No error in either the admission or the exclusion of evidence and no error in any ruling or order or in anything done or omitted by the court or by any of the parties is ground for granting a new trial or for setting aside a verdict or for vacating, modifying, or otherwise disturbing a judgment or order, unless refusal to take such action appears to the court inconsistent with substantial justice. The court at every stage of the proceeding must disregard any error or defect in the proceeding which does not affect the substantial rights of the parties.
Rule 61.Harmless Error
Chapter VII: Judgment · Not amended since adoption on record · Last verified July 14, 2026
In one sentenceRule 61 tells a court to disregard any error that doesn't affect a party's substantial rights, so a new trial, a set-aside verdict, or a disturbed judgment requires more than an isolated mistake.
Full Text of Rule 61
Plain-English Summary
Rule 61 states the harmless-error principle that runs through Mississippi civil trials. No error in admitting or excluding evidence, and no error in any ruling, order, or anything a court or a party did or failed to do, is by itself grounds for a new trial, for setting aside a verdict, or for vacating, modifying, or otherwise disturbing a judgment or order. The rule sets the bar higher: relief is warranted only when refusing it would be inconsistent with substantial justice.
The second sentence flips that instruction into an affirmative duty. At every stage of a proceeding, the court must disregard any error or defect that does not affect the substantial rights of the parties. That means a trial judge weighing whether to grant a new trial, and an appellate court reviewing the record afterward, both apply the same test: does this mistake matter enough to have changed the outcome or denied someone a fair hearing, or is it the kind of slip that happens in any trial without hurting anyone's case?
Rule 61 doesn't excuse careless practice — it channels review toward errors that mattered. A party pointing to a mistaken evidentiary ruling or a procedural misstep still has to connect that mistake to a substantial right before a court will act on it. That connection is what separates a harmless error from one worth correcting.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does every mistake made during my trial entitle me to a new trial?
No. Rule 61 says that no error in admitting or excluding evidence, and no error in any ruling or order, is by itself grounds for a new trial or for disturbing a judgment. Relief is available only when refusing it would be inconsistent with substantial justice.
What does it mean for an error to affect a party's "substantial rights"?
The rule doesn't define the phrase further, but it draws the line the court applies: an error that doesn't affect a substantial right is one the court must disregard, while an error serious enough to make refusing relief inconsistent with substantial justice can support a new trial or a change to a judgment.
Does Rule 61 apply only to mistakes about evidence?
No. The rule covers error in the admission or exclusion of evidence and error in any ruling, order, or anything done or omitted by the court or by any of the parties, so it reaches procedural missteps as well as evidentiary ones.
Who has to show that an error was harmless or harmful?
Rule 61 doesn't assign a burden in so many words; it instructs the court to disregard errors that don't affect substantial rights at every stage of the proceeding, which in practice means the party seeking a new trial or relief from a judgment has to show the error crossed that threshold.
How does Rule 61 relate to a motion for a new trial or a motion for relief from judgment?
Rules 59 and 60 supply the mechanisms for asking a court to grant a new trial or set aside a judgment. Rule 61 supplies the standard the court applies once such a motion is before it: relief follows only when an error affected a substantial right and denying relief would be inconsistent with substantial justice.
Source & verification. Rule text and Advisory Committee Notes are
reproduced verbatim from the Mississippi Rules of Civil Procedure, adopted by the
Supreme Court of Mississippi. Last verified July 14, 2026.
· Official source
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