Indigent Appeals Division, Office of State Public Defender (Mississippi)

The Mississippi Office of State Public Defender's Indigent Appeals Division provides representation in felony direct appeals that are not death penalty cases, and may also represent people appealing Youth Court matters at the State Defender's discretion. The page states that the division may only provide appellate representation to people found indigent and granted leave to proceed in forma pauperis by the trial court. It sets out two routes to involve the division: substitution of counsel sought in the trial court before the appeal is perfected, or in the appellate court after it is perfected, and provides downloadable Word and PDF motion forms for retained counsel and for appointed counsel, plus an appellate court motion to substitute. It notes that under MRAP Rule 6 withdrawing counsel have a continuing duty to assist the division, usually by reviewing the record at the circuit clerk's office, and that counsel should contact the division director directly rather than relying on court administrators or circuit clerks.