Perry County Circuit Court Overview
Perry County Circuit Court is the county's general trial court of law. It hears felony criminal prosecutions, civil lawsuits over larger sums, and jury trials. It also takes appeals from the County, Justice, and Municipal Courts, plus reviews of some state agency rulings. In Mississippi the Circuit Court does the work that a "district court" does in other states, so it is the correct page for anyone searching for the county's primary trial-court files.
The county sits in the Twelfth Circuit Court District, which pairs Perry County with Forrest County. The district shares its elected circuit judges, its calendars, and its administrative staff across both counties. The Twelfth Circuit publishes judge contacts, forms, and procedure pages on its official district website. The local courtroom and the Circuit Clerk's records counter are in New Augusta, the Perry County seat.
Mississippi moved its trial courts onto the Mississippi Electronic Courts system. Perry County Circuit Court went live on MEC on February 21, 2017, so dockets and many documents now flow through a statewide e-filing platform rather than paper files alone.
Perry County Circuit Court Judges and Offices
Two elected circuit judges preside over the Twelfth Circuit District and rotate through both Perry and Forrest Counties. Governor Tate Reeves appointed Thomas Michael Reed to the bench effective July 1, 2025, filling the seat of a retired judge. Hon. Wes Curry holds the second seat. The table below lists the courts, judges, and offices a researcher is most likely to contact, since Perry County has no numbered local courts.
| Court / Judge | Role | Address / Phone |
|---|---|---|
| Perry County Circuit Court | Felony criminal, civil lawsuits, jury trials, lower-court appeals | 103 South Main Street, New Augusta, MS 39462; Circuit Clerk 601.964.3398 |
| Hon. T. Michael Reed | Twelfth Circuit judge for Forrest and Perry | 630 Main Street, P.O. Box 309, Hattiesburg, MS 39403; 601-544-5495 |
| Hon. Wes Curry | Twelfth Circuit judge for Forrest and Perry | 630 Main Street, P.O. Box 830, Hattiesburg, MS 39403; 601-544-8230 |
| Perry County Chancery Court | Divorce, custody, estates, guardianships, equity, land disputes | 103 South Main St., New Augusta, MS 39462; Chancery Clerk 601.964.8398 |
| Tenth Chancery District chancellors | Equity bench for a five-county district | Setting contacts 601-545-6079 |
| Perry County Justice Court | Misdemeanors, small claims, traffic outside cities | Confirm on the citation or with the county; appeals go to Circuit Court |
| Municipal Courts (Beaumont, New Augusta, Richton) | City ordinance and city traffic matters | Beaumont Police 601.784.3781; confirm court date with each town |
Cases the Perry County Circuit Court Hears
The Circuit Clerk describes the local Circuit Court as the home for all felony criminal matters and for civil claims that fall outside other courts. Felony files cover crimes that can carry prison time. Civil files cover money and property disputes once the amount climbs past the limit of the lower courts.
Common civil categories handled here include debt collections, products liability, personal injury and other torts, and contract disputes. A typical case file may hold a complaint, a summons, answers, motions, hearing notices, jury-trial settings, the judgment, and any appeal entries. Criminal files run from indictment through plea or verdict to sentencing.
- Felony criminal prosecutions brought by the State
- Civil lawsuits above the small-claims and Justice Court limits
- Jury trials in both civil and criminal matters
- Appeals from Justice, Municipal, and County Court
- Reviews of certain administrative agency decisions
A full case search often crosses two offices. The judgment roll, fines, and the file itself live with the Circuit Clerk, while the statewide docket lives on MEC. For a broader look at every record type in the county, the Perry County court records page maps each channel.
Circuit Court vs. Chancery Court vs. Justice Court
Mississippi splits trial work across three courts, and picking the wrong one wastes a trip. The Circuit Court is a court of law with juries. The Chancery Court is a court of equity where a chancellor decides without a jury. The Justice Court is a limited court for small and minor matters. The comparison below shows where each kind of case belongs.
| Circuit Court | Chancery Court | Justice Court | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Type of law | Law, with juries | Equity, judge decides | Limited civil and criminal |
| Main cases | Felonies, civil suits, jury trials | Divorce, custody, estates, land | Misdemeanors, small claims, traffic |
| Decides facts | Jury or judge | Chancellor | Judge or small jury |
| Appeals go to | Court of Appeals or Supreme Court | Court of Appeals or Supreme Court | Circuit Court |
Family and probate matters never start in Circuit Court. They start in Chancery Court. A small traffic or misdemeanor matter outside a city usually starts in Justice Court, and a loss there can be appealed up to the Circuit Court for a fresh hearing.
How a Case Moves Through the Perry County System
Most cases travel up a clear ladder. A minor case may begin in a city court or in Justice Court. If a party loses and appeals, the case moves to the Circuit Court. From the Circuit Court, an appeal goes to the state appellate courts. The Mississippi Court of Appeals hears most assigned appeals, and the Mississippi Supreme Court is the court of last resort.
Appeal path: Justice or Municipal Court › Perry County Circuit Court › Mississippi Court of Appeals › Mississippi Supreme Court
Inside a felony case, the steps run in their own order. Arrest leads to a first appearance, then a grand jury indictment, arraignment, pretrial motions, plea or trial, and sentencing. A civil case runs from the filed complaint through answer, discovery, and trial to a judgment that either side may appeal.
Felony flow: Arrest › First Appearance › Indictment › Arraignment › Pretrial › Plea or Trial › Sentencing
Felony Bond Sign-In at the Perry County Circuit Court
The Twelfth Circuit runs a strict monthly sign-in rule for felony defendants who are out on bond. The court's felony bond page explains that a person on bond must sign in each month while the case is pending. The sign-in keeps the court in contact with the defendant and is also when the next steps in the case are served.
Missing a scheduled sign-in carries a real cost. The court can issue a bench warrant for a defendant who fails to sign in, which can lead to arrest and a bond review. Anyone tracking a felony case in the county should treat the sign-in dates as firm court dates, not optional check-ins.
The district also posts the forms a felony case uses. The Twelfth Circuit forms page carries the waiver of indictment, the waiver of arraignment, and the Perry County plea petition, along with judge contact blocks. These forms feed straight into the case file the Circuit Clerk keeps.
Indigent Counsel in Perry County Felony Cases
The Twelfth Circuit lays out how a felony defendant who cannot afford a lawyer gets one. Once the grand jury returns an indictment, the defendant is served with the indictment and a capias during the monthly sign-in. A capias is a court order to take a person into custody or to compel an appearance.
Right after service, the defendant meets with a county public defender. With that lawyer's help, the defendant completes three documents: a Waiver of Arraignment, an Affidavit of Indigency, and an Order Appointing Counsel. The district describes this sequence on its indigent appointment page.
Note: The appointment paperwork becomes part of the official Circuit Court file, so an indigency affidavit and an appointment order may appear when a felony docket is searched.
Appeals From Justice and Municipal Court
The Circuit Court is the appeal court for the county's lower courts. When someone loses in Justice Court, the Circuit Clerk's office confirms that the appeal is heard in Circuit Court. The same path applies to city ordinance and traffic matters that come up from a Municipal Court. These appeals usually start the case over rather than just reviewing a paper record.
This matters for record searches because a single dispute can leave files in two courts. The original misdemeanor or small-claim record sits with the lower court, while the appeal docket and any new trial sit with the Circuit Court. A complete search often means checking both levels. Daily settings and hearing calendars are tracked on the Perry County court dockets page.
Perry County Chancery Court and Equity Matters
The Chancery Court is the Circuit Court's equity counterpart, and it is the right court for family and property matters. Perry County sits in the Tenth Chancery District, a five-county district that also covers Forrest, Lamar, Marion, and Pearl River Counties. The district's chancellors are Chase Ford Morgan, Rhea H. Sheldon, Sheila Smallwood, and Chad Smith, listed on the Tenth Chancery District site.
Chancery Court handles divorce, child custody, adoption, estates, guardianships, conservatorships, property disputes, and other equity matters. Probate of wills and estates also runs through this court rather than the Circuit Court. The Perry County Chancery Court joined MEC on February 1, 2016, just over a year before the Circuit Court.
Because of this split, a divorce decree or an estate file will never be found in a Circuit Court search. Those records belong to the Chancery Clerk. The Circuit Clerk holds Circuit Court files and marriage licenses, while the Chancery Clerk records land instruments and equity cases.
Searching Perry County Circuit Court Records
Circuit Court files can be reached two main ways. Online access runs through the Mississippi Electronic Courts system, and counter access runs through the Perry County Circuit Clerk in New Augusta. The state describes MEC as an internet-based e-filing and case management system with public access to dockets and documents.
To view case documents online, a member of the public registers for a public viewer account through PAMEC online registration. The Twelfth Circuit's MEC CourtInfo page shows the Perry County Circuit Court row, contact data, and the flag glossary the docket uses. Some sealed or restricted documents return a no-permission message even to registered users.
Docket flags signal the status of a case. A short reference helps when reading a Circuit Court search result.
- Trial Pending
- A trial is scheduled or awaiting a setting.
- Plea Pending
- A plea has not yet been completed.
- Capias Pending
- A capias is awaiting service or action.
- Bench Warrant Issued
- The court has issued a warrant, often after a missed date.
- Sealed or Expunged
- Public access to the record is limited or removed.
When a record is not online, the fallback is direct contact. Call the Circuit Clerk at 601.964.3398 for Circuit Court files, or reach the statewide MEC help desk at 601-576-4650 for portal access. Records that are not freely visible may need a formal public-records request to the right office.