Mississippi

New Mississippi law lets those with ‘deeply held religious beliefs’ refuse service to LGBT community

Setting the stage for a showdown between civil rights groups and business owners with religious convictions against same-sex relationships, the governor of Mississippi on Tuesday signed a so-called religious freedom bill into law. More narrowly drafted than similar laws in some other jurisdictions, the Freedom of Conscience from Government Discrimination…

Apr 5, 2016 2:55 PM CDT

Decades after Supreme Court OK’d interracial marriage, couple says RV park owner won’t rent to them

Interracial marriages have been legal in the state of Mississippi since 1967, following the landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling Loving v. Virginia, and a year later the Fair Housing Act banned landlords from refusing to rent based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin. Yet Erica Flores Dunahoo, 40,…

Apr 5, 2016 10:15 AM CDT

Suit over Mississippi’s confederate-themed flag uses language from SCOTUS same-sex marriage case

The Mississippi state flag, which includes a confederate symbol, amounts to hate speech against black people, a recent lawsuit (PDF) argues, and violates the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Carlos Moore, the attorney who filed the case, told the Jackson Free Press that his…

Mar 2, 2016 12:35 PM CST

Found unfit for trial in botched hit on attorney, hospitalized doctor sues over confinement

Found unfit to stand trial in 2014, concerning his role in a claimed plot to hire a hit man to kill a lawyer who represented his wife in a divorce, a Mississippi physician was committed to a mental facility. During a court hearing at that time, Dr. Reb McMichael, chief…

Feb 25, 2016 12:00 PM CST

Man convicted of first-degree murder in shooting of defendant outside Mississippi courthouse

A former firefighter accused of fatally shooting a drug case defendant outside a Mississippi courthouse last year, in the presence of the victim’s lawyer, has been convicted of first-degree murder. In closing arguments, lawyers for William Wells admitted that he killed Kendrick Armond Brown outside the Madison County Courthouse but…

Feb 23, 2016 5:00 PM CST

Restaurant confab leads to arrest of 3 accused of planning to kidnap and rob judge

A concerned citizen who called authorities after overheaing a conversation at a Tupelo, Mississippi, restaurant sparked the arrest of three suspects in a claimed plot to rob and kidnap a state-court judge. Further investigation including a review of surveillance footage at the restaurant confirmed the tip that the trio planned…

Feb 5, 2016 12:15 PM CST

Divided Mississippi Supreme Court OKs same-sex divorce case

In a 5-4 ruling, the Mississippi Supreme Court on Thursday said a same-sex couple who married in California before moving there must be allowed to pursue a divorce case. The majority relied on a U.S. Supreme Court ruling earlier this year that same-sex marriage is a constitutional right, the Associated…

Nov 5, 2015 5:00 PM CST

More than 30 lawyers exit as law firm splits

Due to differing “strategic visions” and “philosophical beliefs,” a Mississippi law firm has undergone what at least one exiting partner describes as an amicable split. More than 30 attorneys have left the firm that was until recently known as Forman Perry Watkins Krutz & Tardy for Delaware-based Maron Marvel Bradley…

Oct 16, 2015 11:40 AM CDT

Deceptive practices suits say McCormick put 25% less pepper in its usual tin containers

Where’s the pepper? That’s what consumers could be asking, after purchasing McCormick & Co. tin containers that allegedly contain 25 percent less of the product than they used to. Federal lawsuits filed in several jurisdictions say McCormick violated consumer laws prohibiting deceptive practices by not reducing the size of the…

Sep 16, 2015 11:10 AM CDT

Law firm loves seemingly vandalized billboard with bulldog fangs on founder’s face

Drivers passing a law firm billboard as they headed to Jackson, Mississippi, on Friday might well have thought it had been vandalized. “Go MSU!” is seemingly spray-painted in giant letters across the Morgan & Morgan name and Web address, and the smiling face of founder John Morgan is accented with…

Sep 4, 2015 2:00 PM CDT

Death penalty in Mississippi temporarily frozen, due to federal judge’s ruling

A federal judge’s ruling on Tuesday has put a freeze, for now, on the use of the death penalty in Mississippi. In a temporary restraining order, Judge Henry Wingate barred state officials from using either pentobarbital or midazolam, drugs that cause a person to become unconscious, reports the Associated Press.…

Aug 26, 2015 9:45 AM CDT

Concertgoer dies after being hogtied by police; lawyer’s son recorded arrest

A chemical engineer died on Saturday after police in a Memphis suburb hogtied him in an arrest recorded by the son of a concerned lawyer. Troy Goode, 30, of Memphis died at the hospital hours after police detained him on the way home from a Widespread Panic concert, report the…

Jul 21, 2015 7:20 AM CDT

Lawyer is shot and killed at deposition

A Mississippi lawyer was shot and killed on Friday at a deposition at his office in Clarksdale. The lawyer, Ellis Pittman, died before he could be airlifted to Memphis for treatment, report WREG (in stories here and here), KVTV5, LocalMemphis.com and the Associated Press, which quotes a story in the…

Jun 29, 2015 6:59 AM CDT

Should Confederate flag be displayed? ABA president, state officials, stores take a stand against it

A call Monday by South Carolina’s governor for the removal of the Confederate battle flag from the state capitol grounds was swiftly followed by announcements from additional states, major retailers and at least one flag manufacturer that they, too, are taking action to limit the flag’s display. Considered by some…

Jun 24, 2015 10:22 AM CDT

Judge won’t lift consent decree at Mississippi prison

A federal judge has rejected efforts to end his oversight of a privately run prison in Mississippi. U.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves of Jackson in a ruling Wednesday said conditions at the Walnut Grove Correctional Facility have not improved to the point where he would release the Mississippi Department of…

Jun 11, 2015 3:01 PM CDT