With the passage of House Bill 484, filing fees in Mississippi will increase in Chancery and Circuit Courts at least $40 (some counties are adding additional fees as well).   Judges in Mississippi will receive a pay increase with a portion of this money.  Nobody wants to pay more for court cost or anything else really, but this increase is long overdue and necessary.  Attracting and maintaining high quality judges in our courts is something Mississippi needs to encourage.  If you look at filing fees in our neighboring states and around the country, you will see that even with the increase we are still paying far less than the average.

Bond was denied this morning in Justice Court for Dr. Arnold Smith.  The bond for Paul Mueller was set at $250,000.  The Attorney General’s Office released an affidavit detailing events of the past weekend and Doctor Smith’s home and the North Central Mississippi Regional Cancer Center were searched for evidence on Sunday.  The Clarion-Ledger has an article on this case here.