Circuit Court
DeSoto County is part of Mississippi’s 17th Circuit Court District. Also included in that district are Panola, Tallahatchie, Tate and Yalobusha counties. The Circuit Court tries felony criminal cases and civil actions involving issues of $200,000 and above. Juries are widely used in the Circuit Court. The Circuit Court Clerk assists the court in summoning potential jurors. The Circuit Court Administrator assists the Judge by scheduling cases and preparing the court docket. The Administrator of the DeSoto County Circuit Court is Sally Adkins. Currently, there are three Circuit Court Judges serving DeSoto County.
County Courts
County Courts in Mississippi handle cases under three divisions: Civil Division, Criminal Division and Youth Court Division.
The County Court of DeSoto County has jurisdiction concurrent with the Circuit and Chancery Courts in all civil matters of law and equity wherein the amount in controversy does not exceed $200,000; jurisdiction concurrent with the Justice Court in all civil matters; jurisdiction of all civil appeals from the Justice Court; original jurisdiction of partition of personal property, replevin, eviction and unlawful entry and detainer cases; exclusive jurisdiction of all eminent domain cases. These cases are filed in the Civil Division of the County Court.
The County Court has jurisdiction concurrent with the Justice Court in all criminal matters of misdemeanors and felony preliminary hearings; jurisdiction of felony cases, except capitol offenses, when the Circuit Court transfers such cases to it; jurisdiction of criminal cases appealed from the Justice Court and Municipal Courts. These cases are filed in the Civil Division and Criminal Division of the County Court.
The County Court has exclusive jurisdiction of all cases wherein a juvenile (a child under the age of eighteen years) is alleged to be a child in need of supervision, an abused child, a neglected child or a delinquent child (one who commits a crime). These cases are filed in the Youth Court Division of the County Court.