House Bill NO. 549

By Senator(s) Committee

SECTION 1. Section 9-4-1, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

9-4-1. (1) There is hereby established a court to be known as the "Court of Appeals of the State of Mississippi," which shall be a court of record.

(2) The Court of Appeals shall be comprised of ten (10) appellate judges, two (2) from each congressional district, * * * selected in accordance with Section 9-4-5.

SECTION 2. Section 9-4-5, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

9-4-5. (1) The term of office of judges of the Court of Appeals shall be eight (8) years; provided, however, that the term of office for judges of the Court of Appeals who are elected to take office after the first Monday of January 2001 shall be ten (10) years. An election shall be held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November 1994, to elect the ten (10) judges of the Court of Appeals, two (2) from each Congressional District; provided, however, judges of the Court of Appeals who are elected to take office after the first Monday of January 2001 shall be elected from the Court of Appeals Districts described in subsection (5) of this section. The judges of the Court of Appeals shall begin service on the first Monday of January 1995.

(2) (a) In order to provide that the offices of not more than a majority of the judges of said court shall become vacant at any one (1) time, the terms of office of six (6) of the judges first to be elected shall expire in less than eight (8) years. For the purpose of all elections of members of the court, each of the ten (10) judges of the Court of Appeals shall be considered a separate office. The two (2) offices in each of the five (5) * * * districts shall be designated Position Number 1 and Position Number 2, and in qualifying for office as a candidate for any office of judge of the Court of Appeals each candidate shall state the position number of the office to which he aspires and the election ballots shall so indicate.

(i) In Congressional District Number 1, the judge of the Court of Appeals for Position Number 1 shall be that office for which the term ends January 1, 1999, and the judge of the Court of Appeals for Position Number 2 shall be that office for which the term ends January 1, 2003.

(ii) In Congressional District Number 2, the judge of the Court of Appeals for Position Number 1 shall be that office for which the term ends on January 1, 2003, and the judge of the Court of Appeals for Position Number 2 shall be that office for which the term ends January 1, 2001.

(iii) In Congressional District Number 3, the judge of the Court of Appeals for Position Number 1 shall be that office for which the term ends on January 1, 2001, and the judge of the Court of Appeals for Position Number 2 shall be that office for which the term ends January 1, 1999.

(iv) In Congressional District Number 4, the judge of the Court of Appeals for Position Number 1 shall be that office for which the term ends on January 1, 1999, and the judge of the Court of Appeals for Position Number 2 shall be that office for which the term ends January 1, 2003.

(v) In Congressional District Number 5, the judge of the Court of Appeals for Position Number 1 shall be that office for which the term ends on January 1, 2003, and the judge of the Court of Appeals for Position Number 2 shall be that office for which the term ends January 1, 2001.

(b) The laws regulating the general elections shall apply to and govern the elections of judges of the Court of Appeals except as otherwise provided in Sections 23-15-974 through 23-15-985.

(c) In the year prior to the expiration of the term of an incumbent, * * * an election shall be held in the manner provided in this section in the * * * District from which the incumbent Court of Appeals judge was elected at which there shall be elected a successor to the incumbent, whose term of office shall thereafter begin on the first Monday of January of the year in which the term of the incumbent he succeeds expires.

(3) No person shall be eligible for the office of judge of the Court of Appeals who has not attained the age of thirty (30) years at the time of his election and who has not been a practicing attorney and citizen of the state for five (5) years immediately preceding such election.

(4) Any vacancy on the Court of Appeals shall be filled by appointment of the Governor for that portion of the unexpired term prior to the election to fill the remainder of said term according to provisions of Section 23-15-849, Mississippi Code of 1972.

(5) The State of Mississippi is hereby divided into five (5) Court of Appeals Districts as follows:

FIRST DISTRICT. The First Court of Appeals District shall be composed of the following counties and portions of counties: Alcorn, Benton, Calhoun, Chickasaw, Choctaw, DeSoto, Itawamba, Lafayette, Lee, Marshall, Monroe, Pontotoc, Prentiss, Tate, Tippah, Tishomingo, Union, Webster, Yalobusha; in Panola County the precincts of East Sardis, South Curtis, Tocowa, Pope, Courtland, Cole's Point, North Springport, South Springport, Eureka, Williamson, East Batesville 4, West Batesville 4, Fern Hill, North Batesville A, East Batesville 5 and West Batesville 5; and in Tallahatchie County the precincts of Teasdale, Enid, Springhill, Charleston Beat 1, Charleston Beat 2, Charleston Beat 3, Paynes, Leverette, Cascilla, Murphreesboro and Rosebloom.

SECOND DISTRICT. The Second Court of Appeals District shall be composed of the following counties and portions of counties: Bolivar, Carroll, Claiborne, Coahoma, Grenada, Holmes, Humphreys, Issaquena, Jefferson, Leflore, Montgomery, Quitman, Sharkey, Sunflower, Tunica, Warren, Washington, Yazoo; in Attala County the precincts of Northeast, Hesterville, Possomneck, North Central, McAdams, Newport, Sallis and Southwest; in Hinds County Precincts 11, 12, 13, 22, 23, 27, 28, 29, 30, 40, 41, 83, 84 and 85, and the precincts of Bolton, Brownsville, Cayuga, Chapel Hill, Cynthia, Edwards, Learned, Pine Haven, Pocahontas, St. Thomas, Tinnin, Utica 1 and Utica 2; in Leake County the precincts of Conway, West Carthage, Wiggins, Thomastown and Ofahoma; in Madison County the precincts of Farmhaven, Canton Precinct 2, Canton Precinct 3, Cameron Street, Canton Precinct 6, Bear Creek, Gluckstadt, Smith School, Magnolia Heights, Flora, Virlilia, Canton Precinct 5, Cameron, Couparle, Camden, Sharon, Canton Precinct 1 and Canton Precinct 4; that portion of Panola County not included in the First District; and that portion of Tallahatchie County not included in the First District.

THIRD DISTRICT. The Third Court of Appeals District shall be composed of the following counties and portions of counties: Clarke, Clay, Jasper, Kemper, Lauderdale, Lowndes, Neshoba, Newton, Noxubee, Oktibbeha, Rankin, Scott, Smith, Wayne, Winston; that portion of Attala County not included in the Second District; in Jones County the precincts of Northwest High School, Shady Grove, Sharon, Erata, Glade, Myrick School, Northeast High School, Rustin, Sandersville Civic Center, Tuckers, Antioch and Landrum; that portion of Leake County not included in the Second District; that portion of Madison County not included in the Second District.

FOURTH DISTRICT. The Fourth Court of Appeals District shall be composed of the following counties and portions of counties: Adams, Amite, Copiah, Covington, Franklin, Jefferson Davis, Lawrence, Lincoln, Marion, Pike, Simpson, Walthall, Wilkinson; that portion of Hinds County not included in the Second District; and that portion of Jones County not included in the Third District.

FIFTH DISTRICT. The Fifth Court of Appeals District shall be composed of the following counties: Forrest, George, Greene, Hancock, Harrison, Jackson, Lamar, Pearl River, Perry and Stone.

(6) The boundaries of the Court of Appeals Districts described in subsection (1) of this section shall be the boundaries of the counties and precincts listed in subsection (1) as such boundaries existed on October 1, 1990.

SECTION 3. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2000.

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTIONS 9-4-1 AND 9-4-5, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE THAT THE TERM OF OFFICE OF JUDGES OF THE COURT OF APPEALS SHALL BE TEN YEARS; TO DIVIDE THE STATE INTO DISTRICTS FOR THE ELECTION OF JUDGES OF THE COURT OF APPEALS; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.