---
title: "D. Neil Harris, Sr | KnowJudges"
canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/d-neil-harris-sr-chancellor-mississippi-sixteenth-chancery-district-court-sixteenth-chancery-district-ms"
page_type: "judge_profile"
updated: "2026-07-26"
---

# D. Neil Harris, Sr

Mississippi SIXTEENTH Chancery District Court · Chancellor

## Profile

- Court: Mississippi SIXTEENTH Chancery District Court
- State: Mississippi
- Role: Chancellor
- Service status: active
- Last verified: 2026-07-26

## Summary

Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge.

## Before you appear

- Read the judge-specific standing order first when one is listed.
- Check the docket and case orders for requirements that supersede broader guidance.
- Confirm current remote-access and courtroom technology arrangements before the proceeding.

## Courtroom Rules

### electronic media coverage

Scope: statewide

Mississippi allows electronic media coverage of public judicial proceedings in appellate and trial courts of record, subject to the rules and presiding judge control.

Evidence excerpt: Electronic media coverage of public judicial proceedings shall be allowed in the appellate and trial courts of record in this state subject to the conditions below.

[Mississippi Rules for Electronic and Photographic Coverage of Judicial Proceedings](https://courts.ms.gov/research/rules/msrulesofcourt/rules_electronicphotographic_coverage.pdf)
Source checked: 2026-07-26

### presiding judge discretion

Scope: statewide

The presiding Mississippi justice or judge may limit or terminate electronic coverage when necessary to protect rights, witnesses, dignity of the court, or orderly proceedings.

Evidence excerpt: The presiding justice or judge has the discretion to limit or terminate electronic coverage at any time during the proceedings

[Mississippi Rules for Electronic and Photographic Coverage of Judicial Proceedings](https://courts.ms.gov/research/rules/msrulesofcourt/rules_electronicphotographic_coverage.pdf)
Source checked: 2026-07-26

### advance notice for media

Scope: statewide

Mississippi media representatives must provide advance notice for electronic or photographic coverage under the court rules.

Evidence excerpt: Rule 5 ... requires that media representatives give at least 48 hours

[Mississippi Rules for Electronic and Photographic Coverage of Judicial Proceedings](https://courts.ms.gov/research/rules/msrulesofcourt/rules_electronicphotographic_coverage.pdf)
Source checked: 2026-07-26


## Sources

- [Official profile](https://www.sos.ms.gov/content/documents/ed_pubs/pubs/2026JD/JD%20and%20Court%20Calendar%202026.pdf)
- [Official roster](https://www.sos.ms.gov/content/documents/ed_pubs/pubs/2026JD/JD%20and%20Court%20Calendar%202026.pdf)
- [Mississippi Secretary of State Judicial Directory official judicial roster](https://www.sos.ms.gov/content/documents/ed_pubs/pubs/2026JD/JD%20and%20Court%20Calendar%202026.pdf)
- [Mississippi Rules for Electronic and Photographic Coverage of Judicial Proceedings](https://courts.ms.gov/research/rules/msrulesofcourt/rules_electronicphotographic_coverage.pdf)

## JSON-LD

```json
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@graph": [
    {
      "@type": "WebPage",
      "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/d-neil-harris-sr-chancellor-mississippi-sixteenth-chancery-district-court-sixteenth-chancery-district-ms",
      "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/d-neil-harris-sr-chancellor-mississippi-sixteenth-chancery-district-court-sixteenth-chancery-district-ms",
      "name": "D. Neil Harris, Sr | KnowJudges",
      "description": "D. Neil Harris, Sr, Mississippi SIXTEENTH Chancery District Court. Source-linked judicial identity, courtroom procedures, and presentation guidance.",
      "dateModified": "2026-07-26",
      "isPartOf": {
        "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/#website"
      },
      "mainEntity": {
        "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/d-neil-harris-sr-chancellor-mississippi-sixteenth-chancery-district-court-sixteenth-chancery-district-ms#judge"
      }
    },
    {
      "@type": "Person",
      "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/d-neil-harris-sr-chancellor-mississippi-sixteenth-chancery-district-court-sixteenth-chancery-district-ms#judge",
      "name": "D. Neil Harris, Sr",
      "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/d-neil-harris-sr-chancellor-mississippi-sixteenth-chancery-district-court-sixteenth-chancery-district-ms",
      "jobTitle": "Chancellor",
      "worksFor": {
        "@type": "GovernmentOrganization",
        "name": "Mississippi SIXTEENTH Chancery District Court"
      },
      "sameAs": [
        "https://www.sos.ms.gov/content/documents/ed_pubs/pubs/2026JD/JD%20and%20Court%20Calendar%202026.pdf"
      ]
    },
    {
      "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
      "itemListElement": [
        {
          "@type": "ListItem",
          "position": 1,
          "name": "KnowJudges",
          "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj"
        },
        {
          "@type": "ListItem",
          "position": 2,
          "name": "Mississippi",
          "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/state/mississippi"
        },
        {
          "@type": "ListItem",
          "position": 3,
          "name": "D. Neil Harris, Sr",
          "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/d-neil-harris-sr-chancellor-mississippi-sixteenth-chancery-district-court-sixteenth-chancery-district-ms"
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}
```

## Biography

### Professional career


### Education

- University of Mississippi, gaining admission to the Mississippi bar — J.D. (1982)
- University of Southern Mississippi — B.A.

### Additional information

- Harris was first elected to the Chancery Court and has been re-elected multiple times, including in 2010 and 2014, with his term expiring in 2020
- On December 5, 2013, the Mississippi Supreme Court publicly reprimanded him and fined him $2,500 for failing to recuse himself from contempt proceedings and preventing defendants from presenting a defense
- In 2010, Judge Harris discovered that some parties in child-support and paternity cases had not been properly served, and that process servers had falsified returns
- Before joining the bench, he practiced law alongside his son, David N. Harris
- He presided over numerous cases in the Sixteenth Chancery Court District, including child-support and paternity proceedings
- He initiated criminal contempt proceedings against the process servers, their employer, and notaries involved, imposing monetary sanctions, requiring apology letters, and ordering temporary incarceration until compliance
- Judge D. Neil Harris Sr. serves on the 16th Chancery District Court of Mississippi, which handles domestic issues, estates, commitments of mentally disabled individuals, and equity appeals (Jackson County Chancery Court)
- Judge Harris has faced disciplinary action