The Mississippi Supreme Court issued the following statement:
Justice Ann Lamar will not seek re-election to Supreme Court
Mississippi Supreme Court Justice Ann H. Lamar will not seek re-election to the court at the end of her term. She announced today that she plans to leave the court when her current term ends in December 2016.
Justice Lamar, 63, of Senatobia, was appointed to the Supreme Court on May 21, 2007, and was elected to an eight-year term in November 2008. She is the third woman to serve on the Mississippi Supreme Court.
“I have enjoyed it immensely. It has been an honor to serve on this Court. I have the greatest respect for the Court and the justices I have served alongside,” Justice Lamar said. “I have been on the Court since 2007 and I commute weekly from my home in north Mississippi. Ten years is a long time to be commuting and spending time away from home and family and grandchildren. After much prayer and thoughtful consideration, I know that it is time to leave the Court.”
Justice Lamar said, “I am making this announcement now in order to give potential candidates for the position time to make plans for a campaign.”
The next election for the 33-county District 3, Place 1 judgeship from north Mississippi will be in November 2016. The new term will begin in January 2017.
Justice Lamar’s public service career spans 32 years. She served for five and one-half years as a Circuit Court Judge in the 17th Circuit Court District, which encompasses Desoto, Tate, Panola, Yalobusha, and Tallahatchie counties. She served for two years as district attorney and nine years as an assistant district attorney. Before she enrolled in law school, she worked as a court reporter for two years and for four years as an administrative assistant in the Governor's Office of Education and Training.
Justice Lamar serves as chair of the Supreme Court Rules Committee on Criminal Practice and Procedure, which since 2012 has devoted extensive study to proposed Rules of Criminal Procedure. She serves on the Board of Governors of the Mississippi Judicial College. In 2008, Justice Lamar served as co-chair of the Commission for the Study of Domestic Abuse Proceedings. As a circuit judge, she served the Conference of Circuit Court Judges as chair in 2006-2007, vice-chair in 2005-2006, and treasurer for three years. She is a member and past president of the William C. Keady American Inns of Court. She is a former member of the Board of Directors of the Mississippi Prosecutor's Association.
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17 comments:
Mississippi Supreme Court is falling apart. Looking into my crystal ball I don't see Judge Bill Waller seeking reelection either.
Not leaving early to give the gov another chair to fill?
Justice Lamar has been an excellent justice and will be sorely missed.
Outstanding Justice
Phil made two excellent appointments in Maxwell/Beam to replace Chamdler/Pierce. This will be a competitive race along with a conservative candidate running against Kitchens in central district.
Isn't the MSGOP plan to foist, er, hoist Jeff Weill up there?
7:10 - oh please god, no. Even my conservative colleagues recognize that Weill is a narcissistic basket case.
Her decision on the alligator case in McComb was just stupid. She wrote like an 8-year old.
Circuit Judge Jim Kitchens from Columbus is rumored to be running.
Lamar has done a really good job thru the years - I bet it is tough leaving family behind every week to head to Jackson. There would be some good options out there for appointment and I'm sure the GOP is smart enough to put Weill in that formula - at the same time it would be a HUGE loss for you folks down there in Hinds County if Weill was appointed. From what I've read he seems to be actually trying to deal with the rampant crime problem and he seems to be doing it while taking continuous body-blows from every liberal direction. I've always thought that you can get a pretty good idea of how well an elected official is doing by watching how much the left attacks them, so it looks to me like Weill must be doing a pretty could job of protecting the people not the criminals when you see the long list of left leaning people that have lined up against him over the years. Even now on this blog 7:10 pm and 8:05 pm have started (I will compliment 7:10 that she at least acknowledges her liberal bend by referencing "even my conservative colleagues"). By the way, no surprise here but I'm pretty conservative and my lawyer friends in the Jackson area say exactly the opposite of 7:10 about Weill. It'll be interesting to see what happens.
Folks, Weill can't replace Lamar unless he lives in the northern third of the state. We have districts.
Weill has managed to piss off a broad swath of the legal community. He is an asshole to lawyers in the courtroom, not really knowledgeable of the law, depending on a long time law clerk for a lot of help. He pissed off the civil defense bar by granting MANY Rule 56 Summary Judgments, thus cutting away many billable hours; that same practice pissed off what is left of the plaintiff bar. I don't know where he would get the money for a run unless the lawyers got together and decided he would be less of a nuisance with a one-third or one-ninth say in cases rather than continue as a trial judge. I have personal knowledge of his demeanor and knowledge as I have appeared before him many times.
Rumor is Weill will run against Justice Kitchens in the middle district. Lamar is completing her term, so Phil doesn't get to name her replacement.
I'm as conservative as it gets (not to be read as "loyal to the Republican party" though). I will tell you that it sure seems from my perch that Weill hates to have lawyers getting in his way of putting people in jail.
But, this post is about Lamar. She has done an admirable job on the bench, although a bit more prosecution-friendly than I'd like at times. Howeberr, she appears ro be intellectually honest about her positions, and that is a good thing.
As a lawyer on the defense side, I don't believe there's such a thing as lawyers mad their Rule 56 motions are granted because they don't get to go to trial. But granting SJ on weak grounds or in a bad op raises the chance of reversal on appeal & going to trial anyway, which is annoying.
8:02 civil defense attorneys are experts at churning files for billable hours, including frivolous SJ motions and supporting briefs. It was worse years ago before tort reform. Now there are far fewer cases, and civil defense lawyers, to abuse the system. Weill would promptly rule on the SJ motions before numerous depositions could be taken to find out where the deponent went to high school and other frivolous inquiries.
Sounds to me like Weill is doing a good job. Pisses off the liberals and lawyers by convicting criminals and sending them to jail. Pissing off lawyers by not letting them overbill their clients. Pissing off the public defenders for not doing their job. Sure would hate to lose such a judge off the Hinds Circuit Court.
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