Category Archives: Appeal

Appeal, Child Custody, Child Support, Crime, Divorce, General Legal, Opinion

What Can You Do When the Judge Violates the Law?

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Judges swear an oath to uphold the Constitution, to follow the law, and apply it without prejudice or bias. Most do this very difficult task with tact and professionalism. Some do not. The Code of Judicial Conduct is intended to establish standards for ethical conduct
of judges.

So what do you do when your Judge violates the law? Sometimes it’s a judgment call and not a violation of the law. In these circumstances you can file a Motion for New Trial and/or an Appeal.

But what about when the judge clearly violates the law? Can you sue the Judge? Usually, no. Judges enjoy what is known as Judicial Immunity that protects them from civil liability for violating the law. If the actions are criminal there could be penalties, but typically not for civil violations.

What else can be done? Contact Mississippi Judicial Performance. Judicial performance is an entity created by the Mississippi Constitution that seeks;

To enforce the standards of judicial conduct,
To inquire into judicial liability and conduct,
To protect the public from judicial misconduct and disabled judges, and
To protect the judiciary from unfounded allegations.


All proceedings before the Commission are of a civil nature, not criminal, as the​ purpose of the Commission is to be rehabilitative and educational as well as disciplinary.

Judicial Complaint Form

Any citizen, litigant, attorney, law enforcement official, judge, public official, or other individual who has knowledge of possible judicial misconduct may file a complaint with the Commission. Complaints may also be filed anonymously. Additionally, the Commission may file a complaint on its own motion based upon matters it learns of in other ways, such as from mass media and information obtained during the course of an investigation.

All complaints must be submitted to the Commission in writing. The Commission does not accept oral complaints. You may use a complaint form or write a letter to the Commission. A complaint form filed with the Commission should be typewritten or printed so that it is easily readable.

Matthew Thompson is an attorney in Mississippi and knows most Judges try to do it right…

Appeal, General Legal, Opinion

Elect David McCarty- Court of Appeals Judge

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David McCarty is running for Court of Appeals Judge in Mississippi. Citizens of this state would be well-served by electing him to this position.

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David McCarty

“I have devoted my legal career to the unique practice of appeals, beginning as a law clerk at the Mississippi Supreme Court. In the past thirteen years, I have represented dozens of clients in federal and state appeals—from small businesses to parents who were fighting for the best for their children. In over 30 oral arguments, I traveled before our Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, and the Fifth Circuit to advocate for my clients.“

Why should you care? The Mississippi Court of Appeals considers the vast majority of Family Law Appeals, along with criminal law, business law and other disputes assigned to the Court by the Mississippi Supreme Court. David is the most experienced candidate. David’s campaign emphasized experience, integrity and fairness, David has pledged to treat all persons and cases appearing before his Court with dignity and respect. This is a promise you can count on.

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  • Over 70 cases ruled on by the Mississippi Supreme Court and Court of Appeals — more than three times the experience of all other candidates combined

    • Over 30 oral arguments before the Mississippi Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, and Eighth Circuit

  • Adjunct professor since 2005 at Mississippi College School of Law for classes in Evidence, Trial Practice, Appellate Advocacy, and Pretrial Practice

    •  Law Review, Articles Editor 

    • Moot Court, Competition Chair

    • JD, Mississippi College School of Law, cum laude

  • Author of multiple scholarly works, including a treatise on evidence as well as a study of judicial speech laws

  • Co-founder, Appellate Practice Section of the Mississippi Bar

Who can vote for David? Court of Appeals District 4 The district is a portion of Hinds County, south, a little east and then west. The largest populated areas are the portion of Hinds County, McComb area and Natchez area. It’s a big district that includes the following Counties; Adams, Amite, Copiah, Covington, Franklin, Jefferson Davis, Lawrence, Lincoln, Marion, Pike, Simpson, Walthall and Wilkinson; that portion of Hinds County not included in the Second Court of Appeals District; and that portion of Jones County not included in the Third Court of Appeals District.

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So is this a paid ad for David? No. I am posting this because I believe in David McCarty. I have committed my professional existence to practicing in front of fair, impartial, honest Judges in Mississippi, who treat others with dignity and respect. I am convinced that he is exactly what Mississippi needs and exactly what Mississippi will get with the election of David McCarty.

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Appeal, Crime, Divorce, General Legal, Opinion

How to Pick a Candidate…

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It’s election season. Candidates are coming out of the woodwork for senate, congress, and judicial seats. Here’s a primer on picking a candidate.

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  • Do they have Experience?
    • This does not mean that they must have served in the position being sought, but does their work experience, life experience, education and training lend itself to the seat?
  • Are they Competent?
    • Experience is good, but it needs to be good experience. We all know that person that received opportunities because of connections, or who their uncle knew. Merely having experience may not be enough if you are merely a figurehead or placeholder.
    • The candidate should know what the position requires and should possess the needed traits to fill the spot.
  • Do they meet the Requirements?
    • For may positions there is age, residency and education requirements. It is fair to inquire if the bare minimums are met.
  • Why are they Running?
    • Is it for prestige or ego? Is it because they can make a difference.
    • Ask the candidate, ” Why are you Running?”
  • Are they a Good Person?
    • You can have plenty of experience, meet the requirements, be competent and still not be the best candidate. There is an intangible, hard to measure judgment of candidates. This is about their honesty, integrity and is the person they portray really the person that they are?

These are just some of the criteria that should be considered when choosing a candidate. We all have an obligation to meet the candidates, engage the process, ask questions and care. These elections impact our lives whether we realize it or not.

Matthew Thompson is a family law attorney and is excited about the campaign season and if all else fails you can still “eeny, meeny, miney, moe” to pick your slate.

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Appeal, Child Custody, Child Support, Divorce, General Legal, Modifications, Visitation

When Court Doesn’t Go your Way…

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Sometimes Court doesn’t go your way.

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Judges make mistakes, witnesses remember it wrong and you may ask for improper relief. But, all is not lost. You have options.

Motion for New Trial. This motion, sometimes referred to as a motion for reconsideration, can provide an avenue for the Judge to correct the mistake. They must be filed within 10 days of the Final Judgment and they are not for a do-over, but to correct a clear error of law or fact.

Appeal. You may appeal any Final Judgment. You have 30 days to do so from the final ruling and if you do a timely Motion for New Trial it resets the appeal clock. Appeals can be cumbersome and daunting. These are to the appellate court, not the Court that decided your case. However, an appeal is based on what happened below, the trial record. It’s not for new happenings.

Modification. Even though your judgment may be final, certain aspects are always modifiable. Custody, support, visitation and certain other payments may be changed by the Court if circumstances warrant it.

Matthew Thompson is a Divorce and Appeals lawyer in Mississippi.

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Appeal, Child Custody, Divorce, General Legal

Appealing Your Case…the Basics.

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“An Appeal is a request that a higher Court review the decision of the lower Court.  A lot of family law decisions are appealed, though very few are successful or result in significant change.”

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Matthew Thompson after admittance to the U.S. Supreme Court.

What’s required prior to filing an Appeal?

A Final Order.  A Final Order is one which decides all of the issues and leaves nothing more for the Court to decide.  A Temporary Order (clickable), for example, is not appealable.  It is not a Final Order.

How do you file your appeal?

In Divorce Court there are several options available.  The first option is filing what is called a Motion for New Trial*.  This is filed in the same Court, with the same Judge and must be filed within 10 days of the entry of the Final Order.  This is not merely a chance for a “second bite at the apple,” but rather is to point out significant errors of fact and/or law upon which the Judge relied, which resulted in the wrong decision.  These are routinely denied.  They are denied for several reasons and primarily because the Judge just decided the case and the matter is “fresh.”.

(*There has been some debate over whether a Motion for New Trial is required to perfect an appeal.  The most recent answer is that it is not required in family law matters, however it is a good idea to file one out of an abundance of caution. Please rely upon your attorney for making this decision.)

After the Motion for New Trial is ruled upon by the Court you may file a Notice of Appeal. This is filed in the Divorce Court (Chancery Court) and must be filed within 30 days of either the Final Judgment, or within 30 days of the ruling on the Motion for New Trial, whichever is later.

All appeals are filed with the Mississippi Supreme Court (MSSC).  From there the MSSC decides whether to hear the case or assign it to the Court of Appeals (COA).  The majority of the Family Law cases are assigned to the COA. There is a filing fee, as well. Notice of the Appeal is sent to the original Court that ruled, the Judge, the MSSC, and the other party.

The Appeal process is deadline driven. 

There are deadlines to file the appeal, to pay an estimate for preparing the transcript, to designate the record.  The other party may cross-appeal.

After the initial flurry, a briefing schedule is issued.  

The one appealing,  the Appellant, has 40 days to file their brief and can get multiple extensions of 30, 20, and 10 days.  The Appellee, the one responding to the appeal, then has 30 days to reply and can get extensions of 30, 20, and 10 days.  The Appellant can then file a reply brief within 14 days, with up to one extension of 30 days.  After all the briefs are submitted the Court may allow Oral Argument, if it is a case of first impression or complex, and the Court may not.  Once the briefs are submitted the Court has 270 days to rule.  They rule in a written Opinion that is handed down on either Tuesdays or Thursdays after 1:00 pm.

Even if you “win” you may only get a “do-over.”  Most appeals are denied.  When they are granted it usually results in the matter being sent back to the same Judge that ruled on the case to begin with, with instructions to reconsider certain facts or law.  It does not mean you win and they lose.

Matthew Thompson is a family law appellate attorney that has handled  numerous appeals.  

Follow the blog:#BowTieLawyer Visit the website: #Thompson Law Firm  You may also contact Matthew with your family law matter or question at (601) 850-8000 or Matthew@bowtielawyer.ms

Appeal, Divorce, Opinion

The Hardest Check to Return; Paying Your Alimony Early and the Pitfalls of “Acceptance”?

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Harold Hamm, oil tycoon of Continental Resources sent his ex a check for $974.8 million!

However, she rejected the check delivered to her lawyers.

Hamm immediately sent the full cash value of what a divorce ruling by an Oklahoma County judge determined he owed.  The check was refused because “Ms. Arnall did not want to risk the dismissal of her appeal by acceptance of the benefits.”

Reports indicated that Mr. Hamm was worth some $18 billion and Ms. Arnall’s near-billion dollar payoff seemed paltry to she and her legal team, hence her appeal of the Court’s ruling.

That would be a hard check not to accept!

*Ultimately she did accept the payment and her appeal was dismissed.

Matthew Thompson is a Divorce and Alimony Attorney in Mississippi and reminds you that the #1 rule, when we’re fighting over stuff and not people, is to take the money.

Follow the blog:#BowTieLawyer Visit the website: #Thompson Law Firm  You may also contact Matthew with your family law matter or question at (601) 850-8000 or Matthew@bowtielawyer.ms

Appeal, Divorce, Marriage

Mississippi Same-Sex Marriage Ban Struck Down

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“Down goes Frazier!” – Or rather Mississippi’s ban on same-sex marriage.

On Tuesday, Federal District Court Judge Carlton Reeves did two things simultaneously; 1) He struck down Mississippi’s Constitutional ban on same-sex marriage paving the way for same-sex couples to finally marry in Mississippi…,but not so fast. 2) Judge Reeves also issued a stay for two weeks to allow the State of Mississippi time to appeal the ruling to the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals.

This means the MS Constitutional ban is no longer valid, however enforcement, or rather same-sex marriage, is put on “hold” in this State pending the 5th Circuit ruling.  So more of the same for now.

The 5th Circuit has arguments set for early January regarding cases out of Texas and Louisiana over same-sex marriage prohibitions.  The 5th Circuit’s eventual ruling will apply to Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi.

Stay tuned.  New developments will be blogged as they occur.  The next round will likely be in a few months.

Matthew Thompson is a Mississippi Family Law Attorney, Adjunct Professor of Law in Family Law and is closely following these pending cases and the impact they will have on marriage in Mississippi.

Follow the blog:#BowTieLawyer Visit the website: #Thompson Law Firm  You may also contact Matthew with your family law matter or question at (601) 850-8000 or Matthew@bowtielawyer.ms

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Appeal, Divorce, General Legal

How Appealing!

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Appeals are a necessary evil in Family Law.  The following is a brief description of appealing Chancery Court matters, that is, family law cases.

An appeal is a request that a higher Court review the decision of the lower Court.  A lot of family law decisions are appealed, though very few are successful or result in a significant change.

A decision is appealable if it is a Final Order.  A Final Order is one which decides all of the then pending issues and leaves nothing more for the Court to decide.  A Temporary Order (clickable), for example, is not appealable.  It is not a Final Order, though it could be subject to modification in certain exigent circumstances.

A Final Order, rather, is your Final Judgment of Divorce or other similar document. It decides on a permanent basis the outcome of your case.

How do you appeal it? In Chancery Court there are several options available.  The first is filing what is called a Motion for New Trial*.  This is filed in the same Court and must be filed within 10 days of the entry of the Final Order.  This goes back in front of the same judge and is not merely a chance for a “second bite at the apple,” but rather is to point out significant errors of fact and/or law upon which the Judge relied, which resulted in the wrong decision.  These are routinely denied.  They are denied for several reasons and primarily because the Judge just decided the case and also because it requires the Court to “admit” to making a mistake.  Usually the case is fresh on the Judge’s mind and the Judge felt that he or she did not make a mistake.  I have seen these most commonly granted when there is a mathematical error; the child support was calculated wrong or the asset division contained a significant computation error.  If the “error” is not something obvious these have a very low probability of success. (*There has been some debate over whether a Motion for New Trial is required to perfect an appeal.  The most recent answer is that it is not required in family law matters, however it is a good idea to file one out of an abundance of caution. Please rely upon your attorney for making this decision.)

After the Motion for New Trial is denied you may file a Notice of Appeal.  This is filed, again, with the Chancery Court and must be filed within 30 days of either the Final Judgment, or within 30 days of the ruling on the Motion for New Trial, whichever is later.

All appeals are sent to the Mississippi Supreme Court (MSSC).  From there the MSSC gets to decide if they keep the case or assign it to the Court of Appeals (COA).  The majority of the Family Law cases are assigned to the COA.

The Appeal process is deadline heavy.  There are deadlines to file the appeal, to pay an estimate of preparing the transcript, to designate the record.  After which, a briefing schedule is issued.  The one appealing,  the Appellant, has 40 days to file their brief and can get multiple extensions of 30, 20, and 10 days.  The Appellee, the one responding to the appeal, then has 30 days to reply and can get extensions of 30, 20, and 10 days.  The Appellant can then file a reply brief within 14 days, with up to one extension of 30 days.  After all the briefs are submitted the Court may allow Oral Argument, if it is a case of first impression or complex, and the Court may not.  Once the briefs are submitted the Court has 270 days to rule.  They rule in a written Opinion that is handed down on either Tuesdays or Thursdays after 1:00 pm.

Even if you “win” you may not.  Usually appeals are denied.  When they are granted it usually results in the matter being remanded to the lower Court with instructions for the Judge to redo a certain part or reconsider certain facts or law.  It does not guaranty a change in the outcome and you may end up back in front of the same Judge that ruled against you.

Appeals are long, costly, and even if you “win,” you may not “win.”  Consult with an attorney experienced in handling appeals if you think there were significant errors made in your case.

Matthew Thompson is a family law attorney that has been involved in about 20 appeals.  

Follow the blog: BowTieLawyer 

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