03 Dec Judge Rules Mississippi’s Landlord-Tenant Laws Unconstitutional 

Posted at December 03, 2021 in In the News, Press Release by

For Immediate Release
December 3, 2021
Contact – Patrick Taylor, ptaylor@mscenterforjustice.org, 769-230-2841 

 

Judge Rules Mississippi’s Landlord-Tenant Laws Unconstitutional 

 

“Now is the time for legislators to act,” says MCJ President and CEO Vangela M. Wade. 

 

Jackson, MS – Mississippi Center for Justice is pleased with Hon. Judge Michael P Mills’ order declaring Mississippi’s eviction laws unconstitutional. MCJ has long argued that the denial of notice and hearing before a tenant’s personal property is seized is just one aspect of Mississippi’s oppressive landlord-tenant laws. Mississippi landlords enjoy a lightning-quick eviction process that is unimpeded by considerations of tenant rights or the hardships that can be visited upon tenants by depriving them of their homes and personal property. 

 

Mississippi’s eviction process, at every step, favors expediency over protection of the rights of tenants and cannot withstand serious scrutiny under the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. MCJ has conducted a survey of United States’ eviction laws and has failed to find any state eviction law that so clearly denies Due Process and Equal Protection as egregiously as Mississippi’s does. 

 

MCJ views this ruling by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi as an opportunity for the Mississippi legislature to fix our eviction laws and craft an eviction process that is fair and passes constitutional muster. We look forward to working with policymakers to ensure an equitable solution is created that serves the best interests of all Mississippians. 

 

“We are grateful that the court recognizes the inhumanity and injustice inherent in Mississippi’s draconian eviction laws,” says MCJ president and CEO Vangela M. Wade. “Mississippi is the poorest state in the nation, and it is time for legislators to act on behalf of the people they represent by passing more equitable landlord-tenant laws.”