Amite County Circuit Court Overview
The Circuit Court is a court of general jurisdiction. That means it can hear a wide range of cases rather than one narrow type. In Amite County, the Circuit Court handles felony criminal trials, major civil lawsuits, and appeals that rise from the Justice Court and from county boards, municipal authorities, and other tribunals. Most cases here are tried before a jury. A felony is a serious crime that can carry a prison term of more than one year. Large money disputes and other civil claims not assigned to another court also land here.
Amite County belongs to the 6th Circuit Court District. The court meets at the Amite County Courthouse on Courthouse Square in Liberty, the county seat. This is the oldest courthouse still in active use in Mississippi, and it holds both Circuit Court and Chancery Court functions. The Circuit Clerk keeps the lawsuits, indictments, motions, judgments, and jury records filed in this court. Anyone seeking a Circuit Court file usually begins with that office. Family, divorce, estate, and other equity cases do not belong here; those move through the county Chancery Court instead.
Amite County Courts and Officials
Mississippi does not split its trial courts into numbered courts the way some states do. Amite County is not served by a row of separately numbered district courts. Instead the county relies on a small set of courts, each with its own judges and clerk. The table below lists the local courts, the district each falls under, the judges and officials who staff them, and the kinds of cases they hear. Use it to point a record request at the right office before you call or mail anything.
| Court | District | Judges / Officials | Case Types |
|---|---|---|---|
| Circuit Court | 6th Circuit District | Hon. Carmen B. Drake; Hon. Debra W. Blackwell; Clerk Celeste Bell McIntyre | Felonies, major civil cases, jury trials, appeals from Justice Court and county boards |
| Chancery Court | 4th Chancery District | Hon. Debbra K. Halford; Hon. Wayne Smith; Clerk Jana Causey | Divorce, custody, estates, guardianships, land and equity matters |
| Justice Court | Amite County | Hon. Roger Arnold, District 1; Hon. Gloria Perry, District 2; Clerk Jacqueline Casey | Traffic, DUI, misdemeanors, ordinances, small civil claims, felony first appearance |
| Youth Court | Amite County | Master Amy Foster; Youth Court Prosecutor Mary Blalock | Juvenile delinquency, abuse and neglect, dependent children, child commitments |
Note: Amite County did not publish a copy fee schedule, so ask the clerk about plain and certified copy costs before mailing payment.
The 6th Circuit Court District
The 6th Circuit Court District covers Amite County and nearby counties in southwest Mississippi. Two judges preside over circuit matters here, the Hon. Carmen B. Drake and the Hon. Debra W. Blackwell. They handle felony trials, civil jury cases, and appeals that move up from the lower courts. Felony prosecution in this district runs through District Attorney Timothy Cotton, whose office sits in Natchez. The County Prosecuting Attorney, Sara Hemphill, represents the state in felony matters at the justice level, in appeals from Justice Court, and in grand jury work.
Grand jury duty, jury selection, and the qualifying of jurors all flow through the Circuit Clerk for this district. The clerk also keeps a record of all judgments and executions entered by the court. For case status, hearing dates, or copies of a Circuit Court file, the clerk's office is the direct contact. The office can confirm what a file holds and how to request a certified copy.
Amite County Circuit Court, 6th District
Courthouse Square, 243 West Main Street
Liberty, MS 39645
Phone: 601-657-8932
Fax: 601-657-1082
Email: cmcintyre@amitecountyms.gov
Circuit Court vs Justice Court vs Youth Court
Amite County has no separate County Court. County Courts exist only in some Mississippi counties, and the official Amite County court listing does not name one. So the practical split runs across three trial courts: the Circuit Court for serious cases, the Justice Court for local lower-court matters, and the Youth Court for children. Each court hears different cases and follows different access rules. The comparison below shows where each court fits.
| Circuit Court | Justice Court | Youth Court | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Main Cases | Felonies and major civil suits | Traffic, misdemeanors, small civil claims | Juvenile and child welfare cases |
| Criminal Reach | Felony trials and indictments | Misdemeanors and felony first appearance | Delinquency by minors |
| Jury Trials | Yes | Limited | No |
| Public Access | Open records, some sealed | Open records | Sealed and confidential |
How an Amite County Criminal Case Moves
A felony case rarely starts in Circuit Court. It usually begins with an arrest and an early stop in Justice Court before it ever reaches a circuit judge. Justice Court judges hold jail sessions three times each week so an arrested person gets an initial appearance within three days. From there the case can move to the grand jury and on to Circuit Court for trial. The flow below traces the common path from arrest to appeal.
Criminal flow: Arrest › Justice Court Initial Appearance / Affidavit › Grand Jury / Indictment › Arraignment › Pretrial › Trial › Sentencing › Appeal
Civil cases follow a different track. A party files a complaint, the other side answers, and both gather evidence before any trial. Many disputes settle along the way. If a case does go to judgment, either side may ask a higher court to review it.
Civil flow: Complaint Filed › Answer › Discovery › Motions › Trial › Judgment › Appeal
Appeals from the Circuit Court move into the state appellate system. The Mississippi Supreme Court is the highest court, and it assigns many cases to the Mississippi Court of Appeals. The Supreme Court keeps certain matters for itself, such as death penalty, bond, election, and constitutional cases.
Lower and Municipal Courts in Amite County
Several lower courts feed cases into the Circuit Court. The Justice Court is the busiest front door for criminal matters because it handles the first felony appearance and the sworn affidavit that can start a charge. Where a town runs its own municipal court, that court hears city ordinance and traffic cases. No official Amite County municipal court directory was located, so check the citation for the court name and clerk if a ticket came from a town police department. The lower courts cover these matters:
- County traffic tickets, Highway Patrol tickets, and Sheriff's Department tickets
- DUI charges and county ordinance violations
- Misdemeanor offenses and small civil disputes
- Felony initial appearances and affidavits
- Gaming, fishing, marine reserve, and public service tickets
The Justice Court sits at PO Box 362, Liberty MS 39645, and can be reached at 601-657-4527. Youth Court handles cases involving children and keeps those records sealed by law. When a felony charge clears the lower-court stage, the Circuit Clerk takes over the file and tracks it through trial. For broader help finding any case, the county court records guide maps each office by record type.
Electronic Filing and Circuit Court Access
Mississippi now runs its courts through Mississippi Electronic Courts, known as MEC. The system covers appellate, chancery, circuit, and county courts that have switched on e-filing. Amite County Circuit Court began voluntary attorney e-filing on March 17, 2025, and made attorney e-filing mandatory on March 24, 2025. That change moved new filings into the electronic system. The county Chancery Court joined MEC earlier, with a go-live date of August 15, 2016.
Remote public viewing runs through Public Access to MEC, called PAMEC. A user must register an account, select a court, and pay applicable fees to view many documents online. Search results can carry a per-page charge. People who do not want paid remote access can still use the courthouse public terminals and the clerk's counter. Older or non-digitized cases may only exist in paper at the clerk's office, so the in-person request remains a reliable fallback.
Note: PAMEC registration is required for remote document access, and per-page fees can apply, so confirm costs before viewing a large file online.
Federal Court Coverage for Amite County
Some cases from Amite County never reach the Circuit Court because they belong in federal court. Federal crimes, civil rights claims, and bankruptcy cases go before the United States courts. Amite County falls inside the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi. The Southern District of Mississippi homepage lists the district's offices in Jackson, Hattiesburg, Gulfport, and Natchez along with case resources.
That homepage is the main gateway for federal case access, e-filing, and court contact information for the region that includes Amite County. To confirm which division handles Amite filings, the court publishes a county breakdown. The divisional county listing places Amite County in the Western Division, grouped with Natchez and nearby counties.
The listing shows that Western Division filings are mailed or delivered to the Clerk's Office in Jackson, even though the nearest divisional courthouse is in Natchez. Federal dockets and case documents are searched through the national public access system. The PACER public access system serves federal appellate, district, and bankruptcy case information across the country.
PACER is where a researcher pulls federal dockets that the Amite County Circuit Court would never hold. Appeals from Mississippi federal district cases go to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. For state-level filings, the Circuit Clerk still handles every Amite County Circuit Court case, and the office can be reached through the contact details listed above or through the county Circuit Clerk office page.