Runoffs set for State Court of Appeals, Newton County Justice Court

Voters are asked to go to the polls again Tuesday for runoff elections.

On the ballot are runoffs for the Third District for the State Court of Appeals, District 3, Position 1, and Newton County Justice Court race.

According to the Secretary of State’s office, all citizens voting must show a photo ID card. Polls open on Tuesday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

In the general election for State Court of Appeals, Madison’s Jack Wilson and Madison’s Ed Hannan were the top two vote-getters. Wilson garnered 109,864 votes (50 percent), while Hannan received 81,751 votes (37 percent). Candidate Dow Yoder garnered 13 percent.

Gov. Phil Bryant appointed Wilson to the bench 16 months ago to fill the unexpired term of retiring Judge Larry Roberts, of Meridian.

Since July 2015, Wilson said the Court of Appeals has decided over 500 cases and he has written 76 majority opinions, the most of any judge since he began on the court.

Wilson said his record is strong.

“I’m the only candidate voters can look at my record an appellate judge with published opinions,” Wilson said earlier in the campaign. “Our opinions are publicly available. I feel like my work the last 16 months is up to public scrutiny. I have yet to hear any criticism from anybody who said I haven’t followed the law, but only the ones who said that I just followed the law and did a good job.”

Court of Appeals judges preside over criminal, child custody, workers compensation and medical malpractice cases to name a few.

Hannan grew up in Grenada. He has been a judge 19 years. He has been a municipal judge in Madison from 1997-2006 and was elected county judge in 2006 and was twice reelected. He was appointed Special Circuit Judge in 2011 by the State Supreme Court and reappointed in 2014.

“We need trial judges with jury trial experience. As of now, we don’t have any. There are no former circuit or county court judges on the Appeals Court,” Hannan said. “We need experienced people.”

Hannan is chairman of Conference of County Court Judges and a member of the Judicial Advisory Study Committee. In his 19 years as a judge, he has heard cases in six different courts, including county, circuit, felony drug. youth, special court of eminent domain and municipal domain.

“This race is about experience and qualifications,” Hannan said. “Experience matters.”

Angel Measell and Scott Round are in Tuesday’s runoff in the race for Justice Court, District 1 seat in Newton County. The winner will succeed Jan Addy, who died earlier this year.

In the general election, Measell earned 686 votes and Round garnered 597, according to the circuit clerk’s office. Those numbers include absentee ballots. Fourteen other candidates were in the race.

Justice court judges have jurisdiction over matters in small claims civil cases involving amounts of $3,000 or less, misdemeanor criminal cases and traffic offenses that happen outside a municipality. They also conduct bond hearings and preliminary hearings in felony criminal cases and can also issue search warrants. Justice court judges are the only Mississippi judges that are elected in partisan races. They serve four-year terms.  

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