Wayne County Circuit Court Overview
The Circuit Court is Mississippi's general trial court. In Wayne County it carries the heaviest court business: felony criminal prosecutions, civil lawsuits where the claim runs over $200, and appeals that move up from Justice Court, Municipal Court, and county boards. It also issues summonses, subpoenas, process, and warrants. Jury trials in the county are held here. When people search for "court records" without knowing the court, they often mean Circuit Court files, though divorce, estate, and land records belong to the separate Chancery Court instead.
Mississippi does not use numbered county trial courts the way some states do. There is no "10th District Court" sitting inside Wayne County. Instead, the state groups counties into circuit districts, and Wayne County belongs to the 10th Circuit Court District along with Clarke, Lauderdale, and Kemper counties. Two elected circuit judges serve the whole district and rotate through each county's courthouse. The Mississippi Judiciary explains the role of these courts on its Circuit Court page, and Wayne County lists its court offices on the county courts page.
Court sessions and the clerk's records counter share the Wayne County Courthouse at 609 Azalea Drive in Waynesboro. The building also holds Chancery Court and Youth Court space.
The 10th Circuit Court District
Because Mississippi assigns judges to a multi-county district rather than to numbered courts, the practical "list" for Wayne County is a roster of the people who run Circuit Court business. Two judges preside, a court administrator manages the calendar, the district attorney prosecutes felonies, and the circuit clerk keeps the local files. The table below gives the judge or role, a mailing address, and a direct phone line for each.
| Judge / Role | Address | Phone |
|---|---|---|
| Circuit Judge Robert T. "Bo" Bailey | P.O. Box 1262, Meridian, MS 39302 | 601-482-9742 |
| Circuit Judge Charles W. Wright Jr. | P.O. Box 1677, Meridian, MS 39302 | 601-482-9741 |
| Court Administrator Gayle Wink | Wayne County Courthouse, 609 Azalea Drive, Waynesboro | Via Circuit Clerk 601-735-1171 |
| District Attorney Kassie Coleman | 612 22nd Avenue South, Meridian, MS 39301 | 601-482-9759 |
| Circuit Clerk Kathryn "K.K." Revette | 609 Azalea Drive, Waynesboro, MS 39367 | 601-735-1171 |
The two judges divide the district's caseload and may each hear Wayne County matters. Court administrator Gayle Wink coordinates settings across the four counties. The same district structure means a Wayne County felony, a Clarke County felony, and a Lauderdale County felony can be heard by the same bench.
Circuit Court vs. Justice Court vs. Chancery Court
Three trial courts split most of the county's caseload, and each one keeps its own records. Sending a request to the wrong court is the most common reason a search stalls. Circuit Court takes the felonies and the big civil suits. Justice Court takes small claims and misdemeanors. Chancery Court takes family, probate, and land matters. The comparison below shows where each type of case lands.
| Circuit Court | Justice Court | Chancery Court | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Case types | Felonies, large civil suits, appeals from lower courts | Small claims, misdemeanors, evictions, rural traffic | Divorce, custody, estates, guardianship, land title |
| Civil dollar range | Claims over $200 | Claims up to $3,500 | Equity matters, no fixed dollar limit |
| Criminal level | Felony prosecutions | Misdemeanors and preliminary processing | None |
| Appeals | Reviews Justice and Municipal cases; appealed to the appellate courts | Appealed up to Circuit Court | Appealed to the Supreme Court or Court of Appeals |
Justice Court handles civil debt and personal-property claims under Title 9 of the state code, while the equity side belongs to Chancery Court. A reader who wants a divorce file or an estate file should skip Circuit Court entirely and go to the circuit clerk only for the criminal, civil, and appeal records the Circuit Court itself produces.
How a Case Moves Through the Wayne County System
Most cases do not start and stop in Circuit Court. A criminal matter often begins with a sheriff or police arrest, gets a first appearance in Justice Court, and only reaches Circuit Court once a grand jury returns an indictment. Civil disputes and appeals follow their own tracks. The two flows below trace the usual path from the bottom court up to the state appellate level.
Criminal flow: Arrest › Justice Court first appearance and bond › Grand jury indictment › Circuit Court arraignment › Pretrial motions › Plea or jury trial › Sentencing › Mississippi Court of Appeals / Supreme Court
Appeal flow: Justice or Municipal Court › Circuit Court › Mississippi Court of Appeals / Supreme Court
Appeals from a county board or an administrative agency also land in Circuit Court before they can go higher. The Mississippi Court of Appeals hears assigned appeals, while the Supreme Court keeps the rest. Where a case is sent on appeal depends on the high court's own assignment rules.
Wayne County Felony Cases and the District Attorney
Circuit Court is where felony prosecutions are decided in Wayne County. A felony is a serious crime that can carry more than one year of incarceration. The case is brought by the State, represented by the district attorney for the 10th Circuit Court District. District Attorney Kassie Coleman prosecutes felonies for Wayne, Clarke, Lauderdale, and Kemper counties, and her office screens charges, presents cases to the grand jury, and tries them before a Circuit Court jury. Office details are posted at da-coleman.com.
The felony file kept by the court can run long. It may hold the indictment or information, the arraignment entry, the plea, bond orders, discovery notices, hearing settings, the verdict or plea agreement, the sentencing order, restitution, fines and costs, probation terms, and any later revocation or appeal papers. Sealed, expunged, and juvenile material is left out of the public file. Mississippi allows certain records to be cleared under the expungement statute, Miss. Code Section 99-19-71, which sets waiting periods and limits.
A felony case usually has a paper trail in more than one court. The arrest and any early misdemeanor processing may show up in Justice Court records, while the felony prosecution itself lives in the Circuit Court file. The full case file, charges, and sentence detail are explained on the county court records overview.
Wayne County Civil Lawsuits and Appeals
Circuit Court also handles civil law actions. These are disputes between private parties or against companies and agencies where the amount in controversy runs over $200. Common examples include car-accident claims, product liability suits, contract disputes, and personal-injury actions that are not assigned to another court. The file may include the complaint, summons, answer, motions, discovery certificates, jury instructions, the verdict, the judgment, execution docket entries, and any satisfaction or release of judgment.
The court's appeal duty is just as important. When a party loses in Justice Court or Municipal Court, or when someone challenges a decision by the Board of Supervisors or another local authority, the appeal is filed in Circuit Court. The judge reviews the lower record and may hold a new trial. From there, a further appeal goes to the state appellate courts.
Civil and appeal records held by Circuit Court are public unless a judge has sealed them. The Mississippi Public Records Act, Miss. Code Section 25-61-1, makes public records open for inspection unless another law restricts them.
Wayne County Lower Courts and Court Buildings
Circuit Court does not work alone. Below it, Justice Court and the municipal courts handle the high-volume, lower-stakes cases and feed appeals upward. Justice Court sits on the courthouse square, separate from the main courthouse, and processes small claims, misdemeanors, evictions, and traffic citations issued outside city limits. Waynesboro and State Line run their own municipal courts for tickets written inside town lines. Each of these courts can send a case up to Circuit Court.
Local court space has grown in recent years. According to WDAM's report on the new Justice Court building, the facility opened to the public in September 2023.
The building is more than 7,000 square feet, nearly five times the size of the prior court, and it now anchors lower-court business on the courthouse square. The main Wayne County Courthouse at 609 Azalea Drive still holds Circuit Court, Chancery Court, and Youth Court space. Visitors should call ahead for parking, security, and recording-device rules, since the county does not publish those details online.
Wayne County Circuit Clerk Court Records
The Circuit Clerk is the records keeper for Circuit Court. Kathryn "K.K." Revette holds the office for the 2024 to 2028 term. Her staff maintains the general court docket, which lists the parties in each case, pleas, indictments, records from the lower courts on appeal, and the related minute-book references. The clerk also keeps the appearance docket, the subpoena docket, and the execution docket. The office sits on the first floor of the courthouse near the South entrance.
Public access runs through three main channels. You can visit the clerk in person, you can call or write the office, and attorneys can reach electronic filings through the statewide system. Copies and certified copies carry a fee, and where the county does not post a set amount, Miss. Code Section 25-61-7 allows public bodies to charge the actual cost of search, copying, and mailing.
For hearing dates and case settings, the clerk's docket is the official source. Upcoming settings and entry definitions are covered on the county court dockets page.
Circuit Court Electronic Filing in 2025
Wayne County Circuit Court joined the statewide electronic filing system in 2025. Mississippi Electronic Courts, known as MEC, lets registered users file documents and lets the public view dockets and case information in participating courts through a single login. The county's Circuit Court moved to voluntary attorney e-filing on April 29, 2025, then to mandatory attorney e-filing on May 5, 2025, according to the Mississippi Judiciary's MEC 2025 news.
The public-facing side of the system is reached through the PAMEC login, which requires a username and password. Once signed in, a user can pull docket information, view documents, and obtain case data for courts that take part. Sealed and confidential files do not appear. The general MEC portal is described at courts.ms.gov.
The change matters for record seekers. Filings made after the cutover are entered electronically, so newer Circuit Court documents are more likely to be searchable online than older paper-only files. For records that predate the system, or for cases that are not yet scanned, the clerk's counter remains the reliable route.
Note: Mississippi announced statewide completion of electronic filing across its trial courts in July 2025, placing Wayne County inside a fully electronic court network.