Many Mississippians may be asked to appear before a Justice Court to resolve a small claims or civil lawsuit but face confusing processes with almost no information about their legal rights. Thousands of judgments for consumer debt, eviction, and repossession are entered every year in Mississippi’s Justice Courts, which can have financial and economic impacts on Mississippians.
Our Justice Court Access Program helps unrepresented Mississippians navigate small claims court by providing direct representation while simultaneously working on policy to create uniformity and efficiency amongst all justice courts. Our program primarily focuses on legal representation, legal guidance, and education on the small claims court system.
How We Can Help
We can provide direct representation and/or advice for unrepresented Mississippians with Justice Court matters. If you have received a court summons and are unsure of what it means, please email us at economicjustice@mscenterforjustice.org.
Get Involved
Become a Navigator:
Our Justice Court Navigator program allows law school and college students to serve as Navigators for pro se individuals involved in civil cases. The Navigator’s role is to help the unrepresented litigants understand and navigate the Justice Court system. While careful not to “practice law” or provide legal advice, Navigators can explain basic details about court procedures, such as how to initiate proceedings, how to respond to complaints, service of process, when to appear in court, and what to expect in hearings. There is a mandatory training for all Navigators prior to attending court.
The services performed by the Navigators will impact several outcomes, ranging from the outcome of expanding the understanding of court processes and empowerment to present their side of the case, to providing more relevant information to the Court, and most importantly to real-life outcomes such as eviction prevention and the successful resolution of consumer debt cases.