At 18 you can vote; Join the military without parental consent and buy a rifle or shotgun…but you are not an Adult for Mississippi law purposes.
MS Code § 1-3-21 (2025), defines [t]he term “infant,” when used in any statute, shall include any person, male or female, under twenty-one years of age.
Recent legislation died in committee trying to bring Mississippi in-line with every other state. Most states consider a child an adult when they attain the age of 18 or 19 if still attending high school.
There are some exceptions where a child can lose that status by joining the military, getting married, going to prison, or moving from home and working full-time. This is called emancipation.
So, Mississippi is unique for reasons that may not make us so special…
Matthew Thompson is a family law and child welfare attorney and has supported common sense changes in Mississippi family law and is still holding out hope that some may come to fruition…one day.
MS House Bill 1577 seeks to Stop knowingly false abuse allegations/reports.
2) (a) A report shall not be considered filed in good faith under this section when it is unsupported by credible evidence; and the person who filed the report intentionally submitted the report knowing it was false. Such report shall be considered a willful false report of child abuse.
(b) (i) Any person convicted of making a willful false report of child abuse under Section 97-35-47, shall be punished by a fine not to exceed Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00), by imprisonment in jail not to exceed one (1) year, or both.
(c) In addition to any fine and imprisonment, and upon a proper showing made to the court, the person may be ordered to pay restitution to the law enforcement agency and/or the Department of Child Protection Services for any reasonable costs directly related to the investigation of the false report.
(d) Violations of this section may be prosecuted by the state Attorney General, the Department of Child Protection Services, the county attorney of the county in which the child resides or the district attorney of the county in which the child resides.
SECTION 2. Section 97-35-47, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
97-35-47. It shall be unlawful for any person to report a crime or any element of a crime, including an allegation of child abuse or neglect, to any law enforcement agency or officer, the Department of Child Protection Services, or any officer of any court, by any means, knowing that the report is false. A violation of this section shall be punishable by imprisonment in the county jail not to exceed one (1) year or by fine not to exceed Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00), or both.
In addition to any fine and imprisonment, and upon proper showing made to the court, the defendant shall be ordered to pay as restitution to the law enforcement agency and/or the Department of Child Protection Services reimbursement for any reasonable costs directly related to the investigation of the falsely reported crime and the prosecution of any person convicted under this section.
A report is false under this section when it is unsupported by * * * credible evidence and the person intentionally submitted the report knowing it was false. Proof that the person who filed the report reasonably relied on credible evidence or credible information shall be a defense to a claim of willful false reporting under this section.
False reports unfortunately happen. False reports unfortunately are weaponized. Now, there are consequences that fit the crime.
Matthew Thompson is a child welfare attorney in Mississippi and has seen false reports of abuse end up in Court.
Hinds County Attorney, Bridgett Clayton, has qualified to run for Hinds County Chancery Judge!
“After much prayer and consideration, I am honored and excited to announce that I qualified for Hinds County Chancery Court Judge, District 5-3, on today.”
“I am ready to serve the citizens of Hinds County with God serving as a Lamp unto my feet and the Light unto my path as I seek election for this judicial seat to do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly before my God. Micah 6:8”
I am requesting your prayers and support during the campaign as well as on Election Day which is November 3.
Please be on the lookout for future campaign information. Thank You!
Matthew Thompson is a Chancery practitioner and knows-well the power, authority and responsibility that Chancellor’s have and the knowledge and wisdom they should possess. Attorney Bridgett Clayton has all of those qualities and then-some!
Please support Bridgett Clayton for Hinds County Chancellor!
The Noncustodial Parents’ Bill of Rights and Responsibilities which shall be provided to all noncustodial parents.
The Department of Human Services shall extend the following rights to noncustodial parents:
(a) Advance notification of all hearings concerning proposed modifications of child support;
(b) Advance notification concerning the representation of the noncustodial parent in court proceedings, which does not require an attorney;
(c) That the noncustodial parent shall have the same rights as the custodial parent concerning the receipt of any notification;
(d) Advance notice of information regarding scheduled meetings concerning the child;
(e) Advance notice of all meetings concerning all the agency’s crucial decisions regarding the child; and
(f) The ability to communicate with department personnel or representatives twenty-four (24) hours a day, seven (7) days a week, for the purpose of aiding the noncustodial parent.
This is not a sea-change, nor profound. The non-custodial parent is already entitle to notice, the right to counsel, the right to information, notice of meetings and decisions. The last item, the ability to communicate 24/7 seems unreasonable, but maybe that just means you can leave a message or send an email. Who knows?
Non-custodial parents already have rights! **Of note, there has yet to pass a Parent’s Bill of Rights in Mississippi law** However, even without that, parent’s have a fundamental right, guaranteed by the US Constitution to raise their child as they see fit.
Matthew Thompson is custody attorney in Mississippi and has represented hundreds of moms and dads in family courts throughout the state.
It’s that time of year again. Proposed law/legislation is being kicked around by the State Legislature.
House Bill No. 11, proposed by Representative Arnold, seeks “TO PROHIBIT THE APPLICATION OF SHARIA LAW IN DIVORCE AND CHILD CUSTODY CASES; TO AMEND SECTION 11-63-1, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO CLARIFY THE PROHIBITION AGAINST USE OF SHARIA LAW IN COURT ORDERS.”
To date, this scribe is unaware of any Court’s using, applying or considering Sharia law in the State of Mississippi, as same would be contrary to the MS Constitution anyway.
Of interest, the Bill includes that a Mississippi Court “shall not enforce a foreign law that violates the Mississippi Constitution, any laws of this state, the United States Constitution, any laws or ratified treaties of the United States and the territories of the United States * * *.”
The Bill likewise bars enforcement of ” (b) Any order by a court, arbitrator, administrative agency or other adjudicative, mediation or enforcement authority that seeks to enforce foreign law in violation of paragraph (a) of this subsection (2) shall be void.”
So far, it’s basically saying MS Court’s will not honor foreign laws or Orders that violate MS law or Constitutional law or are based on factors contrary to MS law/US Constitutional considerations. Makes sense.
However, the Bill includes one other tidbit that could prove to have unintended consequences, “In Sections 11-7-301 through 11-7-309 “foreign judgment” means any judgment, decree or order of a court of the United States * * *. The term “foreign judgment” shall not mean or include any judgment, decree or order from any jurisdiction outside of the United States or its territories, or any judgment from another state or territory of the United States that applies law from a jurisdiction outside of the United States or its territories.
This last paragraph seems to invalidate any “foreign judgment” that was not secured within the U.S.
Why do you care? Is that foreign Adoption, which is a Judgment, valid?
That “foreign” quickie Divorce in Haiti or the Dominican Republic? Are they valid?
Up and until this Bill, Mississippi and the United States have routinely recognized foreign judgments IF they were obtained in a procedural and substantive manner consistent with that foreign entities jurisdiction and law. This is called Comity and it’s a necessary legal concept.
Does HB. No. 11 unintentionally seek to overturn Comity? I argue that it certainly may and that’s no laughing matter!
Matthew Thompson is a Family law attorney and has handled multiple matters that involve foreign decrees and clients from all over the world.
It’s back. Senate Bill 2088 – “Contraception Begins at Erection Act.”
It shall be unlawful for a person to discharge genetic material without the intent to fertilize an egg.
Upon conviction of a violation of this section, a person shall be fined as follows, and the fine shall be payable to the woman whose egg was fertilized as a result of the act:
One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) for a first offense;
Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00) for a second offense; and
Ten Thousand Dollars (10,000.00) for a third or subsequent offense.
This section shall not apply to the discharge of genetic material:
(a) Donated or sold to a facility for the purpose of future procedures to fertilize an egg; and
(b) Discharged with the use of a contraceptive or contraceptive method intended to prevent fertilization of an egg.
This “Bill” is dead on arrival, but it is thought-provoking.
It makes it illegal to fertilize an egg without the intent to fertilize it. Recreational intercourse is outlawed by this bill! No exceptions for marriage or otherwise. And to guarantee its failure the fine goes to the woman that was impregnated! You know the Government is going to always get their$!
Its ultimately a harmless bill intended to shine some light on perceived gender inequalities
Matthew Thompson is family law attorney and gets a chuckle out of bills such as this.
The roots of Thanksgiving celebrations began when President Washington called for a civic celebration to unify Americans in the shared blessings of freedom in 1789.
He called upon our Creator to “render our national government a blessing to all the people, by constantly being a Government of wise, just and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed.”
Seven decades later, factional divisions split Americans into Civil War.
In 1863, Lincoln issued a proclamation to celebrate Thanksgiving Day on the last Thursday of November.
For years leading up to President Abraham Lincoln’s proclamation, a prominent author, Sarah Josepha Hale, lobbied for a national day of thanksgiving to unify Americans. She advocated for the holiday to become an “American custom and institution.”
Just a few months following the Battle of Gettysburg, the deadliest battle of the Civil War, President Lincoln signed the proclamation to implore “the Almighty Hand” to help “heal the wounds of the nation.”
For years Doctors have enjoyed the saying “I’m sure your WebMD is just as good as my actual M.D….
Self-diagnosing running rampant…
Well now ChatGPT has made everyone a lawyer.
Need a brief in response to a summary judgment motion?
In mere seconds a fully typed, cited and “winning” brief is at your fingertips.
Only, there’s just one problem…
It’s fake! The cites are fake. The rulings are made up and the cases and courts may not even exist.
Recently BigLaw and small firms have been swept up in AI legal malfeasance. It’s making the rounds and the news.
A federal judge has even been the target of an inquiry when a ghost ruling appeared with fictitious parties, fake facts and bad law! The order vanished and was replaced with a corrected one.
So be careful out there. We can no longer believe the news, the internet or our own eyes.
Matthew Thompson is a family law attorney that cites Westlaw and text books, such as Mississippi Divorce, Alimony and Child Custody, with forms.
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