Mississippi Bans Courts Use Of Sharia/International Law In 2015, we saw 32 pieces of legislation introduced in 17 states to ban or limit the use of foreign or international law in state courts. Perhaps one of the biggest successes was for Mississippi, who has been trying for more than five years to enact a ban. HB 177 provides that a court, arbitrator, administrative agency or other adjudicative, mediation or enforcement authority shall not enforce a foreign law if doing so would violate a right guaranteed to a natural person by the United States Constitution or the Mississippi Constitution of 1890. A pattern in many of these bills is the focus on specifically banning the use of sharia law by state courts. The specific targeting of sharia was held as unconstitutional in a decision by the Tenth Circuit in 2012, striking down an amendment approved by Oklahoma voters in 2010. The enactment of HB 177 was signed by the Governor and became law in March of last year. Many other bills and proposals have died in the legislative process, so this is a huge success. What do you think? Do you support Mississippi? 