Jefferson County Circuit Court Overview
The 22nd Circuit Court serves Jefferson County. Hon. Tomika Irving presides over the court. It meets at the Jefferson County Courthouse, 1483 Main Street, Fayette, MS 39069. The clerk's line is 601-786-3422, and the fax is 601-786-9676. This is the general trial court for the county, and most of its trials are decided by a jury.
Circuit Court holds original jurisdiction over felony criminal cases and over major civil matters that no other court owns exclusively. It also hears appeals that travel up from lower courts. A traffic or ordinance case decided in Justice Court can be appealed into Circuit Court for a fresh look. The official county Jefferson County Courts page lists the court alongside the other local benches, and the Mississippi Judiciary describes how each court fits the wider system.
Jefferson County Courts at a Glance
The county courthouse in Fayette is the hub for several courts and legal offices. Circuit Court, Chancery Court, Justice Court, and Youth Court each carry a different slice of the docket. The prosecutors who bring criminal cases work from separate offices. The table below pulls together the court name, where to write, the phone, the sitting judges, and the kind of work each one handles.
| Court / Office | Address | Phone | Judges / Officials | Jurisdiction |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22nd Circuit Court | Jefferson County Courthouse, 1483 Main Street, Fayette, MS 39069 | 601-786-3422; fax 601-786-9676 | Hon. Tomika Irving | Felony criminal cases, major civil matters not vested elsewhere, jury trials, appeals from lower courts. |
| 17th Chancery District Court | P.O. Box 1144, Natchez, MS 39121; P.O. Box 494, Fayette, MS 39069 | 601-442-7454 | Hon. E. Vincent Davis; Hon. George Ward | Divorce, custody, alimony, adoptions, estates, guardianships, land and title disputes, equity matters. |
| Justice Court | 1483 Main Street, P.O. Box 1047, Fayette, MS 39069 | 601-786-8594; fax 601-786-6017 | Hon. Marcus Walton (District 1); Hon. Maurice Hudson (District 2) | Traffic citations, DUIs, county ordinances, small civil suits, felony initial appearances and affidavits. |
| Youth Court | Jefferson County Courthouse, 1483 Main Street, P.O. Box 145, Fayette, MS 39069 | 601-786-3021; fax 601-786-6009 | Hon. Joseph Moffett | Delinquent children, children in need of supervision, neglected or abused children. |
| County Prosecuting Attorney | P.O. Box 758, Fayette, MS 39069 | 601-702-1947; fax 601-304-2238 | Ikeecia Colenberg | Represents the state in justice and county court matters, grand jury work, and misdemeanor youth court cases. |
| District Attorney, 22nd District | P.O. Drawer 767, Hazlehurst, MS 39083 | 601-894-5040; fax 601-894-9080 | Daniella Shorter | Felony prosecution across the 22nd judicial district. |
Note: write to the right mailing box, since the Circuit Clerk, Chancery Clerk, and Justice Court each use a different P.O. Box at the same Fayette street address.
How Circuit Court Fits the Jefferson County System
Mississippi trial courts divide work by subject, not by a single county "district court" model. Circuit Court is the general trial court for felonies and big civil suits. Chancery Court is the equity court, and it carries family, probate, and land cases. Justice Court is the lower court for citations, DUIs, ordinance violations, small civil claims, and the first appearance in a felony arrest. Youth Court handles minors in delinquency and child-protection cases.
County Courts exist only in some Mississippi counties. Jefferson County has no separate county court. Its official Courts page lists Circuit, Chancery, Justice, and Youth, but no county court bench. That means Circuit and Chancery jurisdiction, plus the lower Justice Court, carry the load that a county court might absorb elsewhere in the state. Many divorce and probate questions belong in Chancery, while most felony and major civil questions belong in Circuit.
Appeals climb a clear ladder. A ruling in Circuit Court can be appealed to the Mississippi Court of Appeals, and from there to the Mississippi Supreme Court, the highest court in the state. Lower court appeals often land in Circuit Court first. Chancery records cover family and estate matters and are handled by the Chancery Court rather than the Circuit Court.
Circuit Court vs Chancery Court vs Justice Court
The fastest way to find a Jefferson County record is to match the case to the right bench. Each court owns a clear lane. The comparison below sorts the three main trial courts by what they decide, the size of the cases, and where appeals go.
| Circuit Court | Chancery Court | Justice Court | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Main focus | Felonies and major civil suits | Equity, family, probate, land | Citations and small disputes |
| Typical cases | Indictments, lawsuits, appeals | Divorce, custody, estates, deeds | Traffic, DUI, ordinances, minor civil |
| Juries | Yes, most trials | No, judge decides | Limited |
| Family cases | No | Yes | No |
| Appeals go to | Court of Appeals | Court of Appeals | Circuit Court |
Chancery cases are heard by a chancellor, not a jury. Justice Court is the front door for many criminal matters, because felony arrests start there with an initial appearance before the case moves up. A reader unsure which court holds a file can start with the Circuit Clerk and be pointed to the right office.
How a Jefferson County Court Case Moves Forward
A criminal case rarely begins in Circuit Court. It starts with an arrest and a first appearance in Justice Court, where county judges hold sessions at the jail to meet the three-day appearance window. A felony then moves toward a grand jury and an indictment before Circuit Court takes the case for trial. After a verdict or plea, an appeal can rise through the state appellate courts.
The state path runs in one line: Justice Court › Circuit Court › Mississippi Court of Appeals › Mississippi Supreme Court. That ladder shows how a lower court matter can climb to the top state bench.
Criminal flow: Arrest › First Appearance (Justice Court) › Grand Jury / Indictment › Arraignment › Pretrial › Trial › Sentencing › Appeal
Civil flow: Complaint Filed › Answer › Discovery › Motions › Trial › Judgment › Appeal
Each step leaves a record. The Circuit Clerk files the lawsuit, the indictment, the motions, and the judgment, then keeps the executions and garnishments that follow. Reviewing the court docket is the simplest way to track where a case stands.
What Jefferson County Circuit Court Hears
Circuit Court carries the heavy criminal and civil work for the county. On the criminal side, it handles felony indictments, pleas, motions, trials, sentencing, and the appeals of criminal cases from lower courts. The Circuit Clerk files indictments and tracks criminal court costs, which vary by charge and bond. The District Attorney prosecutes felony charges across the district, while the County Prosecuting Attorney handles many lower court matters.
On the civil side, the court takes complaints and petitions, summonses, subpoenas, judgments, executions, garnishments, judgment-debtor examinations, foreign judgments, change-of-venue cases, and reinstated cases. These civil filings are the backbone of the Circuit Clerk fee schedule. Original complaints and civil appeals carry the higher advance court costs, while smaller actions such as garnishments and executions cost less.
Most Circuit Court trials use a jury. The court weighs witness testimony, documents, and physical evidence, then a jury or judge reaches a verdict. Some matters are settled by agreed order or plea before trial. Older or sealed files may not show online, so a missing portal result does not mean a record never existed.
Jefferson County's 22nd Circuit District and Judges
Jefferson County sits in Mississippi's 22nd Circuit Court District. Hon. Tomika Irving is the presiding judge named on the county Courts page. The Circuit Clerk, Arnell Harried, serves as clerk of the court, files all case papers, draws and qualifies juries, and keeps the judgments and executions. The clerk's office runs Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., at 1483 Main Street in Fayette.
Felony prosecution in the district is led by District Attorney Daniella Shorter of the 22nd District, based in Hazlehurst. The County Prosecuting Attorney, Ikeecia Colenberg, represents the state in justice and county court matters, in grand jury work, and in some appealed cases. These offices, the judge, and the clerk together move a Circuit Court case from filing to final order.
Note: call the Circuit Clerk at 601-786-3422 before traveling if a file is old, sealed, not digitized, or held in a different court, since access rules vary by record type.
Federal Court Is Separate From Circuit Court
State Circuit Court and federal court are two different systems, and a Jefferson County felony in Circuit Court does not appear in federal records. Federal cases for the county belong to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi, Western Division. The court's role is laid out on the Southern District of Mississippi homepage.
The federal trial court handles federal crimes, civil rights suits, federal-question cases, and qualifying diversity matters, none of which the state Circuit Court decides. PACER is the official record system for those federal files, and a state record search will not reach them.
Jefferson County's place in the federal map is set by division. The court's divisional county listing groups Jefferson County in the Western Division with Adams, Amite, Claiborne, Franklin, Lincoln, Pike, and Wilkinson counties.
Court for the Western Division is held at Natchez, but the listing tells filers to mail or deliver Western Division papers to the Clerk's Office in Jackson. That split between the hearing city and the filing office matters when sending federal documents.
The same divisions are fixed by federal statute, not just by court policy. The U.S. Code section 28 USC 104 lists Jefferson County in the Southern District's Western Division and states that court there is held at Natchez.
Federal appeals from this district go to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, a separate ladder from the state Court of Appeals. Bankruptcy cases run through the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Mississippi. None of these federal venues replaces the county Circuit Court for state cases.
Searching Jefferson County Circuit Court Records
Jefferson County does not run its own public case-search portal for Circuit Court. The statewide system is Mississippi Electronic Courts, the e-filing and case-management platform for Chancery, Circuit, and County Courts. Electronic filing finished statewide in July 2025, so newer Circuit filings are increasingly handled there.
Members of the public who only want to view filings use a viewer account, not a filer login. Non-filing users register through Public Access MEC, known as PAMEC, and a separate registration is required. Restricted documents, sealed files, and records tied to minors may not open to the public even with an account. The MEC general information page explains how the system works.
When a record is not online, the channel chain still works. Call or visit the Circuit Clerk at 1483 Main Street for copies and older files. A docket survey for each name costs $10, a certified copy of any document on file is $2, and criminal court costs vary by charge. Mail requests go to P.O. Box 305, Fayette, MS 39069. Public access to court records is grounded in the Mississippi Public Records Act, Title 25, Chapter 61.
- Identify the court level that holds the case, since Circuit, Chancery, and Justice Court keep different files.
- Search Mississippi Electronic Courts through a PAMEC viewer account for electronic Circuit filings.
- Call the Circuit Clerk at 601-786-3422 for older, sealed, or non-digitized records.
- Request certified copies in person or by mail and pay the listed clerk fees.
Note: a record missing from a portal may still exist on paper, under seal, or in another court, so confirm with the clerk before assuming no record was ever filed.