Mississippi Lawyer Blog

In Mississippi, 28% of all drivers do not have insurance. So out of every 7 cars you pass on the road, 2 cars do not have any insurance! This is the highest percentage of uninsured drivers in the United States.

It's important that you double check your insurance policy for "uninsured motorist coverage". This is the part of your auto policy that protects you from an uninsured driver.

Make sure that your uninsured motorist coverage is equal to your liability coverage. Many insurance agents will give you a lower uninsured motorist coverage amount, but since this is the part of the policy that protects you, you want the maximum coverage available.

The rate of complaints about debt collectors to the Federal Trade Commission has more than tripled since 2003. There were over 300,000 complaints just in the past 5 years!

The top complaints were that debt collectors are demanding and collecting money that people do not owe. They won't accept payments by mail, but demand access to the person's bank account. It should go without saying, but in looking at the number of people that are complying with these debt collector demands - let me say this out loud - Don't ever give anyone your bank account information.

As as a bankruptcy attorney, I talk to people every day that are being abused by the tactics used by debt collectors. These collectors will stop at nothing to collect money whether owed or not, making many people believe they will go to jail if they do not pay immediately. You can go to jail for a lot of things, but not for ordinary debt.

Same sex marriage has been a hot button issue for quite some time. Last week, two major events took place on the west coast. In California, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals declared that the state's ban on same sex marriages (Proposition 8) was unconstitutional. Then just one (1) day later, Washington passed a law allowing same sex couples to marry.

Prop 8 had been approved by 52% of California voters in 2008. The three judge panel declared the ban unconstitutional because it singled a specific group of individuals- in this case homosexuals- for no reason. In other words, in order to "discriminate" against a specific group of individuals, a state must have a compelling reason. The majority of the judges found California had no such reason; however, the lone dissenting judge found California's ban was constitutional because the state had an interest in the preservation of families. The judge who issued the opinion on behalf of the Ninth Circuit said the ban "serves no purpose, and has no effect, other than to lessen the status and human dignity of gays and lesbians in California, and to officially reclassify their relationships and families as inferior to those of opposite-sex couples."

Even though the Court of Appeals declared Prop 8 unconstitutional, the same sex marriage issue is far from over in California. Opponents of the decision are already planning an appeal to the United States Supreme Court to review the decision. Additionally, Judge Vaughn Walker- the judge who initially declared the ban unconstitutional at the district level (level below the Court of Appeals) in 2010- has a conflict of interest hearing set for later this year. Critics of the decision allege the Judge should have disclosed his sexual orientation due to the decision he was being asked to render. The Ninth Circuit refused to invalidate Judge Walker's decision on that basis and held a judge's sexual orientation was not a basis that would allow the court to overturn that judicial decision.

Prior to Washington's recent law, six states and the District of Columbia allowed same sex couples to marry: Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York and Vermont. The Washington House of Representatives approved the bill last week and then the Republicans and Democrats of the Washington Senate- in a 55-43 vote- approved it. Washington Governor Chris Gregoire is set to sign the bill later this week. Yet same sex couples will not be allowed to marry until ninety (90) days after Gov. Gregoire signs the legislation. Even then, Washington voters- like the California voters in 2008- will be allowed to vote to decide whether they wish to overturn the legislature and Governor's decision to allow for same sex marriages in their state.

Mississippi currently has a ban on same sex marriages. The ban was initially issued in former Governnor Kirk Fordice's executive order in 1996. This was codified in Mississippi Code Annotated § 93-1-1 ("Any marriage between persons of the same gender is prohibited and null and void from the beginning. Any marriage between persons of the same gender that is valid in another jurisdiction does not constitute a legal or valid marriage in Mississippi.") 86% of Mississippi voters amended the Mississippi Constitution in 2004 to reflect this thereby declaring the ban appropriate. However, Mississippi does allow single homosexuals to adopt a child (Miss. Code Ann. § 93-17-3(5): "Adoption by couples of the same gender is prohibited."). The individual cannot be in a relationship or be part of a couple wishing to adopt (Miss. Code Ann. § 93-17-3: "Couples of the same gender may not adopt.")

Regardless of how you feel on the subject of same sex marriage, the debate over it in our court system does not seem to have an end in sight. Perhaps the United States Supreme Court will take California's appeal during their next session and shed light on this issue.

The Clarion Ledger had an article in Sunday's paper about a Mississippi woman who was arrested for buying Sudafed in Alabama with plans to bring it back in to Mississippi. In Mississippi, you must have a prescription to purchase any items containing pseudoephedrine. In Alabama, you can purchase these items over the counter. However, tt is against the law to purchase Sudafed, or any other items containing pseudoephedrine, in another state and bring it back into Mississippi. The lady in the article claims she was forced to sign a confession admitting that she purchased the drugs to make crystal meth. She was found guilty and sentenced to one year in jail. She has an appeal pending.

I completely understand the need to limit the amount of pseudoephedrine containing products purchased by consumers. Crystal Meth is an epidemic in our nation and its use/production must be curtailed. However, our laws can overreach sometimes and this is an example of one which does just that. If you have a young child in dire need of Sudafed at 2 in the morning you can no longer go down to the 24 hour Walgreens and pick up a box. If you wake up with a sinus issue and have no time to go to the doctor's office (don't get me started on the wait here) to get a prescription for Sudafed, you are stuck trying some other remedy.

The Legislature had good intentions when they enacted this law but look at all the other products you can purchase which can get you high: airplane glue, whipped cream (cans), cough syrup, gasoline, keyboard cleaner, fresh ground Nutmeg. These are just a few examples. Is the Mississippi Legislature going to pass laws on these items? They are just as addictive and harmful, if not more so, than crystal meth. And these items don't even have to be mixed up and cooked.

Continue reading "Mississippians: Beware about purchasing pseudoephedrine and other products used to make meth" »