IN THE 22ND CIRCUIT COURT DISTRICT
PROCEDURE
CIVIL MATTERS
GENERAL INFORMATION
THE 22ND CIRCUIT COURT DISTRICT ADHERES TO THE SUPREME COURT’S TIME STANDARDS EFFECTIVE AS OF JANUARY 1, 2002:
Civil Cases will be disposed of within 18 months from filing of complaint.
(except for individual cases in which the Court determines by written order that exceptional circumstances exist and for which a continuing review should occur)
The Court DOES NOT accept any information via telefax unless prior approval of the Court Administrator.
All information forwarded to the Judge or any member of the Judicial Staff is to be received via U.S. Mail to Post Office Box 310, Hazlehurst, Mississippi 39083-0310 or via Courier.
All Orders received in the Judge’s Office will be mailed and hand delivered by the Judge’s Office to the respective Circuit Clerk’s Office for docketing and filing.
The Judge’s Office as referenced within these procedures shall be deemed to be the location of our home office that being, Copiah County Courthouse, 100 Caldwell Drive, Post Office Box 310, Hazlehurst, MS 39038-0310, 601-894-3311, circuitcourtgeneralinfo@copiahcounty.org.
INITIAL FILING
1. Contact the Circuit Clerk of the County to which you are desiring to file the matter to obtain the information which is necessary to secure the filing of the Complaint.
SERVICE OF PROCESS
1. The Court will set a Status Hearing on the first available motion date in the respective County where the case is filed following the 120 day allowable time for service of process.
2. Any requests for a extending the time for service of process are to be submitted to Court from the requesting party via receipt of a copy of the Motion to the Judge’s Office. The Court will evaluate and prepare its own Order in response to the Motion OR will contact the requesting party and advise that the Motion needs to be set for hearing.
MOTION HEARINGS
1. If desiring a Motion Hearing before the Judge, the following instructions apply:
Motion Hearings will be heard in the County of Filing.
1. Call the Court Administrator or Court Administrator Assistant to obtain an available Motion Hearing Date.
2. The party requesting the Motion Hearing is to provide to the Court Administrator or Court Administrator Assistant, a copy of the Notice of Hearing, a copy of the Motion, and any Brief in support of the Motion, all sent together via U.S. Mail to Post Office Box 310, Hazlehurst, Mississippi 39083-0310, and this information must be received in the Judge’s Office prior to fifteen (15) working days of the selected motion hearing date to insure placement onto the Court’s Motion Docket. Opposing counsel shall submit any response to the motion ten (10) day prior to the hearing date. The moving party will have until five (5) days prior to the hearing date to submit any rebuttal.
2. Civil Motion Hearings are set on the Court’s Docket to begin at 10:00 a.m., with the exception of Default/Replevin Hearings, and are set in the order as received via U.S. Mail or Courier by the Court Administrator.
3. All parties are encouraged to be present at the motion hearing, and to be in attendance with the Court until such time as the case in which they are involved is called for hearing.
4. Telephonic Hearings are discouraged; however, allowed, only by approval of the Judge following written correspondence to the Court Administrator from the requesting party with the Court Administrator notifying the requesting party of the Judge’s decision.
5. At the motion hearing, the Judge will make every effort to rule on the party’s motion and will require that the party bringing forth the Motion have an Order on the Court’s Ruling to the Judge’s Office within ten (10) working days of the motion hearing date.
6. Motions taken under advisement by the Court on a motion hearing date will be ruled on by the Court, to the best of its ability, within thirty (30) days of the motion hearing date with the Order being prepared by the Court and forwarded to the respective Circuit Clerk for docketing and filing.
PRE-TRIAL CONFERENCE
1. All properly noticed motions will be argued at the Pre-Trial Conference.
2. All properly noticed motions outstanding prior to Trial (including Motions in Limine) will be heard on the date of the Pre-Trial Conference and are to be noticed for that date and time. MOTION HEARINGS WILL NOT BE HELD ON THE MORNING OF TRIAL, UNLESS SPECIFIED BY JUDGE PICKARD.
3. The Party submitting the Motion(s) must deliver a copy of the Motion(s) to the Judge’s Office and to the opposing counsel within fifteen (15) working days prior to the Pre-Trial Conference Date. The opposing counsel must submit their responsive, if desired, to the Judge’s Office within ten (10) working days prior to the Pre-Trial Conference Date.
4. At the Pre-Trial Conference the following will be required:
A. A completed Pre-Trial Order (form preferred by the Court is available on the web site).
B. A copy of each Party’s Jury Instructions.
Counsel should attempt to present an agreed set of jury instructions at the Pre-Trial Conference. In the event that an agreed set is not presented, the parties should set a meeting at least three weeks prior to trial with the Court’s Law Clerk to work toward presenting an agreed set of instructions.
C. A listing of all Trial Exhibits.
D. Expert Witnesses.
E. Depositions to be used at trial.
TRIALS
1. Trials will be set as follows:
A. All parties may agree to a trial date by contacting the Court Administrator or Court Administrator Assistant to request available trial date(s).
(1) Attorney initially requesting trial date is to circulate an Agreed Order Setting Trial Date, also listing a Pre-Trial Conference Date in said Order, with all counsel signing. Attached to Order, include a typed listing of all attorneys involved, to include Name, Address, Telephone, Telefax Number, E-Mail Address, and who they represent in matter (this is to be mailed with Agreed Order to Judge Pickard’s Office, P. O. Box 310, Hazlehurst, Mississippi 39083-0310). Please note that if this listing is not included, the Order will be returned with the request that this information be included.
(2) Submit Agreed Order to Judge Pickard for his review and approval along with listing of attorneys involved.
B. The requesting party may schedule a motion hearing to set a trial date.
(1) Attorney requesting Hearing Date will notice all parties and provide the Court Administrator with a copy of same.
(2) At hearing, Judge Pickard will hear all parties and determine when matter should be set for trial.
(3) Attorney requesting hearing date is to prepare an Order on the Judge’s ruling as to trial date. Attached to Order, include a typed listing of all attorneys involved, to include Name, Address, Telephone and Telefax Number, and who they represent in matter (this is to be mailed with Agreed Order to Judge Pickard’s Office, P. O. Box 310, Hazlehurst, Mississippi 39083-0310).
(4) Submit Order to Judge Pickard for his review and approval along with listing of attorneys involved
C. The Court may at the Status Hearing of the case, set the matter for trial and notify all parties through the Court’s Order Setting Trial Date.
3. Trial Settings will be confirmed by written correspondence from the Court Administrator and forwarded to all attorneys listed on the provided Attorney Listing either via U.S. Mail, Telefax or E-Mail. Instructions within the correspondence will ask that the parties secure a copy of this procedure and the Pre-Trial Order Form from the Court’s Web Site. In the event that the trial setting is secured for a matter wherein ten or more attorneys are involved, the Court Administrator will select one Plaintiff Counsel and one Defendant counsel with which to correspond as to the confirmation of the trial date, and the Plaintiffs’ counsel will be instructed within that correspondence to provide ALL INVOLVED COUNSEL with a copy of the Court’s Letter.
A. The confirmation correspondence will include:
(1) The trial date, start time and location;
(2) The pre-trial conference date, time and location;
(3) The deadline date and time for the filing of motions and submission of same to the Court.
a. The Court must receive a listing of all outstanding motions prior to fifteen (15) working days of the Pre-Trial Conference AND a copy of all outstanding motions is to be provided with this listing.
4. All trials will begin at 9:00 a.m., OR at 10:00 a.m., on those dates that a Grand Jury is being selected from the available jury pool.
5. Trials will proceed until conclusion with the Judge setting the times for starting and concluded on each date. All parties should are expected to work outside of the normal working hours during the progress of a trial to insure the most efficient use of the Court’s Time.
CONTINUANCES
1. Any continuances of a trial setting are approved by the Judge only, through the requesting party’s motion for a continuance and setting of hearing on same (See Motion Hearings), and if so granted by the Judge, the requesting party is to submit an Order of Continuance to the Court within ten (10) working days of the motion hearing date.
SETTLEMENT
1. In the event of settlement, the attorneys are to contact the Court Administrator in writing, either via U.S. Mail or E-Mail. At that time, the case will be noted as being settled; however, will not be from the Court’s Active Docket until the receipt of the Final Order of Dismissal, Final Judgment, etc.
2. Final Order of Dismissal or Final Judgment, etc., is to be forwarded to Judge Pickard for his review and signature. Once the Judge has signed the submitted Order or Judgment, the case will be removed from the Court’s Active Case Docket.
3. In the event that an Order of Dismissal or Final Judgment, etc., is not received within one month of the notification of settlement, the Court will set a Show Cause Hearing to ascertain why the Order or Judgment has not been entered and enter its own Order of Dismissal Without Prejudice if the parties do not respond to the Show Cause Hearing.
PRE-TRIAL ORDER FORM
IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF ______________ COUNTY, MISSISSIPPI
___________________________ PLAINTIFF(S)
v. CAUSE NO. ______________
___________________________ DEFENDANT(S)
PRE-TRIAL ORDER
1. A Pre-Trial Conference was held in the above mentioned case on the _____ day of _______________, _______. The Trial of the above styled matter is to commence on the ______ day of ____________________, _________.
2. Counsel appeared as follows:
For the Plaintiff(s): (Name, Address, Telephone Number, Telefax Number, E-Mail Address)
For the Defendant(s): (Name, Address, Telephone Number, Telefax Number, E-Mail Address)
3. The Nature of the case is: (negligence, contract, etc.)
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4. A concise summary of the ultimate facts claimed:
By the Plaintiff(s):
By the Defendant(s):
5. Facts established by pleadings, admissions or stipulations:
6. Contested issues of fact are:
7. Contested issues of law are:
8. Elements of Damages or other relief sought:
9. List all Exhibits, each marked for identification and make available to all counsel for examination:
A. Exhibits offered by Plaintiff(s):
B. Exhibits offered by Defendant(s):
The authenticity and admissibility in evidence of these exhibits have been stipulated except for exhibits identified with statement of specific objections thereto, as follows:
10. Any charts, graphs, diagrams, models or similar objects intended to be used in opening statements or closing arguments but not to be offered in evidence:
Any objections thereto, if any:
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11. List all witnesses (excluding only witnesses to be called solely for impeachment):
For the Plaintiff(s): (Name, Address, Telephone Number)
For the Defendant(s): (Name, Address, Telephone Number)
12. Discovery has been completed, except as to the following:
13. Any unresolved matters to be considered are binding upon all parties and this order will control the course of the trial unless this order be hereafter modified by the Court for good cause shown and to prevent manifest injustice.
14. All Jury Instructions are attached and incorporated herein.
ENTERED, this the _______ day of ________________________, _______.
_______________________________________
CIRCUIT JUDGE
(Signature)
Attorney for Plaintiff(s)
(Signature)
Attorney for Defendants(s)
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