Choctaw County Circuit Court Overview
Mississippi splits its major trial work between two courts, and the Circuit Court takes the criminal and civil side. It hears felony prosecutions and civil lawsuits, and it reviews appeals from the County, Justice, and Municipal courts. In Choctaw County the court sits in the Choctaw County Courthouse at 22 East Quinn Street in Ackerman, the same historic building that holds the Chancery Court. The court reaches by phone at 662-285-6245 and keeps public hours of 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The building itself carries history. The Mississippi Department of Archives and History lists the Choctaw County Courthouse at 22 East Quinn Street as a Mississippi Landmark, designated on October 30, 1998 and recorded in 2005. That status means the public-records counter sits inside a protected, state-recognized civic building, not a plain office suite. Choctaw County was formed in 1833, with Ackerman as its county seat, so the court's roots in the town run deep.
Choctaw County belongs to the Fifth Circuit Court District, one of several multi-county districts in the state. The elected clerk who keeps the court's files is the Circuit Clerk. For office hours, mailing details, and certified-copy steps, the Choctaw County Circuit Clerk page covers the request channels in full. Recent case files joined the state electronic system in 2020, which shapes how much of a record sits online versus on paper.
Courts That Serve Choctaw County
Choctaw County does not have a separate County Court, so its court work spreads across four local courts plus the state appellate courts. Each one owns a clear slice of the docket. The table below lists the local courts, what they handle, and how to reach them. Some Justice and Municipal contacts were not posted in official sources, so the courthouse and sheriff are the fallback for those.
| Court / Office | Role | Address | Phone | Online channel |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Choctaw County Circuit Court | Felonies, major civil, appeals from lower courts | 22 E. Quinn Street, Ackerman, MS 39735 | 662-285-6245 | Fifth Circuit MEC / PAMEC |
| Choctaw County Chancery Court | Probate, divorce, custody, adoption, equity, land disputes | 22 E. Quinn Street, Ackerman, MS 39735 | 662-285-6329 | Sixth Chancery MEC / PAMEC |
| Choctaw County Justice Court | Small claims, misdemeanors, traffic, warrants, first appearances | Not located; use courthouse or sheriff contacts | Not located in official sources | No official online search |
| Municipal Courts | City ordinance, city misdemeanor, city traffic | City-specific (Ackerman, French Camp, Weir, Mathiston) | City-specific | No countywide online search |
Note: The Circuit Court and Chancery Court share the same address but keep separate clerks, dockets, and online systems, so confirm the court before you search.
Comparing Choctaw County Trial Courts
The four local courts differ in the cases they hear, their level, the clerk who holds the file, and how the public reaches records. The grid lines up those points side by side so you can spot the right court fast. Felony and big civil work sits at the top with the Circuit Court, while the Justice and Municipal courts handle smaller, faster matters.
| Circuit | Chancery | Justice | Municipal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Case Types | Felonies, major civil, appeals | Probate, divorce, equity, land | Small claims, misdemeanors, traffic | City ordinances, city traffic |
| Level | Higher trial court | Higher trial court | Lower county court | City court |
| Clerk | Circuit Clerk | Chancery Clerk | Justice Court clerk | City court clerk |
| Online Access | Fifth Circuit MEC / PAMEC | Sixth Chancery MEC / PAMEC | None located | None located |
How a Case Moves Through the System
A criminal matter in Choctaw County often starts in a lower court before it ever reaches the Circuit Court. Justice Court judges sign warrants, set bonds, and hold the first appearance and preliminary hearing in felony cases. Once the grand jury indicts, the felony moves up to Circuit Court for arraignment, pretrial work, and trial or plea. Appeals then climb the state ladder.
Appeal path: Justice Court › Circuit Court › Court of Appeals of the State of Mississippi › Mississippi Supreme Court
The civil and criminal stages inside the Circuit Court add their own entries to the file, from the first filing to the final judgment. For a closer look at those entries and hearing dates, the Choctaw County court dockets guide breaks the docket down line by line.
Choctaw County Felony and Civil Cases
The Circuit Court carries the county's heaviest cases. On the criminal side, it hears felony prosecutions, the charges that can bring prison time. On the civil side, it hears larger lawsuits and money disputes that fall outside the small-claims range. It also acts as an appeals court, reviewing decisions from the Justice and Municipal courts when a party challenges them. That dual role, trial court for big cases and appeals court for small ones, defines its place in the county.
Felony charges are prosecuted by the District Attorney for the Fifth Circuit Court District. A 2025 Mississippi Attorney General map lists the District 5 attorney as Adam Hopper, reached at 662-226-8545. The District Attorney decides what to charge, takes cases to the grand jury, and represents the State in Circuit Court. The public case file, though, stays with the Circuit Clerk, not the prosecutor.
People who cannot afford a lawyer now have stronger help at the start of a felony case. A regional public defender pilot called Day One serves the seven rural counties of the Fifth Circuit District, Choctaw among them. The office began taking felony cases on October 1, 2025, and aims to connect a person with a public defender within 24 hours of arrest. That early help shapes the first entries in a Circuit Court file.
Choctaw County's Fifth Circuit District
The Fifth Circuit Court District is a seven-county district, and Choctaw County shares its Circuit Court bench and prosecutor with its neighbors. The district groups rural counties together so they can share judges and court terms. The full set of counties in the district is below.
- Attala County
- Carroll County
- Choctaw County
- Grenada County
- Montgomery County
- Webster County
- Winston County
Choctaw County Circuit Court went live on Mississippi Electronic Courts on October 12, 2020. That date matters because cases filed since then are more likely to appear in the online system, while older files may sit only on paper at the clerk's office. Public users reach non-restricted case information through PAMEC, the paid public-access side of the system, which carries a $10 annual registration fee and a $0.20 charge for each search-result page. The help desk for PAMEC is reached at P.O. Box 117, Jackson, MS 39205, by phone at 601-576-4650, or by email at helpdesk@mec.ms.gov.
Choctaw County Justice and Municipal Courts
The lower courts feed the Circuit Court and handle the high-volume, lower-level matters on their own. Justice Court covers small claims of $3,500 or less, county misdemeanors, and traffic offenses that happen in the county. Its judges also sign warrants, set bonds, and hold the first hearings in felony cases before those cases move up. No separate official Justice Court web page was located for Choctaw County, so the courthouse and sheriff are the contacts to use.
Municipal courts handle city ordinance violations, city misdemeanors, and city traffic tickets. Choctaw County's incorporated communities include Ackerman, French Camp, Weir, and the county's share of Mathiston. There is no countywide online search for these city cases, so a citation should be checked with the issuing city's court or police office listed on the ticket itself.
Federal Court Serving Choctaw County
State courts are only one layer. Choctaw County also falls under a federal court that is completely separate from the county Circuit Court. Federal crimes, federal civil rights claims, and suits under federal law are filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi, not at the Ackerman courthouse. The district's map places Choctaw County in its Aberdeen Division.
The federal trial court keeps its own website and clerk channels, set out on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi site.
That home page is the entry point for federal filing, jury, and case questions that the county court does not handle. The district spreads its work across more than one city.
The court's locations are spelled out on the Northern District court information page, which lists courthouses in Aberdeen, Greenville, and Oxford.
A Choctaw County resident with a federal matter would travel to one of those courthouses rather than the county seat. Bankruptcy is a separate federal track again.
Federal bankruptcy cases for the region run through the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Mississippi, which keeps its own docket and clerk.
None of those federal records appear in the state PAMEC system. Federal case access uses a different national tool instead.
Public access to federal dockets runs through the PACER CM/ECF lookup for the Mississippi Northern Bankruptcy Court, the federal counterpart to the state system.
For any state criminal or civil case, though, the Choctaw County Circuit Court and its clerk in Ackerman remain the place to start. The federal courts come into play only when a federal law or federal crime is involved.