Mississippi Supreme Court

The Mississippi Supreme Court is the judicial institution which has been tasked with the functions of general oversight over the whole of the Mississippi judiciary. As such, the Mississippi Supreme Court is considered to be the State’s highest court. The function of the institution in the State legal system is provided for in the Constitution, and as such, the Mississippi Supreme Court has existed since 1817. According to historical oversights of what is technically referred to as the Supreme Court of Mississippi, the institution of the Mississippi Supreme Court was initially referred to as the High Court of Errors and Appeals. People can locate the physical offices of the Mississippi Supreme Court and the Justices who sit on the bench for the Court in the city of Jackson. In that the basic function of the Mississippi Supreme Court in the State judiciary as a whole is to hear and pass judgments on appeals, it is considered to be an appellate court, rather than a trial court. In this regard, the Mississippi Supreme Court is one of two appellate courts in the State, with the other court filling this function being the Mississippi Court of Appeals. While filling its specific duties, the Mississippi Supreme Court does so through the efforts of nine Justices who have been appointed to the position, typically holding their offices for terms lasting for an 8 year period. As of 2010, the Chief Justice of the Mississippi Supreme Court was William L. Waller, Jr., supported by Presiding Justices George C. Carlson, Jr., and James E. Graves, Jr.