Mississippi Judge Finally Rules [Update]

A judge in Mississippi has finally ruled on a key detail involving Garth Brooks and a woman who says the singer sexually assaulted her.

Judge Henry Wingate’s decision doesn’t end the legal proceedings, but it does allow the case to move forward, perhaps quickly.

• A lawsuit accusing Garth Brooks of sexual assault was filed in California on Oct. 3, using “Jane Roe” as plaintiff and the star’s real name, Garth Brooks, as defendant.
• One month prior, Brooks filed a preemptive lawsuit in hopes of proceeding with any subsequent lawsuits involving the two parties under pseudonyms. A month later, he filed an amendment using both party’s real names.
• In November, the case moved to federal court in California but the original Mississippi case hadn’t been resolved.

Related: Garth Brooks Sexual Assault Allegations Timeline

Wingate’s ruling deemed Jane Roe’s motion to dismiss Brooks Mississippi lawsuit as “moot.” Here is the definition of “moot,” per Cornell University Law School:

In law, an issue or case being moot means that it has lost its practical significance because the underlying controversy has been resolved, one way or another.

WLBT-TV in Jackson, Miss. shared the lawsuit update on Sunday, adding that the decision was made on May 1, nearly six months after Roe filed her motion. There was no additional information available describing how — or if — the Mississippi case had ended.

The effect of this decision is it allows the case in California to move forward. In December, Brooks filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, but a U.S. District Judge refused to do so because the “original action” still open in Mississippi. WLBT notes that the U.S. District Court ordered him to inform it of rulings in Mississippi within 10 days, but it’s not clear that happened (Sunday would have been day 10).

Jane Roe lived or lives in Mississippi, but the sexual assault she’s accusing Brooks of allegedly took place in California. She initially filed in California State Court, but the case was moved to federal court on Nov. 8.

Legal experts say an appeal and expedited trial are more likely in federal court, but the bar for a jury conviction is raised. In California state court, a civil case needs just 3/4 of the jury to agree. It needs to be unanimous federally.

Since the start of the year, Brooks has been fairly active in public settings after closing 2024 with little fanfare. He was part of the Opry 100 celebration in March, and soon after joined wife Trisha Yearwood for the revealing of her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

In April, he joined Luke Combs at Stagecoach.