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Ballotpedia provides comprehensive election coverage of the 100 largest cities in America by population as well as mayoral, city council, and district attorney election coverage in state capitals outside of the 100 largest cities. This page is outside of that coverage scope and does not receive scheduled updates.
The Pontotoc County Justice Court resides in Mississippi. Click on the links below to learn more about the court's...
This court holds the following jurisdiction:[1]
| “ | Justice Courts have jurisdiction over small claims civil cases involving amounts of $3,500 or less, misdemeanor criminal cases and any traffic offense that occurs outside a municipality. Justice Court judges may conduct bond hearings and preliminary hearings in felony criminal cases and may issue search warrants.[2] | ” |
Judges of the Mississippi Justice Courts are each elected to four-year terms. The elections for this court are nonpartisan contested elections. To serve on this court, a judge must be a qualified elector, a county or district resident for two years, have a high school diploma or equivalent and complete a training course and competency exam within six months of taking office.[3]
Mississippi is one of 12 states that uses nonpartisan elections to select judges and does not use retention elections for subsequent terms. To read more about how states use judicial elections to select judges across the country, click here.
Mississippi does not hold primary elections for judicial candidates.[4]
Qualified judicial candidates, including those running unopposed, appear on the general election ballot. There is no indication of party affiliation. When two or more candidates are competing for a seat, they are listed in alphabetical order.[4]
The winner of the general election is determined by majority vote. If no candidate receives a majority (over 50 percent) of the total vote, the top two candidates advance to a runoff election that takes place three weeks later.[4]



Federal courts:
Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Northern District of Mississippi, Southern District of Mississippi • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Northern District of Mississippi, Southern District of Mississippi
State courts:
Mississippi Supreme Court • Mississippi Court of Appeals • Mississippi circuit courts • Mississippi Chancery Court • Mississippi county courts • Mississippi justice courts • Mississippi youth courts • Mississippi Municipal Courts
State resources:
Courts in Mississippi • Mississippi judicial elections • Judicial selection in Mississippi
State of Mississippi Jackson (capital) | |
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Categories: [Local courts outside coverage scope] [Mississippi]