Senate Bill 2320 Summary

• Creates a county court in all 82 counties of Mississippi organized into 44 judicial districts, with most districts having one judge and larger districts (DeSoto, Lee, Madison, Lauderdale, Rankin, Jackson, Hinds, and Harrison) having two or three judges.

• Sets county court judge qualifications equal to circuit judges, elected by county voters for four-year terms with salary One Thousand Dollars ($1,000) less than circuit court judges.

• Grants county courts concurrent jurisdiction with justice courts in all civil and criminal matters, and concurrent jurisdiction with circuit/chancery courts in cases up to Two Hundred Thousand Dollars ($200,000) in value.

• Establishes youth court divisions within each county court with county court judges serving as youth court judges, funded through county budgets and a state Youth Court Support Fund of Two Million Six Hundred Forty Thousand Dollars ($2,640,000) annually.

• Requires county courts to have official court reporters and repeals previous statutes allowing optional county courts and special judge provisions for specific counties, consolidating the system effective January 1, 2024.