. I will expound on other judicial races in future posts. This link will take you to all of the candidates.
Races to Watch.
HINDS COUNTY
Chancery Court Judge Sub 5-1
Dewayne Thomas
Unopposed. Congratulations Judge Thomas.
Chancery Court Judge Sub 5-2
Patricia Wise – Current Chancellor – Withdrawn
The rumor mill had her retiring effective the end of this year and that appears true as she is not listed among the candidates.
Reginald Harrion
Qualified early and is in it to win it.
Crystal Wise Martin
Recently qualified. Interestingly, this is Judge Wise’s daughter. She was technically running against her mother for a few weeks.
Chancery Court Judge Sub 5-3
Denise Owens
Unopposed. The current Senior Chancellor is signing up for 4 more years. Congratulations Judge Owens
Chancery Court Judge Sub 5-4
Steven P. Nixon
Qualified early and was hoping to be the only candidate in the field. However, three additional candidates qualified to run for this spot this week. This is an Open seat due to Judge Singletary’s announced retirement.
Tiffany Grove
Qualified this week.
Monique Brown-Barrett
Qualified this week.
Ottawa Carter, Jr.
Qualified this week.
RANKIN COUNTY
Chancery Court Judge 20, 1
John C. McLaurin, Jr.
Unopposed. Congratulations Judge McLaurin.
Chancery Court Judge 20, 1
Tamekia Cooper Bennett
Mel Coxwell
Troy Odom
Place 2 is the race to watch in Rankin. Judicial stalwart John Grant is retiring.
Chancery Court Judge 20, 3
Haydn J. Roberts
Unopposed. Congratulations Judge Roberts
LAUDERDALE COUNTY
Chancery Court Judge 12 – 1 (includes other areas)
Charles E. “Charlie” Smith
Frances Smith Stephenson
This should be a tight race. This is an open seat due to Judge Mason’s retirement. The winner will have big shoes to fill with Mason’s retirement, but will have perhaps the best asset possible across the hall for all things Chancery, their colleague Judge Larry Primeaux.
LEFLORE COUNTY
Chancery Court Judge 7, Sub 7-2 (includes additional Delta counties)
Katherine Tackett Mills
Willie J. Perkins, Sr.
Richard W. Ryals, II
This is an open seat due to Judge Barnwell’s retirement.
SIMPSON COUNTY
Chancery Court Judge 13, 1
David Shoemake
Allen Buffington
Judge Shoemake had an opponent early on who withdrew to run for Andy Gipson’s position once Gipson was elevated (removed) from the legislature. Buffington is a familiar name, but it is NOT the previous Judge Buffington, that was Larry. This will be an interesting race to watch. Shoemake has some weak spots…
THE COAST
Chancery Court Judge 8, 3
Margaret Alfonso
Diane Herman Ellis
Sanford R. (Sandy) Steckler
This race is exciting because of the candidates. Judge Steckler is the incumbent. Judge Alfonso is a former Chancellor who left Chancery for Youth Court (County Court) and is now running. This makes a very recent former Chancellor against a current Chancellor and they actually served together.
Attorney Ellis, a practitioner, has some acclaim for a case of first impression in Mississippi that ultimately made law that a child born of the marriage, of a same-sex marriage is of the marriage, even though genetic material may have come from a different source.
There are other hotly contested races in Starkville, Hattiesburg, the Coast and other judicial positions. Stay tuned for the 411!
Matthew Thompson is a lawyer and will likely run for judge in 15-25 years. It’s never too early to start campaigning!
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