Wednesday, April 4, 2012

What's "the next big thing" in Mississippi criminal law?

Currently, the practice of criminal law in Mississippi is governed by few rules.  The Uniform Rules of Circuit and County Court Practice (URCCC), adopted in 1995, are currently the "go-to" rules governing Mississippi criminal cases.  The URCCC contains 43 different rules specifically dealing with criminal proceedings (URCCC 6.01 - 12.04), and they cover things from the timing of the defendant's initial appearance (within 48 hours) to appeals from municipal and county court.  Including comments, those 43 rules are spread over 13 pages.

That is all about to change.

Last year, after several years of work, the Rules Committee on Criminal Practice and Procedure released their proposed Mississippi Rules of Criminal Procedure.  The proposed rules are 110 pages long, not including any comments.  These proposed rules were let for comment by the Supreme Court from September 9, 2011 through February 16, 2012.  I will spend some time discussing these proposed rules on and off over the next few weeks.  Feel free to chime in.

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