Daja E. Henry
| The Marshall Project
(This article was published in partnership with The Marshall Project, a nonprofit news organization covering the U.S. criminal justice system, and Mississippi Today. Sign up for The Marshall Project’s Jackson newsletter, and follow them on Instagram, TikTok, Reddit and Facebook.)
This November, tens of millions of voters will select Vice President Kamala Harris or former President Donald Trump to be president for the next four years. But, the presidency is just one piece of our democracy.
Here in Mississippi, voters also have the opportunity to determine who will serve on their state and local courts.
Up for election this year are two seats on the state Supreme Court, one seat on the Court of Appeals and, in Hinds County, one county court judgeship. These courts make rulings that impact the lives of Mississippians. Those elected to judicial offices hand down hundreds of decisions each year about criminal convictions, civil rights and the law.
The Marshall Project — Jackson and Mississippi Today compiled information about each race and candidate to help you make an informed decision at the polls. Election Day is Nov. 5. The last day to register to vote is Oct. 7. Find your local polling place and see how your ballot will look here.
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You can download a printable PDF of our Judicial Election Guide here.
The races:Mississippi Supreme CourtDistrict 1, Place 3 (central Mississippi, including Jackson)District 2, Place 2 (southern Mississippi, including the Gulf Coast)Mississippi Court of AppealsDistrict 5, Place 2 (southeastern Mississippi, including the Gulf Coast)Hinds County CourtSubdistrict 2Mississippi Supreme Court
Four Mississippi Supreme Court seats are up for election: Presiding Justice Jim Kitchens and Associate Justice Dawn Beam face challengers. Justices Bobby Chamberlin and Jimmy Maxwell are running unopposed for reelection.
These races are nonpartisan, but not apolitical, Mississippi College law professor Matt Steffey told The Marshall Project — Jackson.
In the five-way race for District 1, Place 3, which covers the central part of the state and part of the Delta, the state’s Republican Party is throwing its weight, and deep pockets, behind Republican state Sen. Jenifer Branning. She is a self-described “constitutional conservative,” taking on incumbent Presiding Justice Jim Kitchens. There are three other challengers: Ceola James, a former Court of Appeals judge; and Byron Carter and Abby Gale Robinson, both private-practice attorneys.
Kitchens, who is vying for his third term, previously unseated a GOP-backed incumbent in 2008.
Similarly, in the race for District 2, Place 2, which covers the southern part of the state, the state’s Republican Party endorsed incumbent Dawn Beam, who is facing Gulfport-based attorney David P. Sullivan.
Campaign finance reports, as of July 10, showed election committees for both contested Supreme Court races have raised $718,526. Challenger Branning’s campaign has raised more than half a million dollars, including a $250,000 personal loan from the candidate. The next set of campaign reports will be released in October.
See the Clarion Ledger’s July campaign finance roundup for all statewide judicial races here.
Campaign contributions in these judicial races have primarily come from political action committees, or PACs, and private attorneys or their law firms. Steffey said the judicial elections have become a “financial arms race,” with corporations, PACs and lawyers pouring money into the race to emphasize their own interests.
In the state Supreme Court, according to Steffey, that interest is primarily in tort liability, or how much a defendant might have to pay if they are found to be responsible for causing some type of harm to another party.
These races began attracting high fundraising in 2000, when the U.S. Chamber of Commerce poured money into the races for candidates deemed pro-business. That year, campaign fundraising surpassed $1 million.
The high court is divided into three districts across the state with three seats, each called a “place.” Each justice is elected to an eight-year term. The district boundaries are being challenged in federal court. The lawsuit seeks to redraw the districts, claiming that the way the lines are drawn splits the state’s largest concentration of Black voters, which violates the Voting Rights Act and dilutes Black voting power.
District 1 encompasses 22 counties mainly in central Mississippi, including Jackson and part of the Delta, where much of the state’s Black population is located. District 2 encompasses 27 counties in the southern parts of the state, from Clarke and Adams counties down to the Mississippi Gulf Coast. District 3 encompasses 33 counties in the northern part of the state, excluding some of the Delta counties on its western edge.
To qualify for the court, a candidate must be: eligible to vote in the district; at least 30 years old; a practicing attorney; and a resident of the state for five years before the election. Associate justices make $173,800 annually, presiding justices make $176,737, and the chief justice makes $181,491. The roles are assigned by seniority, with the chief justice the most senior, followed by two presiding justices.
The state Supreme Court often has the final say in cases involving criminal, civil and death penalty appeals, questions on the state’s laws and its constitution, and legal issues of public interest. It hears appeals from lower courts, such as the chancery and circuit courts. The court decided 260 cases in 2023 and issued rulings in 2,656 motions and petitions.
In a controversial 2023 decision, the court voted 8-0 to uphold the creation of a separate court system in Jackson, commonly called House Bill 1020, but also struck down a provision that would allow four judges to be appointed, rather than elected, to Hinds County Circuit Court. These judges, appointed by White state leadership, would have joined four judges that have been elected by Hinds County’s predominantly Black population.
In 2021, the high court invalidated the state’s ballot initiative process after voters approved a measure to legalize medical marijuana. The ballot initiative process, outlined in the state constitution, allowed voters to place a constitutional amendment proposal on the ballot by collecting a set number of signatures from each of the state’s congressional districts.
When this process was outlined in 1992, the state had five congressional districts. It was down to four by 2021. In a 6-3 vote, the court ruled the medical marijuana vote invalid. It argued that the ballot initiative process outlined in the state constitution would only work if amended, and that amending it was beyond the court’s power.
Supreme Court seat, District 1, Place 3 (central Mississippi, including Jackson)Candidates:Jim Kitchens (currently holds the seat)Jenifer B. BranningCeola JamesByron CarterAbby Gale RobinsonJim Kitchens (currently holds the seat)Admitted to Mississippi Bar: 1967Residence: Crystal Springs, Copiah CountyRelevant experience: Completing second term as Supreme Court justice; 41 years as practicing attorney, including nine as district attorney of Copiah, Walthall, Pike and Lincoln counties.Campaign finance: As of July 10, his campaign committee raised $87,437, mostly from trial lawyers, and spent $46,868, leaving him with $40,569 on hand. Read the latest report here.Statement of economic interest: Kitchens and his wife are partners in a real estate company, Kitchens Properties, LLC, in Copiah County. Read the latest report here.
Kitchens was first elected to this seat in 2008, after more than 40 years practicing law, which includes nine years as a district attorney across four counties. He is one of two presiding justices, who have the most years on the bench, following the chief justice. Presiding justice is a role on the court’s executive committee that includes administrative duties, such as enforcing the court’s deadlines, and presiding over panels during oral arguments.
Campaigning at the 2024 Neshoba County Fair, Kitchens stressed his experience in the courtroom, especially on criminal cases, and promised impartiality.
Kitchens said he is “the guy that carries his oath of office around in his pocket as a daily reminder of what he swore to do. That oath teaches me that I’m not supposed to care whether people before the court are rich, poor, Black, white, Republican, Democrat, Libertarian or Independent. And I don’t care.”
Mississippi College of Law professor Steffey described Kitchens as a “middle-of-the-road centrist.” On the bench, Kitchens’ dissents have keyed in on what the justice called oversteps in judicial power and scrutinized prosecutorial decisions.
Kitchens wrote a partial dissent on the decision about House Bill 1020, calling the creation of the court in Hinds County a “fiction of convenience that overreaches our judicial function, and of ultimate importance, our constitutional duty.” He also joined a dissenting opinion in the case that killed Mississippi’s ballot initiative.
Ensuring defendants who can’t afford representation have court-appointed lawyers is a theme throughout his career. He was the chair of the Public Defender Task Force, which was created in 2000 to study and make recommendations on the public defender systems in the state. In a 2018 interview with Mississippi Today, Kitchens expressed support for a more well-organized and adequately funded state public defender system for Mississippi.
The bulk of Kitchens’ campaign donations through July 10 have come from trial lawyers, such as Crymes G. Pittman, Dennis Sweet III and Martin D. Crump. He has also received an endorsement from the Southern Poverty Law Center, an advocacy group specializing in civil rights litigation.
💬 Read Kitchens’ response to the candidate questionnaire from The Marshall Project — Jackson and Mississippi Today.
Jenifer B. BranningAdmitted to Mississippi Bar: 2004Residence: Philadelphia, Neshoba CountyRelevant experience: State senator since 2016.Campaign finance: As of July 10, Branning’s campaign committee had raised $520,691, including a $250,000 loan from the candidate, and spent $74,543, leaving $446,149. Read the latest report here.Statement of economic interest: Branning is listed as member, owner, stockholder or partner in several companies located in Philadelphia, including her law firm, Branning Properties, LLC, and Triple E Investments. Read her latest report here.
Republican state Sen. Jenifer B. Branning is running on a platform to represent Mississippians’ conservative values on the Supreme Court, she said at the 2024 Neshoba County Fair candidate forum.
Branning has no judicial experience. Since she joined the Mississippi Bar in 2004, she has practiced as an attorney, primarily representing businesses through her private practice in areas including real estate development, banking and agribusiness. She has also served as a special prosecutor in Neshoba County, a guardian ad litem in Neshoba and Winston counties, and as a staff attorney in the Mississippi Secretary of State’s Division of Business Services & Regulation.
Branning described herself as a “Christian conservative.” She has been endorsed by the state’s Republican pand the National Federation of Independent Business Mississippi PAC, a special interest group for small businesses. She has been outspoken about overturning Roe v. Wade and supporting the state’s abortion ban, and about reducing taxes on businesses. Branning is also a member of the National Rifle Association. On criminal justice issues, Branning has voted in favor of mandatory and increased minimum sentences for crimes including shoplifting, motor vehicle theft and fleeing law enforcement.
In the state Senate, Branning chairs the Highways and Transportation Committee. She has touted her record on lowering taxes and reducing regulations on farmers and small business owners.
Branning comes from multiple generations of business owners in Neshoba County. Her grandfather, Olen Burrage Jr., owned and operated a truck farm, hauling timber and corn, according to previous news reports.
Her election committee has received contributions from political action groups including Truck PAC, Mississippi Petroleum Marketers & Convenience Stores Association PAC and the Mississippi REALTOR PAC.
Much of Branning’s campaign funding, however, comes from the candidate herself. She kicked off her campaign with a $250,000 candidate loan. She has also bankrolled her previous senate campaigns, with candidate loans as high as $50,000 in 2018. This year, her campaign committee also received funding from other Republican politicians and their campaign funds, including Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann, the Committee to Elect Jeremy England (state senator), Harkins for MS (state Senator Josh Harkins), and Friends of Jason White (Mississippi House speaker).
Branning did not acknowledge or return the candidate questionnaire from The Marshall Project — Jackson and Mississippi Today.
Ceola JamesAdmitted to Mississippi Bar: 1977Residence: Vicksburg, Warren County Relevant experience: Former Court of Appeals and chancery court judge; interim justice court judge; attorney in private practice.Campaign finance: As of July 10, James’ campaign committee had raised $1,655 and spent $548, leaving her with $1,107 on hand. See the latest report here. Statement of economic interest: James operates a law firm. See the full report here.
James is the only challenger in the race who has served as a judge. She was elected to the Mississippi Court of Appeals in a special election to fill an unexpired term in 2012. She lost her reelection bid in 2016.
Prior to her time on the Court of Appeals, James served a four-year term as Ninth Chancery Court judge. The district includes Humphreys, Issaquena, Sharkey, Sunflower, Washington and James’ home county, Warren. She was also appointed interim Warren County Justice Court judge in 1997, and as a judicial special master in Warren County Chancery Court from 1992 to 1994.
James has practiced both civil and criminal law as a private attorney. According to a report from when she was sworn in to the Court of Appeals, she had often represented people for free.
“I promise you that if I’m elected, I will be fair as I’ve always been. My decisions have never been Democrat or Republican, my decisions have never been black or white. My decisions have always been fair,” James said at the 2024 Neshoba County Fair candidate forum.
In 2007, James received a public reprimand for representing a woman in a case related to another that she had presided over as judge. While on the bench, James presided over a child abuse case. After leaving the bench, James represented the mother in divorce proceedings.
James also ran for this Supreme Court seat in 2008, but lost to Kitchens.
💬 Read James’ response to the candidate questionnaire from The Marshall Project — Jackson and Mississippi Today.
Byron CarterAdmitted to Mississippi Bar: 1987Residence: Byram, Hinds CountyRelevant experience: Attorney in private practice, law clerk for former Presiding Justice Armis Hawkins.Campaign finance: Carter’s campaign committee reported a negative balance of $3,247, which includes the repayment of an $11,000 personal loan Carter gave the committee. Read the latest report here. Statement of economic interest: None on file.
Byron Carter runs Carter Law Firm P.A., in Byram. He specializes in family law, child custody, real estate, workers’ compensation and personal injury cases, according to his firm’s website. His campaign website describes him as conservative.
Carter is a board member of Kids’ Chance of Mississippi, an organization that provides scholarships for children of workers injured or killed in workplace accidents.
The Houston, Mississippi, native’s platform calls for an end to judges being appointed or elected after turning 70. Justice Kitchens, the incumbent, is 81. Carter is 62.
Speaking at the 2024 Neshoba County Fair candidate forum, Carter touted his experience in appellate law. Carter has handled appeals as an attorney before the supreme courts in Mississippi and Alabama. He is a member of the Mississippi Bar’s Appellate Practice Section, a group of lawyers with a common interest in appellate law proceedings. Carter ran unsuccessfully for Court of Appeals, Position 2, in District 4, in 2018, which is now held by Judge David Neil McCarty.
💬 Read Carter’s response to the candidate questionnaire from The Marshall Project — Jackson and Mississippi Today.
Abby Gale RobinsonAdmitted to Mississippi Bar: 2016Residence: Jackson, Hinds CountyRelevant experience: Attorney in private practice.Campaign finance: Robinson’s campaign committee has not raised or spent any money as of the July 10 report. View the latest report here.Statement of economic interest: None filed for this election, but read her 2022 statement here. Robinson owns a law firm and a construction business.
Abby Gale Robinson is a practicing attorney and construction business owner. As part of her platform, she is seeking a one-term limit on the high court and pledged not to accept campaign contributions. Her campaign finance reports show $0 for income and expenses.
“The number one thing we look to do in this campaign is seek term limits, transparency and no monies accepted for campaigning for such a serious judicial seat,” Robinson’s campaign said in an emailed statement to The Marshall Project — Jackson.
The Jackson-based attorney owns a private practice, Abby Robinson and Associates. She has handled cases for individuals alleging race and sex discrimination, medical malpractice and civil rights violations. Her firm also specializes in car accidents and personal injury, according to the firm’s Facebook page.
In 2020, she filed a controversial lawsuit on behalf of more than a dozen Jackson Police Department officers and former officers against the department. It alleged a barrage of claims, including sex discrimination against female officers, race discrimination against White officers, misuse of state funds and conspiracy of misappropriation of city funds. Then-Police Chief James Davis questioned the motive of the lawsuit when it was filed, as Robinson’s husband had been demoted in the department days prior to the announcement of the suit, according to news reports. Robinson maintained that there was no conflict of interest. The case is pending in federal court in the Southern District of Mississippi.
Robinson declined to answer the candidate questionnaire and directed The Marshall Project – Jackson and Mississippi Today to review her website.
Supreme Court seat, District 2, Place 2 (southern Mississippi, including the Gulf Coast)The candidates:Dawn H. Beam (currently holds the seat)David P. SullivanDawn H. Beam, (currently holds the seat)Admitted to Mississippi Bar: 1989Residence: Sumrall, Lamar CountyRelevant experience: Five years as chancellor for the 10th District Chancery Court (Forrest, Lamar, Marion, Pearl River and Perry counties); former Lamar County prosecutor; attorney in private practice. Campaign finance: As of July 10, Justice Beam’s campaign committee raised $63,958, mostly from political action committees, and spent $28,595, leaving the campaign with $35,363 on hand. Read the latest report here.Statement of economic interest: Beam and her husband, a physician, own Beam Properties, LLC. Read the latest statement here.
Associate Justice Dawn H. Beam has focused her career on improving child welfare. Before taking the bench on the high court in 2016, she oversaw youth court as a chancery judge in the 10th District, where she worked to clear a backlog of cases and identify abused and neglected children. She has also worked as a youth court prosecutor and child support counsel for the state’s Department of Human Services. In 2007, she told the Hattiesburg American newspaper that reforming youth court led her to run for Lamar County attorney.
Beam joined the state Supreme Court in 2016, after being appointed by Gov. Phil Bryant to fill the seat left vacant by former Justice Randy Pierce. In various news interviews, Bryant cited Beam’s experience as chancery judge, prosecutor and private attorney, coupled with her concern for abused and neglected children, as qualifiers for his appointment. She was later elected to a full eight-year term, and is now running for her second term. She is the only woman on the court.
While serving on the Supreme Court, she has co-chaired the Mississippi Commission on Children’s Justice, created by the court to develop a comprehensive approach to improving the child welfare system. Through that commission, she introduced the Family First Initiative to fix the state’s foster care system alongside former first lady Deborah Bryant, which went unfunded amid a recent welfare scandal.
She also co-chaired the Guardianship and Conservatorship Commission, which recommended the GAP Act to protect children and vulnerable adults. She is a member of the Mississippi Access to Justice Commission, which addresses the accessibility of civil legal representation for poor people.
On the campaign trail this year, she’s courted Republican groups across her district and visited various festivals and churches. The daughter of a minister, she often references her Christian beliefs as a guiding factor in her career. Beam has the endorsement of the state’s Republican Party.
“Justice Beam has a long track record of issuing conservative rulings from the court,” Republican Party Chairman Mike Hurst said in a statement.
In both the ballot initiative and House Bill 1020 decisions, Beam voted with the majority.
Contributors to her reelection committee include political action groups Truck PAC; Mississippi REALTOR PAC; Mississippi Poultry Association; and Mississippi Medical PAC. Contributors also include corporations like Gulfport’s Island View Casino Resort, CEO Warren A. Hood Jr. of Hood Companies, Inc., and Republican politicians, including former state Sen. Sally Burchfield Doty.
💬 Read Beam’s response to the candidate questionnaire from The Marshall Project — Jackson and Mississippi Today.
David P. SullivanAdmitted to Mississippi Bar: 1995Residence: Gulfport, Harrison CountyRelevant experience: Public defender in Harrison, Stone and Pearl River counties; municipal judge in D’Iberville since 2019; municipal judge pro tempore in Ocean Springs; former city prosecutor of Gulfport.Campaign finance: Sullivan’s campaign has raised $38,800 as of July 10 and spent $1,381, leaving the campaign with $37,419 on hand. Read the latest report here.Statement of economic interest: None on file.
David P. Sullivan comes from a family of Mississippi lawyers. His father was the late Supreme Court Justice Michael D. Sullivan. His grandfather was a state senator and Hattiesburg city attorney, a position his great-grandfather also held.
Sullivan is running to continue the family’s legacy, he said at an August D’Iberville Business Club meeting, as well as to increase the Gulf Coast’s representation on the court. In the Supreme Court district, two of the three justices have connections to the Gulf Coast.
Sullivan grew up in Hattiesburg, but moved to the Gulf Coast in 1994 after completing law school at the University of Mississippi.
Sullivan brings 29 years of experience in the courtroom, where he has taken on multiple roles.
His early experience in private law firms included providing legal representation for insurance companies and for businesses facing workers’ compensation claims. He then served two years as city prosecutor in Gulfport before opening his private practice.
Sullivan’s firm now focuses on criminal defense. He is also a public defender in Harrison, Stone and Pearl River counties.
In addition to his practice, Sullivan is a municipal court judge in D’Iberville. Municipal judges have jurisdiction over misdemeanor crimes, city ordinances and traffic violations. They may also conduct initial court appearances, where defendants are advised of their charges and whether they will be eligible to be released on bond.
His election committee’s two largest campaign contributions, $5,000 each, came from Jackson-based personal injury attorney Crymes G. Pittman, a former president of the Mississippi Trial Lawyers Association, and James F. Hardin Jr., owner of Aladdin Construction in Biloxi.
Sullivan did not acknowledge or return the candidate questionnaire from The Marshall Project — Jackson and Mississippi Today.
Mississippi Court of Appeals
The Mississippi Court of Appeals is an appellate court, meaning it reviews cases that have already been decided in a lower trial court. The Court of Appeals hears both civil and criminal cases.
The court was created by the state Legislature to reduce a backlog at the state Supreme Court. It began hearing cases in 1995. All appeals are filed with the Supreme Court, which then decides whether to keep the case or assign it to the Court of Appeals. The Court of Appeals decided 354 cases in 2023, issuing about 58% of appellate decisions.
Two judges are elected to the court from each of its five districts. They serve eight-year terms. This year, one Court of Appeals seat is up for election. Like all judicial elections, they are nonpartisan.
Three candidates are running for the District 5, Place 2, seat, which is held by Judge Joel Smith. Smith was appointed by Gov. Tate Reeves in 2021 to fill a vacancy and won a special election in 2022. He is not seeking reelection. The candidates are: Ian Baker, a prosecutor; Jennifer Schloegel, a four-term chancery court judge; and Amy Lassiter St. Pé, a municipal court judge. District 5 is the southernmost district, encompassing the Gulf Coast. The appellate court judgeship pays $168,467 a year.
Court of Appeals, District 5, Place 2 (southeastern Mississippi, including the Gulf Coast)
The candidates:Ian BakerJennifer SchloegelAmy Lassiter St. PéIan BakerAdmitted to Mississippi Bar: 2006Residence: Gulfport, Harrison CountyRelevant experience: Assistant district attorney; former clerk for Court of Appeals Judge Bill Myers; attorney in private practice; attorney for Biloxi Civil Service Commission. Campaign finance: As of July 10, Baker’s campaign committee raised $70,780 and spent $2,793, leaving it with $67,988 on hand. Read the latest report here.Statement of economic interest: Baker is employed by Harrison County as an assistant district attorney. Read the full report here.
Ian Baker’s experiences center on criminal law. For the past 11 years, Baker has prosecuted cases for the district attorney’s office serving Harrison, Hancock and Stone counties. He is a division chief in the office, where he prosecutes major violent crimes, gang crimes, sex crimes and drug trafficking. Along with being an assistant district attorney, he also teaches at the Gulf Coast Law Enforcement Training Academy and is a nationally certified gang prosecutor.
Baker stated on his campaign website that he was hired to join the district attorney’s office by Smith, the current judge, who was the district attorney at the time.
Prior to his stint as a prosecutor, Baker owned a private practice, Baker & Brewer, PLLC, in Biloxi. He was also an attorney for the Biloxi Civil Service Commission, which governs city employees. After graduating law school, Baker worked as a clerk in the Court of Appeals under Judge Bill Myers.
Baker’s campaign committee contributions come mainly from individuals in the Gulf Coast area. This includes a $25,000 personal loan from the candidate and contributions from attorneys.
Baker did not acknowledge or return the candidate questionnaire from The Marshall Project — Jackson and Mississippi Today.
Jennifer SchloegelAdmitted to Mississippi Bar: 1991Residence: Gulfport, Harrison CountyRelevant experience: Elected to four terms as chancery court judge for Harrison, Hancock and Stone counties; attorney in private practice.Campaign finance: As of July 10, Schloegel’s campaign committee raised $159,120 and spent $29,230, leaving it with $131,878 on hand. Read the latest report here. Statement of economic interest: Schloegel’s statement of economic interest lists her position as a chancery court judge. Read the full report here.
Judge Jennifer Schloegel is serving her fourth term as chancery court judge in Harrison, Hancock and Stone counties. Chancery judges handle civil cases, including land and business disputes, divorces, child custody disputes, wills and estates. Schloegel issues decisions that may end up in front of the Court of Appeals or the Supreme Court. According to Schloegel, these courts upheld, in full or in part, 32 of 33 of her decisions that were appealed over 14 years.
In one case, Schloegel ruled against then-State Auditor Stacey Pickering and then-Attorney General Jim Hood in a public records access case. After the Biloxi Sun Herald newspaper requested records in 2012 from the Department of Marine Resources, Pickering’s office subpoenaed the documents and claimed they were being used in investigations, exempt from public records laws. Schloegel ruled that the records were public and held Pickering and others in contempt for failing to turn them over as she ordered. In 2017, the state Supreme Court affirmed Schloegel’s ruling.
Schloegel has also been appointed to the Committee on Continuing Judicial Education, a task force that offers recommendations on how many mandatory judicial education hours judges must receive.
Schloegel’s campaign raised the most money in this race, including contributions from both individuals and corporations. The corporations include law firms, Island View Casino Resort and Scarlet Pearl Casino Resort. The two largest individual contributions, $5,000 each, came from Rebecca Watts Thompson, the candidate’s mother, and James R. Reeves, Jr., a Biloxi personal injury attorney.
Schloegel acknowledged receiving the candidate questionnaire from The Marshall Project — Jackson and Mississippi Today, but did not respond.
Amy Lassiter St. PéAdmitted to Mississippi Bar: 2003Residence: Pascagoula, Jackson CountyRelevant experience: Municipal court judge; city attorney; attorney in private practice.Campaign finance: As of July 10, St. Pé’s campaign committee raised $154,050 and spent $41,756, leaving it with $112,294 on hand. Read the latest report here.Statement of economic interest: St. Pé owns a law firm and is a board member of Merchants & Marine Bank. She also receives income from the cities of Moss Point, Gautier and Pascagoula. Read the full report here.
Amy Lassiter St. Pé is an attorney in private practice, a municipal court judge in Gautier and city attorney of Moss Point. She is the first woman to hold a municipal court judgeship in Jackson County, according to news reports. St. Pé has also held many roles involving redevelopment. She provides legal counsel for the Pascagoula Redevelopment Authority, an urban renewal organization started by the city in 2011.
Gov. Tate Reeves appointed St. Pé to the Gulf Coast Restoration Fund’s advisory council. The fund was created in 2018 to manage money from the settlement following the 2010 BP oil spill. It has funded projects such as a road in Jackson County to reduce traffic on Interstate Highway 10 and the completion of the Mississippi Aquarium.
As a municipal court judge, she handles initial appearances and sets bonds for criminal defendants. Municipal judges also have jurisdiction over misdemeanor crimes, city ordinances and traffic violations. As city attorney, she represents Moss Point in lawsuits and provides legal counsel.
As a private attorney, St. Pé is lead counsel in a case before the state Supreme Court, representing Ocean Springs Islands RV Resort, LLC. A Jackson County judge ruled that the company could build its RV park in the Gulf Park Estate neighborhood, but some residents oppose it. Adam Dial and W. Ed Trehern, developers on the project, have made some of the largest individual contributions to St. Pé’s campaign committee.
St. Pé’s campaign contributions include $1,000 or more from Republican politicians such as state Sen. Brice Wiggins and the Committee to Elect Jeremy England, another Mississippi state senator. St. Pé’s campaign has also received contributions from corporations including the Island View Casino Resort, M&T Family Dentistry and Desporte Seafood. Her committee has received support from the Mississippi Physicians PAC and many individual doctors. St. Pé’s husband, Laurin St. Pé, is chief executive officer of Singing River Health System.
💬 Read St. Pé’s response to the candidate questionnaire from The Marshall Project — Jackson and Mississippi Today.
Hinds County Court
The Hinds County Court race is a special election to fill the seat of Judge LaRita Cooper-Stokes, who died last year. Judge Pieter Teeuwissen, a former city and county attorney, was appointed to the bench in December 2023. He faces attorneys Bridgette M. Morgan, an attorney for the Jackson Police Department, and Yemi Kings, a deputy prosecutor and former public defender.
Hinds County Court has three subdistricts. The senior judge of the court has historically divided the docket into criminal, civil and youth court matters. Currently, Judge Carlyn Hicks handles youth court in subdistrict 1, Teeuwissen handles civil cases in subdistrict 2 and Judge Johnnie McDaniels, the senior judge, handles criminal cases. The civil docket includes disputes involving up to $200,000, including evictions, debt collection and medical malpractice. The county court also handles appeals from the justice court.
Hinds County Court, Subdistrict 2The candidates:Pieter Teeuwissen (currently holds the seat)Bridgette M. MorganYemi KingsPieter Teeuwissen (currently holds the seat)Admitted to Mississippi Bar: 1990Residence: Jackson, Hinds CountyRelevant experience: Appointed to seat in December 2023; former Hinds County Board of Supervisors attorney; and Jackson city attorney.Campaign finance: Teeuwissen’s campaign committee reported $8,400 in contributions and personal loans of $20,000 and $15,000 from Teeuwissen and his law firm. Read the full report here. Statement of economic interest: Teeuwissen has income from the county court judgeship and the Mississippi Board of Bar Admissions. He is also a partner in a law firm and an investor in two Wingstop restaurants. Read the full report here.
Teeuwissen is a veteran of Jackson and Hinds County governments. He has worked as Jackson city attorney and board attorney for Hinds County, and was appointed in 2008 as a special judge for Hinds County Circuit Court. He is also a member of the Mississippi Board of Bar Admissions, which he previously chaired.
In a Facebook Live interview on Sept. 4 with Mississippi Public Service Commissioner De’Keither Stamps, a Democrat, Teeuwissen touted his experience as the incumbent in the civil section of the court. He also defined himself as a judge who “believes in justice, mercy and respect.”
Teeuwissen was nominated to the city attorney job in 2009 after serving as interim city attorney. He had worked in the office as the city’s chief litigator for four years before assuming the top position. Teeuwissen then worked as board attorney and was integral in negotiations with the federal government about the 2016 consent decree over the Hinds County Jail, but was controversially fired in 2020 after new supervisors took over the board.
His campaign lists “community-based issues” that he is focused on, including housing stability, nuisance and hazardous properties and taking illegal guns off the streets.
In the Facebook Live broadcast, he said he wanted to create a separate section in civil court that handles only housing issues. He also wants to ask the Legislature for money to support people at risk of losing their residences.
Teeuwissen’s campaign committee did not file a total amount of funds raised in its latest funding report, but its largest contributions were personal loans from Teeuwissen totaling $35,000. Construction contractor Jerry L. Bouldin contributed $2,000, the next largest amount. Attorneys and law firms also contributed smaller amounts.
💬 Read Pieter Teeuwissen’s response to the candidate questionnaire from The Marshall Project — Jackson and Mississippi Today.
Bridgette M. MorganAdmitted to Mississippi Bar: 2013Residence: Jackson, Hinds CountyRelevant experience: Deputy city attorney; attorney for Jackson; former public defender. Campaign finance: Morgan’s campaign committee reported $1,957 in contributions and $1,182 spent, leaving the committee $232 on hand. Read the full report here.Statement of economic interest: None on file.
Bridgette M. Morgan is a deputy city attorney and former public defender.
As a deputy city attorney, Morgan provides legal counsel for the Jackson Police Department in civil matters. She has worked in the city attorney’s office since 2018. Morgan said during her campaign that she created the body camera policy for the department that was approved by the U.S. Department of Justice. City attorneys also conduct legal research, draft policies and contracts. As a prosecutor in the office, she has also handled misdemeanors and traffic violations.
Prior to her stint at the city attorney’s office, she worked as a public defender. She has cited her courtroom experience as a motivator for her run. Morgan said in a September clip of an interview posted to her Facebook page that she’s running to be an impartial judge who leads with humanity and is not swayed by the political climate of the time.
“I don’t care what you make on the headlines,” Morgan said, noting that her judicial philosophy is guided by “what is fair and what is impartial today, what does the law say and what are the facts.”
Morgan worked in the Hinds County public defender’s office from 2015 until she was controversially fired in 2018 while running for the County Court Subdistrict 1 judgeship. She filed a lawsuit against the county and the-then Hinds County public defender, claiming they violated her First Amendment rights. The suit was settled out of court with undisclosed terms and dismissed in 2019.
Morgan’s largest campaign contribution of $500 comes from the Jarrod Mumford Law Firm, which has contributed to each candidate in this race.
💬 Read Morgan’s response to the candidate questionnaire from The Marshall Project — Jackson and Mississippi Today.
Yemi KingsAdmitted to Mississippi Bar: 2009Residence: Jackson, Hinds CountyRelevant experience: Deputy prosecutor; former public defender; private attorney.Campaign finance: Kings’ campaign committee reported $5,275 in contributions and $7,862 spent. Read the full report here.Statement of economic interest: Kings is the solo owner of a law firm, a beauty salon and a realty company. Read the full report here.
Yemi Kings is a deputy prosecutor in the Hinds County district attorney’s office, a private attorney and a real estate broker. He is also a youth court prosecutor and mentor.
In a radio interview, Kings touted his experience in different roles as an attorney that align with all three county court dockets. Kings has handled criminal cases as both a prosecutor and a public defender, and in youth court. He owns the private law firm, Kings & Associates, LLC. He has represented clients in civil cases involving car accidents, personal injury and family law in Hinds County.
If elected, he said he would push to hold expungement clinics, which help people remove criminal convictions from their records.
Kings’ campaign relies heavily on his community involvement. He is from the Georgetown neighborhood, where his office is located. He is a board member at Tech Hoopla, a nonprofit organization that focuses on opportunities in STEM for underserved youth. On the campaign trail, he’s hosted a school supply giveaway and attended multiple community events, including the Dog Gone Dition Festival in West Jackson and the South Jackson parade and festival.
“We got a chance to continue to elect a judge that is from our community, a judge that’s going to be involved with our young people. I think that that’s where the fight is, to try to save our youth,” he said in the radio interview.
Kings is from a politically active family in Hinds County: his great-grandfather was the Rev. Robert L.T. Smith, a civil rights leader who was one of the first Black people to run for Congress in Mississippi since Reconstruction. His cousin was the late former District Attorney Robert Shuler Smith, whom he represented in a 2018 criminal case when Smith was charged with robbery and aggravated stalking. Smith was found not guilty of the robbery, and a jury could not come to a decision on the aggravated stalking charges.
Kings previously ran for an open seat on the county court in 2018.
💬 Read Kings’ response to the candidate questionnaire from The Marshall Project — Jackson and Mississippi Today.
— Additional reporting contributed by Taylor Vance, Mississippi Today
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Publish date : 2024-09-25 05:12:00
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