Election will bring some new trial judges in Mississippi

TUPELO, Miss. (AP) - Mississippi could see a significant number of new trial court judges after people vote next month.

The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal reports that 20 of the state’s 52 chancery court judges and seven of the 57 circuit court judges are not seeking re-election.

Judicial candidates run without party labels. The election is Nov. 6. If runoffs are needed, they will be Nov. 27. Winners serve four-year terms.

Chancellor Ronald Doleac of Hattiesburg, chairman of the Conference of Chancery Judges, said it’s unusual to have so many chancellors retiring.

“There is normally some turnover each election cycle, but not this much,” Doleac said. “People retire for different reasons. It is unusual to have this many going to retire at one time, but that’s the way it is.”

Circuit Judge Thomas Gardner is not running for re-election in Alcorn, Itawamba, Lee, Monroe, Pontotoc, Prentiss and Tishomingo counties. He said that after 38 years as a judge, he realized it was time to retire. Gardner said he wishes the state had something similar to the federal senior status, which allows a judge to remain on the bench with a reduction in staff and case load.

“But that is not an option,” Gardner said. “It’s time to let some new hand take the wheel.”

Even with a large turnover in judges, Doleac and his colleagues have confidence in the candidates running for the offices.

“We have an excellent history of a strong, competent judiciary and I expect that to continue,” Doleac said. “New judges are not just thrown out there to fend for themselves.”

All candidates for trial judge must be certified attorneys. Newly elected judges must attend the weeklong Mississippi Judicial College in December. In addition, they are required to attend the two-week national judicial college in Reno, Nevada, within a year of election.

“We will have a pretty good turnover this year, but we have the mechanism in place,” Mississippi Judicial College director Randy Pierce said. “During the first week of December, we will hold training for new judges. Sitting and retiring judges participate. Each new judge will get a bench book that contains information from A to Z, everything they will likely encounter.”

In addition to the training sessions, each new judge is also encouraged to find a veteran judge or a retired judge as a mentor to offer guidance on general questions.

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Information from: Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, http://djournal.com