On December 15, 2016, the Mississippi Supreme Court announced its adoption of a the Mississippi Rules of Criminal Procedure.  For the first time every, a sing, uniform set of rules will apply to criminal procedures in Justice, Municipal, County, and Circuit Courts in Mississippi.  The rules go into effect on July 1, 2017, and they address criminal proceedings in the state courts of Mississippi from arrest through post-trial motions.

Justice Ann Lamar, chair of the Mississippi Supreme Court Rules Committee on Criminal Practice and Procedure, led a six-year effort to create the new rules.  Others on the Rules Committee were Chief Justice Bill Waller, Jr., Justice Jim Kitchens, and Justice James D. Maxwell.  The nine-member Mississippi Supreme Court unanimously adopted the rules.

The Executive Summary of the Mississippi Rules of Criminal Procedure may be found here. The rules in their entirety may be found here.

Decline of the American Jury Trial System

Interesting article by Benjamin Weiser in the New York Times regarding the decline of the trial by jury in the United States.

NFL vs. Brady: The Saga Continues . . . Maybe

Today, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit handed down its 2-1 decision on the NFL's appeal in the Tom Brady case.  The 2nd Circuit overturned the District Court's decision and reinstated Brady's 4-game suspension which presumably would start at the beginning of the 2016-2017 season.

One of my former law professors, Michael McCann, who is now a professor at the University of New Hampshire School of Law and who writes for Sports Illustrated wrote this piece today on what happens next for Tom Brady and the NFL.

Here's to hoping this case comes in for a landing soon, but you can't help but think Brady's gotten a raw deal.  That said, his labor union, the NFL Players' Association, negotiated the Collective Bargaining Agreement, so the issues at play in this case, Goodell's power over player discipline among others, will be something to look at during next CBA negotiation process begins.

Chris Smith is a partner in the law firm of Smith & Holder, PLLC in Gulfport, Mississippi.  His practice focuses on criminal defense, personal injury litigation, workers' compensation claims, commercial litigation, and civil and criminal appeals.