MHA's Executive Briefing

Nine public hearing on courts planned

Nine public hearings have been scheduled throughout the state in September and October to discuss Mississippi's Justice Court system.

A task force will use information gathered at the hearings when it makes a report to the legislature on Dec. 1.

State Supreme Court Justice Mike Randolph, chairman of the 13-member task force, cautions that hearings are about the system and not individual cases or judges.

All public hearings will be at county courthouses. The hearing dates and locations are:

• Sept. 6 - Tupelo
• Sept. 10 - Senatobia
• Sept. 11 - Kosciusko
• Sept. 13 - Natchez
• Sept. 25 - Jackson
• Oct. 1 - Gulfport
• Oct. 2 - Hattiesburg
• Oct. 4 - Indianola
• Oct. 8 - Meridian

Barbour makes Circuit Court choice

Gov. Haley Barbour on July 9 appointed Jimmy McClure III to the District 17 Circuit Court for DeSoto, Tate, Panola, Tallahatchie and Yalobusha counties.

McClure, 51, of Sardis, will serve through January 2009 in the seat vacated by Ann Hannaford, of Lamar, who was appointed to the state Supreme Court.

McClure has spent more than 15 years working in the legal profession. He has been a partner with McClure & Shuler, a general practice law firm, and also served as a Sardis Municipal Court judge and Municipal Court judge pro tem for Southaven, Batesville, Marks, Como, and Crenshaw for the past 12 years. McClure teaches paralegal studies at Northwest Community College.

Justice Kay Cobb announces retirement

Mississippi Supreme Court Presiding Justice Kay B. Cobb announced today that she will retire, effective May 1, 2007.

Justice Cobb, of Oxford, is retiring after eight years on the court. Her term is scheduled to expire in January 2009. Gov. Haley Barbour will appoint someone to serve out the remainder of the term.

Justice Cobb in a March 2 letter informing Gov. Barbour of her retirement said, “It has been an extraordinary honor to serve in this highest judicial office, and I leave with complete trust and belief that the Court is in good hands. Under the leadership of Chief Justice Jim Smith and Presiding Justice Bill Waller, and the other dedicated justices who have worked diligently to make timely, fair, accurate, and just decisions, this Court has attained a level of excellence which should continue for years to come.”

Justice Cobb will be designated as a senior judge upon retirement. She may be called upon to serve as a special judge to hear cases when a sitting judge is unable to preside due to illness or recusal.

Former Gov. Kirk Fordice appointed Justice Cobb to the Supreme Court on April 1, 1999. She filled the unexpired term of former Justice James L. Roberts Jr., then was elected to a full term in November 2000.

She is the third longest serving justice currently on the court. By seniority, she serves as a presiding justice over three-judge panels of the court to decide cases.

For more information, click here.

Bush nominates 2 in Mississippi for judgeships

President Bush nominated former Mississippi Appeals Court Judge Leslie Southwick to an open seat on the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Jan. 9.

In addition, Halil Suleyman "Sul" Ozerden of Hattiesburg was renominated for U.S. District judge for the Southern District. The resubmission is a matter of procedure because a new Congress convened in January.

For the full story from Katherine Sayre in The Sun Herald, click here.

Mississippi's 2006 Judicial Races

Secretary of State Eric Clark has released the list of candidates who filed qualifying papers and are eligible to run for the judicial elections slated for November 7. If no candidate wins a majority in the regular election, a runoff will take place on November 21. In the State of Mississippi, judicial candidates run without party affiliation.

The most hotly contested race this year will be for the District 4 Court of Appeals judgeship being vacated by Judge Leslie Southwick who is retiring. Seven candidates have lined-up to fill Judge Southwick’s seat on the bench: Chancery Judge Larry Buffington of Collins, Chancery Judge Edward E. Patten of Hazlehurst, State Rep. Virginia Carlton of Columbia, Bryant Chaffin, Pat J. McNamara, Jr., Scott Phillips and Richard Grindstaff.

The District 4 Appeals Court is comprised of parts of Hinds and Jones counties and all of Copiah, Simpson, Adams, Franklin, Lincoln, Lawrence, Jefferson Davis, Covington, Wilkinson, Amite, Pike, Walthall and Marion counties.

Click here for a complete list of all Appeals, Chancery, and Circuit Court races.

[ via Magnolia Report ]

U.S. district judge taking senior status

Three new federal judges may be needed for the Jackson-based U.S. District Court for the Southern District.

William H. Barbour Jr., 65, of Jackson, the longest serving U.S. district judge in the Southern District, is semi-retiring, thus significantly reducing his caseload.

U.S. District Judge David Bramlette of Natchez, who went on the bench in 1985, said he is thinking about seeking senior status later this year. And Tom S. Lee, a federal judge since 1984, has indicated to some judges he is considering taking senior status in April. Lee has not responded to The Clarion-Ledger's request for a comment.

The 45-county Southern District has a total of six district court judges.

For the full story from The Clarion-Ledger, click here.

Bush picks Jackson lawyer

President Bush on Feb. 8 nominated Jackson lawyer Michael Wallace to fill a seat on the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Wallace would fill the seat vacated by former Judge Charles Pickering a little more than a year ago. Bush gave him a one-year recess appointment in January 2004. The Senate Judiciary Committee is expected to hold hearings on Wallace's nomination in the next few months.

For the full story from The Clarion-Ledger, click here.

Barbour names Williamson to Circuit Court

Governor Haley Barbour on Feb. 7 announced the appointment of Meridian Municipal Court Judge Lester F. Williamson, Jr., to fill an unexpired term as Circuit Judge in Mississippi’s 10th District. The district includes the counties of Clarke, Kemper, Lauderdale, and Wayne.

Williamson, a Meridian attorney, will serve in the post vacated when Governor Barbour appointed Circuit Judge Larry Roberts to a seat on the Mississippi Court of Appeals.

Williamson has served as Municipal Court Judge for the City of Meridian since 1989, after working four years as Municipal Court Judge Pro-Tem. He has practiced law for more than 28 years and is currently working with Wright & Williamson, PLLC, where he has been partner since 2001.

Involved in his community, Williamson is past president of the Lauderdale County Bar Association and Kiwanis Club of Meridian, and past board member of the United Way of Lauderdale County, Lauderdale County Mental Health Association, and Meridian Symphony League. Currently, he is a member of the East Mississippi Business Development Corporation and the Meridian Area Navy League. Williamson, an Eagle Scout, also has served as an adult Scout leader and member of the district committee for the Boy Scouts of America.

Williamson is a graduate of the University of Mississippi and earned his law degree from the University of Mississippi School of Law. He is married to the former Cathy Giles, and the couple has three children: Virginia, Lester III, and John Thomas.

State Appeals Court judge takes oath

Mississippi Court of Appeals Judge Larry E. Roberts took the oath of office Tuesday during a ceremony in Meridian.

Roberts, 56, of Meridian, was appointed by Gov. Haley Barbour to the Court of Appeals on Dec. 27 to fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Billy G. Bridges of Brandon. Roberts will serve Bridges' unexpired term, which ends in January 2009.

"I will dearly miss the trial bench," Roberts told more than 300 friends, family members, and fellow judges during the investiture ceremony at Mississippi State University-Meridian Campus.

[ via The Sun Herald ]

Pickering speaks against filibusters at Kentucky rally

Judge Charles Pickering, along with religious leaders and conservative activists, spoke April 24 at a rally against filibusters dubbed "Justice Sunday." It was telecast from a Louisville, Ky., church.

Sen. Majority Leader Bill Frist, a Tennessee Republican, also addressed the event in a taped speech in a move to strengthen his hand against Democratic filibusters of conservative judges.