Dolister Sanders hasn’t seen her grandson in over 1,000 days. Since 2022, she and her daughter, Kenetra, have been fighting to regain custody of the 11-year-old at the Hinds County Chancery Court in Jackson, Mississippi.
Though they’ve repeatedly expressed concerns and tried sharing new evidence with the court, they say their efforts have been stonewalled by the judge assigned to their case.
“There is no way we will ever get a fair hearing in Crystal Wise (Martin’s) courtroom,” said Sanders, a Hinds County resident who also spoke on her daughter’s behalf. “We have evidence that she refuses to take into consideration. We have witnesses that she will not allow to speak. We have filed complaints on her and nothing has been done.”
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Dolister Sanders and her daughter have been fighting to regain custody of her grandson at the Hinds County Chancery Court since 2022. Sanders alleges that Judge Crystal Wise Martin has arbitrarily dismissed evidence and failed to respond to motions filed in her daughter’s custody case. Photo by Illan Ireland, Mississippi Free Press ” data-medium-file=”https://i0.wp.com/www.mississippifreepress.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Dolister-Sanders-3-9-10-25_cred-Illan-Ireland.jpg?fit=300%2C200&ssl=1″ data-large-file=”https://i0.wp.com/www.mississippifreepress.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Dolister-Sanders-3-9-10-25_cred-Illan-Ireland.jpg?fit=780%2C519&ssl=1″ src=”https://i0.wp.com/www.mississippifreepress.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Dolister-Sanders-3-9-10-25_cred-Illan-Ireland.jpg?resize=780%2C519&ssl=1″ alt=”A woman in a blue dress speaks outside of a brick building with pink reflective windows as others look on” class=”wp-image-337713″ srcset=”https://i0.wp.com/www.mississippifreepress.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Dolister-Sanders-3-9-10-25_cred-Illan-Ireland.jpg?resize=1024%2C682&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/www.mississippifreepress.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Dolister-Sanders-3-9-10-25_cred-Illan-Ireland.jpg?resize=300%2C200&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/www.mississippifreepress.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Dolister-Sanders-3-9-10-25_cred-Illan-Ireland.jpg?resize=768%2C512&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/www.mississippifreepress.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Dolister-Sanders-3-9-10-25_cred-Illan-Ireland.jpg?resize=1536%2C1024&ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/www.mississippifreepress.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Dolister-Sanders-3-9-10-25_cred-Illan-Ireland.jpg?resize=1200%2C800&ssl=1 1200w, https://i0.wp.com/www.mississippifreepress.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Dolister-Sanders-3-9-10-25_cred-Illan-Ireland.jpg?resize=780%2C520&ssl=1 780w, https://i0.wp.com/www.mississippifreepress.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Dolister-Sanders-3-9-10-25_cred-Illan-Ireland.jpg?resize=400%2C267&ssl=1 400w, https://i0.wp.com/www.mississippifreepress.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Dolister-Sanders-3-9-10-25_cred-Illan-Ireland.jpg?w=2000&ssl=1 2000w, https://i0.wp.com/www.mississippifreepress.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Dolister-Sanders-3-9-10-25_cred-Illan-Ireland-1024×682.jpg?w=370&ssl=1 370w” sizes=”(max-width: 780px) 100vw, 780px”>Dolister Sanders and her daughter have been fighting to regain custody of her grandson at the Hinds County Chancery Court since 2022. Sanders alleges that Judge Crystal Wise Martin has arbitrarily dismissed evidence and failed to respond to motions filed in her daughter’s custody case. Photo by Illan Ireland, Mississippi Free Press
Sanders made the remarks during a Sept. 10 press conference in Jackson, where speakers called for greater transparency and accountability from the chancery court and the state’s broader judiciary. Without adequate oversight or scrutiny, they argued, judges have been free to let filed motions collect dust on their desks or arbitrarily dismiss evidence presented in their courtrooms.
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