Lowrey, Fortner, & Miri P.A. defends felony and misdemeanor cases across South Mississippi from its Hattiesburg office: the Pine Belt circuit districts, the Gulf Coast's Second Circuit (Hancock, Harrison, Stone) and Nineteenth Circuit (George, Greene, Jackson), the Jackson metro, and the federal Southern District of Mississippi in Hattiesburg and Gulfport. Partner A. Arman Miri leads the practice. The firm has defended criminal cases in this part of the state since 1980.
- Gulf Coast felonies: Second Circuit Court District (Hancock, Harrison, Stone) at the courthouses in Gulfport, Biloxi, Bay St. Louis and Wiggins; Nineteenth Circuit (George, Greene, Jackson) in Pascagoula, Lucedale and Leakesville
- Pine Belt felonies: Twelfth Circuit (Forrest, Perry), Fifteenth Circuit (Lamar, Marion, Pearl River, Lawrence, Jefferson Davis), Eighteenth Circuit (Jones)
- Federal: Eastern Division in Hattiesburg and Southern Division in Gulfport; two of our lawyers sit on the court's Criminal Justice Act panel
- Jackson metro: Hinds, Rankin and Madison counties, each with its own page
- Your first appearance must happen within 48 hours of arrest; call as soon as the arrest happens and we can be there
One Firm for the Pine Belt and the Coast
Hattiesburg sits where South Mississippi's highways meet. Highway 49 runs south to Gulfport, Interstate 59 south to Picayune and the Louisiana line, Highway 98 east to Lucedale and Mobile, and Highway 49 north to Jackson. That geography is why one office at 525 Corinne Street can defend a felony in Pascagoula on Monday, a bond hearing in Biloxi on Tuesday, and a trial in Forrest County the rest of the week. We do not refer coast cases out. We drive.
Partner A. Arman Miri leads the criminal defense practice. He is a former City of Hattiesburg Public Defender and former Pearl River County Public Defender, has tried capital murder and federal cases to verdict, and is appointed federal defense counsel under the Criminal Justice Act in the Southern District of Mississippi, the same court that sits in Gulfport. Partner Tom Fortner, a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, has defended criminal cases in Mississippi since 1981. Attorney Valorie G. Cochran defends state cases across the region and also serves on the CJA panel.
The firm has defended criminal cases in South Mississippi since 1980. Every one of our county pages names the courthouse, the circuit district and the clerk you will deal with. This page is the map that connects them, from the Pine Belt to the coast.
How a South Mississippi Criminal Case Moves
The steps are the same in every county; the courthouse, the grand jury schedule and the judge's practices are not. We know the difference because we are in these courts every week.
A criminal case is prosecuted where the offense is alleged to have happened. We tell you on the first call which circuit district, county court, justice court or municipal court has your case, and what its first setting will be.
Mississippi requires an initial appearance without unnecessary delay and within 48 hours of arrest. Bond is argued there under Rule 8. We can appear in Gulfport, Biloxi, Bay St. Louis, Pascagoula, Wiggins, Poplarville or Hattiesburg.
We argue for release on recognizance or a bond the family can meet, using ties to the community, work history and the facts of the arrest. A client who is home can help build the defense; a client in jail cannot.
Felonies go to the grand jury in the county of arrest. Depending on the county, the grand jury may sit a few times a year, which shapes how long the case waits. We use that time to investigate.
We get the state's evidence, challenge the stop, the search and the statements where the law allows, and file motions to suppress. Highway 49 and Interstate 59 interdiction stops produce many of those motions.
With the evidence in hand we negotiate from strength or set the case for trial. Our partners have tried cases to verdict in state and federal court.
Where We Appear in South Mississippi
Hancock, Harrison and Stone counties (Miss. Code § 9-7-9). Harrison County Courthouse, 1801 23rd Avenue, Gulfport, and the Biloxi courthouse, 730 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard; Hancock County Courthouse, 152 Main Street, Bay St. Louis; the Stone County Courthouse in Wiggins. County courts sit in Harrison and Hancock.
George, Greene and Jackson counties (§ 9-7-49). Jackson County Courthouse, 3104 Magnolia Street, Pascagoula, where the circuit court and the county court both sit; George County Courthouse, 355 Cox Street, Lucedale; Greene County Courthouse, 400 Main Street, Leakesville.
Jefferson Davis, Lamar, Lawrence, Marion and Pearl River counties (§ 9-7-41). Courthouses in Prentiss, Purvis, Monticello, Columbia and Poplarville. The Interstate 59 corridor from Hattiesburg to Picayune runs through Lamar and Pearl River.
Forrest and Perry counties (Twelfth, § 9-7-35) at the Forrest County Courthouse, 630 Main Street, Hattiesburg, and in New Augusta; Jones County (Eighteenth, § 9-7-47) at the courthouses in Laurel and Ellisville.
Southern Division, Gulfport: George, Greene, Hancock, Harrison, Jackson, Pearl River and Stone counties, at the Dan M. Russell, Jr. United States Courthouse, 2012 15th Street. Eastern Division, Hattiesburg: the Pine Belt counties, at the William M. Colmer Federal Building, 701 North Main Street (28 U.S.C. § 104(b)).
Hinds County in the Seventh Circuit at the Hinds County Courthouse in Jackson; Rankin and Madison counties in the Twentieth Circuit in Brandon and Canton. Each has its own page below with the courthouse, the clerk and the local procedure.
Your South Mississippi Criminal Defense Team
Pages for Each Court We Cover
The statewide hub: felonies, misdemeanors, drug charges, violent crimes, and how a Mississippi criminal case moves.
Federal cases in the Southern District of Mississippi, in Hattiesburg and Gulfport, from CJA-panel lawyers.
Forrest County and the Twelfth Circuit, Hattiesburg Municipal Court, and the Adult Detention Center.
Poplarville and Picayune in the Fifteenth Circuit; Interstate 59 interdiction stops.
Wiggins and the Second Circuit, halfway between Hattiesburg and Gulfport on Highway 49.
Lucedale and the Nineteenth Circuit on Highway 98 toward Mobile.
Leakesville and the Nineteenth Circuit.
Jackson, Clinton, Raymond and Byram in the Seventh Circuit.
Brandon, Pearl, Flowood and Richland in the Twentieth Circuit.
Canton, Madison and Ridgeland in the Twentieth Circuit.
Penalties, the license clock, non-adjudication and refusal, statewide.
Clearing a Mississippi record after a dismissal, a non-adjudication or an eligible conviction.
What Clients Say About Our Defense Team
Rated 4.7 out of 5 on Google • Avvo 10.0 with a 5.0 client rating for our lead criminal defense partner
“Mr. Miri represented me in a felony criminal matter and was able to get the case dismissed.”
Avvo Review
“Great team to work with. Very professional, responsive, and handled my case smoothly from start to finish. I’m very satisfied with the outcome and highly recommend them.”
Google Review
“Armand Miri was my attorney and he was open, honest and straight to the point. He worked so hard for me. I was looking at life and I got 2yrs time served.”
Google Review
Reviews are from actual clients on Google and Avvo. Every case turns on its own facts and law, and prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
Frequently Asked Questions About Criminal Defense in South Mississippi
Do you take criminal cases on the Mississippi Gulf Coast?
Yes. From our Hattiesburg office we defend felony and misdemeanor cases in Harrison, Jackson, Hancock and Stone counties, and in Pearl River, George and Greene counties between here and the coast. That means the Second Circuit Court District (Hancock, Harrison and Stone) with courthouses in Gulfport, Biloxi, Bay St. Louis and Wiggins, and the Nineteenth Circuit Court District (George, Greene and Jackson) in Pascagoula, Lucedale and Leakesville. Highway 49 runs from our office to Gulfport and Highway 98 to Lucedale, so a coast courthouse is a routine drive for us, not a special trip.
Which court will hear my felony in Harrison County?
Felonies in Harrison County are prosecuted in the Second Circuit Court District. Harrison County has two judicial districts, so your case is heard at the courthouse in Gulfport (1801 23rd Avenue) or the courthouse in Biloxi (730 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard), depending on where the offense happened. Misdemeanors go to Harrison County Court, the justice court, or the municipal court of the city that made the arrest. Your first appearance must happen within 48 hours of arrest under the Mississippi Rules of Criminal Procedure, and we can be there for it.
What about Jackson County and Pascagoula?
Jackson County felonies are prosecuted in the Nineteenth Circuit Court District at the Jackson County Courthouse, 3104 Magnolia Street, Pascagoula. Jackson County Court sits at the same address and handles misdemeanors and other matters, and the cities of Pascagoula, Moss Point, Gautier and Ocean Springs each have a municipal court for city charges. The Nineteenth Circuit also covers George County (Lucedale) and Greene County (Leakesville), which we have handled for years from Hattiesburg.
Do you handle federal charges filed in Gulfport?
Yes. Federal cases from George, Greene, Hancock, Harrison, Jackson, Pearl River and Stone counties are filed in the Southern Division of the Southern District of Mississippi, which sits at the Dan M. Russell, Jr. United States Courthouse, 2012 15th Street, Gulfport (28 U.S.C. § 104(b)). Cases from the Pine Belt are filed in the Eastern Division at the William M. Colmer Federal Building, 701 North Main Street, Hattiesburg. Partner A. Arman Miri and attorney Valorie G. Cochran are both on the court's Criminal Justice Act panel, and the firm defends federal drug, firearm, fraud and conspiracy cases in both divisions.
Do you take cases in the Jackson metro area?
Yes. We defend cases in Hinds, Rankin and Madison counties and have separate pages for each: Hinds County and the Seventh Circuit in Jackson, and Rankin and Madison in the Twentieth Circuit in Brandon and Canton. Highway 49 puts the Hinds County Courthouse about ninety miles from our office, and we appear there regularly.
I was arrested on the coast but I live in the Pine Belt. Where is my case?
A criminal case is prosecuted in the county where the offense is alleged to have happened, not where you live. An arrest on Highway 49 in Stone County goes to the Second Circuit in Wiggins; an arrest in Pascagoula goes to the Nineteenth Circuit; an arrest in Hattiesburg goes to the Twelfth Circuit in Forrest County. Our office is in the middle of all of it, which is one reason clients from the coast and the Pine Belt both hire us.
How quickly can you get to a first appearance in Gulfport or Pascagoula?
Mississippi requires an initial appearance without unnecessary delay and within 48 hours of arrest, and that hearing is where bond is first argued. Call us as soon as the arrest happens; after hours, leave a voicemail and we will call you back. We can appear at the first appearance in Gulfport, Biloxi, Bay St. Louis, Pascagoula or Wiggins and argue for release or a bond the family can meet. The earlier we are in the case, the more we can do about bond and about preserving evidence.
Who leads criminal defense at Lowrey, Fortner, & Miri?
Partner A. Arman Miri leads the criminal defense practice. He is a former City of Hattiesburg Public Defender, has tried capital murder and federal cases to verdict, and serves on the Southern District of Mississippi's Criminal Justice Act panel. He works alongside Partner Tom Fortner, a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers who has defended criminal cases since 1981, and attorney Valorie G. Cochran, who also serves on the CJA panel. The firm has defended criminal cases in South Mississippi since 1980.