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Miss. R. App. P. 1

Not legal advice. Verify against official sources before relying on this text in any legal matter.

Rule 1 Scope of Rules

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Rule Text

These rules govern procedure in appeals to the Supreme Court of Mississippi and the Court of Appeals of the State of Mississippi; proceedings on petitions for writs; other relief which the Supreme Court or the Court of Appeals or a justice of the Supreme Court or judge of the Court of Appeals is empowered to grant; and appeals from county court to circuit court. When these rules provide for the making of a motion in the trial court, the procedure for making such motion shall be in accordance with the practice of the trial court.

Amendment history: Amended effective May 5, 2020.; Adopted August 21, 1996.

Plain-English Summary (for reference only — not a substitute for the rule text above)

This summary is not the rule. The rule text controls.

When you appeal a case in Mississippi, these rules tell you how the process works. They apply to appeals sent to the Mississippi Supreme Court and the Mississippi Court of Appeals. They also apply when someone asks one of these courts (or a judge on these courts) for special legal help, like a writ or other type of relief. On top of that, these rules cover appeals that move from county court up to circuit court.

If a rule says you need to file a motion in the trial court, you still follow that trial court's own local rules for how to actually file it. In other words, this rule sets the big picture for appeals, but some smaller steps still depend on the specific court you're dealing with.

Committee Notes

Advisory Committee Historical Note

Effective January 1, 1995, Miss.R.App.P. 1 replaced Miss.Sup.Ct.R. 1, embracing proceedings in the Court of Appeals. 644-647 So.2d XXIII-XXIV (West Miss.Cases 1994).

Comment

Electronic filing in most appellate matters became mandatory on January 1, 2014. Under Section 1.D. of the Appellate E-Filing Administrative Procedures, “all briefs, motions, responses, and compliance documents . . . must be filed electronically.” Section 4 exempts sealed and confidential cases, pro se litigants, and documents other than briefs, motions, responses and compliance documents, all of which must be filed conventionally.

These rules are not to be construed to extend or limit jurisdiction of the Supreme Court, except that Rule 5 is intended to expand the occasions upon which the Court may exercise its power to hear interlocutory appeals. See Southern Farm Bureau Cas. Ins. v. Holland, 469 So. 2d 55, 62-64 (Miss. 1985), (Anderson, J., concurring). The jurisdictional statute permits interlocutory appeals "in cases particularly provided for by law." Miss. Code Ann. § 9-3-9 (Supp. 1994). These rules are "law." See Newell v. State, 308 So. 2d 71 (Miss. 1975).

Appeals from county court to circuit court are controlled, in part, by the Mississippi Rules of Appellate Procedure. Van Meter v. Alford, 774 So. 2d 430, 432 (Miss. 2000) (quoting Am. Inv’rs, Inc. v. King, 733 So. 2d 830, 832 (Miss. 1999)).

Rules which provide for the making of a motion in the trial court include Rules 4(g), extension of time to appeal; 6, determination of in forma pauperis status; 8(b), stay on appeal to be first sought in trial court; and 10(e) correction of record on appeal. Trial court practice is governed by the Mississippi Rules of Civil Procedure, Mississippi Rules of Evidence, Mississippi Rules of Criminal Procedure, applicable uniform rules, and local rules where adopted pursuant to M.R.C.P. 83 or MRCrP 1.9. The term "trial court" in these rules includes a circuit or chancery court sitting as an appellate court. Rule 46(b) concerning the admission of foreign attorneys governs admission in trial courts, in administrative agencies, and in the appellate courts.

The Mississippi Rules of Appellate Procedure, effective January 1, 1995, are based on the Mississippi Supreme Court Rules and were adopted to include procedure in the Court of Appeals of the State of Mississippi pursuant to Miss. Code Ann. §9-4-1 et seq. (Supp. 1994).

[Comment amended effective October 25, 2018, to address electronic filing; amended effective May 5, 2020.]