Mississippi has 6,700 lawyers. It is one of only 8 U.S. states to experience a decline in the number of attorneys in the past decade; why remains unclear. Mississippi lawyers practice in the state’s Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, Chancery Courts, and Circuit Courts. Mississippi is among the few states to retain the English tradition of Chancery courts, whose sole function is to hear “cases in equity,” which are generally cases heard without a jury and where there is no possibility of monetary damages.Mississippi only recently created its Court of Appeals. In 1995 the state legislature created a court below the Supreme Court to relieve the backlog of cases on the Supreme Court’s docket. Cases heard by the Court of Appeals can only be appealed to the Mississippi Supreme Court.

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Mississippi has had its share of groundbreaking decisions. In Mississippi University for Women v. Hogan, the Supreme Court struck down a state nursing school’s policy of accepting only women. In 1993, the state Supreme Court also made news when it ruled that unborn children are persons for the sake of wrongful death lawsuits. The ruling cleared the way for lawsuits against negligent doctors or other tortuous conduct that caused miscarriages.

Mississippi has its share of unique laws. A man cannot seduce a woman by false claims that he will marry her, and people can be fined up to $100 for using profanities in public places. There are a variety of other Mississippi laws enforcing moral codes, some of which are no longer followed due to custom and some which are questionable under new legal precedent.

If you need an attorney in Mississippi, consider visiting LegalMatch.com. Alternatively, explore the following links for more information on Mississippi law and practice:

• Mississippi Judiciary
• Mississippi State Bar