Tag Archives: chancellor

Child Custody, Divorce, General Legal

Judicial Election Winners & Run-off(s)

11/08/2018 BowTieLawyer Leave a comment

HINDS COUNTY

Chancery Judges Unopposed

Dewayne Thomas

Denise Owens

Winner

Crystal Wise Martin defeating Reginald Harrion

Runoff

Tiffany Grove vs. Monique Brown-Barrett

RANKIN COUNTY

Chancery Judges Unopposed

John C. McLaurin, Jr.

Haydn J. Roberts

Runoff

Mel Coxwell vs. Troy Odom

CHANCERY CT. DIST 14 Place 1 (Starkville, Columbus, et. al.)

Runoff

Lee Ann Turner vs. Rodney Faver

Runoff

CARRIE JOURDAN vs. JOE STUDDARD

CHANCERY CT. DIST 14 PLACE 3 –

Winner

PAULA DRUNGOLE-ELLIS

LAUDERDALE COUNTY, et. al.

Winners

Charles E. “Charlie” Smith Chancery 21-2

Judge Larry Primeaux. Unopposed.

LEFLORE COUNTY (includes additional Delta counties)

Runoff

Katherine Tackett Mills vs. Willie J. Perkins, Sr.

SIMPSON COUNTY

Winner

David Shoemake

THE COAST Chancery Court Judge 8, 3

Runoff

Margaret Alfonso vs. Sanford R. (Sandy) Steckler

This race is exciting because of the candidates. Judge Steckler is the incumbent.Judge Alfonso is a former Chancellor who left Chancery for Youth Court (County Court) and is now running.This makes a very recent former Chancellor against a current Chancellor and they actually served together.

Chancery Court District 16 Place 2, SW Coastal Counties

Runoff

Tanya Hasbrouck vs. Ashlee Trehern.

Harrison County Court/Youth Court

Runoff

Mike Dickinson vs. Anna Ward Sukmann

District 6: Attala, Carroll, Choctaw, Kemper, Neshoba, Winston

Winner

Kiley Kirk

…more to come.

Divorce, General Legal

The Rain is Coming…Go VOTE

10/31/2018 BowTieLawyer Leave a comment

We’re about to get drenched. No, not for Halloween trick-or-treating, as the weather predictors have moved the rain coming in to late this evening and tomorrow. But, with an election on Tuesday, Nov. 6, the onslaught of adds, information, misinformation, and rhetoric.

There are numerous interesting campaigns throughout the state.

Hinds County Chancery Court (aka Family Court) has 2 contested elections.

Chancery Court Judge Sub 5-2

Patricia Wise – Current Chancellor – is retiring.

The candidates are;

Reginald Harrion

Born in Jackson, Mississippi, at the former Hinds General Hospital, Reginald Harrion is an attorney proudly residing in Jackson, Mississippi. He has active licenses to practice law in Arizona, Georgia, and Mississippi, as well as multiple federal district and bankruptcy courts. He is presently employed as the “Chancery Attorney” at Richard Schwartz & Associates, P.A., and is charged with handling minors’ settlements, estates, conservatorships, and guardianships. His work has afforded him the benefit of entering appearances in all 20 Chancery Court districts in the State of Mississippi.

Reginald is a former Specially Appointed Judge for the Hinds County Chancery Court. He served as a Special Master to hear civil commitment cases and recommend courses of action and services for persons needing inpatient and outpatient mental treatment. He also served as a Family Master to hear cases and recommended judgments establishing, modifying, and enforcing paternity and child support actions filed by the Mississippi Department of Human Services.

Hinds Chancery Judge Race

03/05/2018 BowTieLawyer 1 Comment

Hinds County has four full-time Family Law Judges. The qualifying deadline is May for those persons seeking to become the next Chancellor. Qualifiers, so far, include;

Dewayne Thomas Chancery Court Judge 5 Sub 5-1

Judge Thomas is a shoe-in to win. Not only because he is unopposed currently, though that helps, but also because he has a reputation for fair rulings, a good judicial temperament and willingness to listen.

Subdistrict 2 is the race to watch right now.(primarily because it is the only contested race).

Patricia Wise Chancery Court Judge 5 Sub 5-2

Judge Wise is the incumbent. She has served as a Chancellor since being elected in 1989. Judge Wise has reputation for being tough and insisting that attorneys and litigants respect the Court and follow the required procedures. The rumor was Judge Wise considered retirement, but she has qualified and is seeking another four years.

Reginald Harrion Chancery Court Judge 5 Sub 5-2

Reginald Harrion is challenging Judge Wise for the District 2 seat. Harrion, an associate with Schwartz & Associates, P.A., is admitted to practice in Mississippi, Arizona and Georgia. He has been practicing for nearly 20 years.

Denise Owens Chancery Court Judge 5 Sub 5-3

Judge Owens is the Senior Chancellor, meaning she has been the longest-serving Chancellor of the current Judges. Rumors swirled about Judge Owens possibly retiring as well. However, Judge Owens qualified to run again. Judge Owens has a good reputation and is known for thoughtful, fair rulings.

Steven P. Nixon Chancery Court Judge 5 Sub 5-4

Subdistrict 4 will be lead by a new Chancellor in 2019, with the retirement of Judge Singletary. So far, only one candidate has qualified for this seat, Steven Nixon. Nixon has been in private practice since 2004 and has also served as Municipal Court Judge in Clinton. Nixon has a good reputation as an attorney and will make a good jurist.

The rumor-mill has at least another attorney qualifying for this seat, but has not as of the time of this posting.

Matthew Thompson is a Family Law Attorney in Mississippi and limits his practice to almost exclusively Chancery Court in the State.

Child Custody, Child Support, Divorce, Visitation

14th District Chancery Race is On! Starkville, Columbus, Houston, Okolona and more…

02/15/2018 BowTieLawyer Leave a comment

The State of Mississippi is divided into twenty Chancery Court districts. The Fourteenth Chancery Court District includes Chickasaw, Clay, Lowndes, Noxubee, Oktibbeha and Webster Counties.

There are three chancellors for the 14th district and all of them are retiring. Today’s post is about the Honorable Kenneth Burns‘ position. Judge Burns, first elected in 2003, has set a high standard for the future Judge to follow in his robe, er…footsteps.

So far, five candidates have qualified, guaranteeing a runoff.

Elizabeth Fox Ausbern

This candidate has been practicing law since 1993, the majority of which has been devoted to the area of chancery law. Her office is in Houston, MS.

“In my personal life, I have been faced with divorce and now the death of someone I love dearly. I know my personal experiences will equip me to empathize with those individuals before the court.“

The voting area will encompass Chickasaw and Webster counties and the precincts of South Adaton, South Longview, South Starkville, West Starkville, Sturgis/North Bradley, Self Creek:Double Springs, Center Gove/ North and Craig Springs/ South of Oktibbeha County.

Gene Barton

Barton, practicing for over 40 years, is from Okolona, MS. He has a general practice and approximately half of which is family law related.

Todd Bennett

Practicing since 2007, Bennett handles domestic and real estate cases in Houston, MS and the surrounding area. These are matters heard in Chancery Court.

“On January 5th, I qualified with the MS Secretary of State’s office to be a candidate for Chancery Judge 14th District, Place 1… Since my practice started in 2007, I have almost exclusively practiced in the areas covered by the Chancery Court… I only ask three things of those who read this. First, pray for me as I embark on this new adventure, no matter the results. Second, please share this post with your family and friends, especially those that will vote for Place 1. Third, please consider voting on November 6th for me to be your next Chancery Judge 14th District, Place 1.“

Rodney Faver

“Faver is a partner in the law firm of Ward, Rogers & Faver, PLLC located in… Starkville, Mississippi. His firm provides a broad range of services to clients… with a special emphasis in Litigation, Criminal Defense, Personal Injury and Divorce cases.

Rodney P. Faver has over 27 years of trial experience in both Mississippi and Florida. Mr. Faver has dedicated his diverse legal career to the pursuit of justice for the people he represents, and is dedicated to the highest standards of excellence and integrity.“

Lee Ann Turner

“Turner devotes most of her practice to family law and other chancery court matters at The Winfield Law Firm, P.A., in Starkville, MS. Since 2009 she has been appointed as a Special Master for commitments and Youth Court Referee for Oktibbeha County, served on dozens of cases as a Guardian Ad Litem to protect children’s interests in Chancery Court matters, is the Starkville School District’s Student Disciplinary Hearing Officer, and serves on the Board of Directors for Safe Haven, a domestic violence shelter located in Columbus. Lee Ann is frequently asked to speak at continuing legal education seminars (CLE’s) and most recently gave a presentation on ethics at the Mississippi Judicial College’s Youth Court Judges’ Fall 2017 training seminar. Lee Ann was also selected as one of Mississippi’s 50 Leading Business Women for the class of 2009 by the Mississippi Business Journal.“

J.D. in 1996 from the University of Alabama School of Law, Editor-in-Chief of the Law and Psychology Review, a member of the Bench and Bar Legal Honor Society, Phi Delta Phi, and Managing Editor of the Law School newspaper.

“Before entering private practice in 2003, Lee Ann spent nearly 6 years as the Staff Attorney for the 14^th District Chancery Court of the State of Mississippi, working for Chancellors Dorothy W. Colom, Kenneth M. Burns, Robert L. Lancaster, James S. Gore, and Woodrow W. Brand.“

The Candidate bios are piecemealed together by me. Information regarding the candidates was not always easily ascertainable. I provided links to their FaceBook pages, personal firm pages or the source of the information quoted above.

Matthew Thompson is a Chancery Court practitioner and will continue to update the Chancery judge races throughout this campaign season.

Child Custody, Divorce, General Legal

Rankin Chancery Judicial Election

05/16/2016 BowTieLawyer Leave a comment

Again?!? It seems there is a Judicial race every year. Normally, this is not the case, but the legislature saw fit to create new judicial positions and with the untimely passing of a sitting Chancellor, another election is around the corner.

court-icons-10048215 — I’m not sure why a graduation cap is in this graphic.

Rankin County Mississippi will host a contested Chancery Judge election this fall. Contested in the nicest sense of the word!

Running as the incumbent is John McLaurin.

John McLaurin was selected by Governor Bryant to fill the vacancy left by Judge Dan Fairly’s passing. Judge McLaurin served as the Family Master for Rankin County since 2007, hearing the exact type of cases he now hears as a full-time Chancellor.

Judge McLaurin “has extensive legal experience with heavy emphasis in the chancery court system. He is a lifelong resident of Rankin County…” said Bryant.

McLaurin holds a bachelors degree from Vanderbilt University and graduated from the University of Mississippi School of Law. Prior to taking the bench, he practiced law at McLaurin & McLaurin since 1976.

McLaurin is a lifelong member of Brandon First United Methodist Church. He and his wife, the late Carol Noel McLaurin, were married for 33 years. They have two adult children and two granddaughters. http://www.governorbryant.com/gov-bryant-appoints-john-mclaurin-jr-as-rankin-county-chancery-judge/

* As a point of interest, McLaurin is the great-great nephew of the former Governor of Mississippi, and U.S. Senator, Anselm McLaurin, and is related to the late Robin Williams.

Running as the challenger is James “Jim” Nix.

Jim has practiced law for over 35 years and same was devoted almost exclusively to matters which are within the substantive jurisdiction of the Chancery Court.

Attorney at Jones and Nix , PLLC

October 1987 to present
Jim attended Cumberland School of Law

Past: University of Montevallo

You may remember attorney Nix from the last contested Rankin County Chancery race.

Neither candidate has really cranked up their political machines. However, this will be the most civil and professional contested race, ever, in Mississippi.

Matthew Thompson is a Mississippi Family Law Attorney and wishes both candidates could win.

Follow the blog: BowTieLawyer Visit the website: Thompson Law Firm You may also contact Matthew with your family law case, question or concern at (601) 850-8000 or Matthew@bowtielawyer.ms

Child Custody, Child Support, Divorce, General Legal, Irreconcilable differences, Marriage, Opinion, Property Division, Visitation

New Judges are Coming… 11th, 20th, & 4th Districts; The Scoop on the Candidates.

04/27/2015 BowTieLawyer 2 Comments

Family Law is not necessarily full of exciting news. Sure, we have juicy stories of debauchery, but that has occurred since man became upright…

Illustration by Barbara Kelley

But, getting 3 new Judge positions is exciting!

Governor Bryant signed into law a bill that creates 3 new judges to hear divorce, custody, child support, paternity, will, estate and land matters, among other limited areas of the law.

These 3 new judges will be over districts that have been in much demand for another Judge.

District 11 is getting a 3rd Judge. District 11 covers Madison, Leake, Holmes and Yazoo counties. The Current Judges are Cynthia Brewer and Robert Clark, III.

The candidate for this seat is James Walker (click for website). Walker is the current Family Master for the District, hearing Emergencies,Temporary Hearings and the types of matters the current Chancellors hear. Walker is the former staff attorney for Judge Cynthia Brewer and former staff attorney for DHS. Walker is the definite front-runner (FB).

District 20 covers Rankin County and will likewise be getting a 3rd Judge. The current Judge is John Grant. There is a vacancy for the 2nd Chancellor due to the untimely passing of Judge Dan Fairly– which will be filled, most likely, by appointment and special election.

Craig Slay is the only candidate that has qualified for the new position, but the rumor mill has at least 4 other candidates in the mix. Slay is the Board Attorney for the Rankin County Board of Supervisors and has practiced law for nearly 20 years. At the time of this post Slay’s social media presence was not readily apparent.

Prentiss Grant is one of those candidates. He has announced publicly to be in the running for Rankin Chancery Judge, though not listed yet on the Secretary of State’s website. P. Grant has practiced for over 25 years and handled many Chancery Court cases, among criminal and personal injury areas of practice as well.

This will be an exciting race to watch!

District 4 covers Amite, Franklin, Pike and Walthall counties and will be getting a much needed second Chancellor.

Conrad Mord is the only candidate to toss his hat in the ring so far. Mord has practiced in the district for 40 years and currently serves as the Youth Court Referee, a.k.a. Youth Court Judge. The current lone Chancellor is Debbra Halford.

Stay tuned for all of your Family Law Judge news. This election coverage will be updated as more candidates qualify, though not so much coverage as to be soul-crushing to the casual reader!

Matthew Thompson is a family law attorney and is interested in the election process and the candidates that will decide critical issues for Families in Mississippi.

Follow the blog: BowTieLawyer Visit the website: Thompson Law Firm

You may also contact Matthew with your family law case, question or concern at

(601) 850-8000 or Matthew@bowtielawyer.ms.

black bow

Divorce

New Judges are Coming!

03/30/2015 BowTieLawyer Leave a comment

New State Judicial Districting will result in more Judges.

Divorce Courts will have new chancery judges be added in the 11^th Chancery District composed of Holmes, Leake, Madison and Yazoo counties; the 20^th Chancery District composed of Rankin County, and in the 4^th Chancery District composed of Amite, Franklin, Pike and Walthall counties.

This will be a much welcomed relief for Madison and Rankin Counties. A new Circuit Court Judge positions has also been provided for Madison and Rankin.

Over $900,000 in the State budget for 2016 salary and benefits of the new judges and staff was included. The new judges only will run this year in the November general election. June 1 will be the qualifying deadline for the new judges. Judges run in nonpartisan elections. The new judges will take office in January.

Matthew Thompson is a Family Law Attorney and represents clients in Chancery Courts throughout Mississippi and believes these new Judges will help to ease the crowded dockets in these counties.

Follow the blog:#BowTieLawyer Visit the website: #Thompson Law Firm You may also contact Matthew with your family law matter or question at (601) 850-8000 or Matthew@bowtielawyer.ms

Child Custody, Child Support, Divorce, General Legal, Marriage

Here Comes the Judge; Election Results

11/05/2014 BowTieLawyer Leave a comment

Mississippians elected some new Judges and re-hired some familiar ones. Of the contested elections here’s what we have so far.

Winners in Bold.

Chancery Court, District 11, Place 1 (Madison, Yazoo and Holmes)

This is a new Judge as Judge Goree is retiring.

Barbara Ann Bluntson 4384 46%
Robert G. Clark III 5148 54%

Chancery Court, District 8, Place 2 (The Coast)

C. Stephen Benvenutti 14,442 34%
Jennifer Schloegel (I) 28,577 66%

Chancery Court, District 8, Place 3 (The Coast)

Ronnie Cochran 17,089 45%
Sanford R. Steckler (I) 21,222 55%

Chancery Court, District 13, Place 1 (Covington, Jefferson Davis, Lawrence, Simpson & Smith)

This race was interesting as the incumbent, Shoemake, ran and won against Buffington in the last election – who was the Judge prior to Shoemake. Buffington sought to be re-hired, Shoemake held the seat.

David Shoemake (I) 12,103 55%
J. Larry Buffington 9,779 45%

Chancery Court, District 13, Place 2 (Covington, Jefferson Davis, Lawrence, Simpson & Smith)

Heading for a run-off between Martin and Burnham. This seat was vacated by Joe Dale Walker for Judicial misconduct.

Deborah Kennedy 5,376 26%
Gerald M. Martin 8,503 41%
Mary K. Burnham 6,645 32%

Chancery Court, District 16, Place 1 (The Coast)

Too close to call and are still counting affidavit ballots.

D. Neil Harris 17,222 50%
Paula S. Yancey 17,186 50%

Chancery Court, District 16, Place 3 (The Coast)

Fondren will be a new Chancery Judge and this race was interesting as the outgoing Judge, Chuck Bordis, withdrew from the race. There was gossip of soap opera issues between Bordis and Fondren. Interestingly, its exactly the type of matters Chancery Judge’s hear. Nothing better than real-life experience for preparation for the job.