Justice James Graves Headed to Fifth Circuit--Part 1 of My Take
On Thursday President Obama finally nominated Mississippi Supreme Court Justice James Graves to serve on the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. Here is the Clarion-Ledger's article. Here is Graves' bio on the Supreme Court's web site.
Graves has been the front runner since Judge Barksdale took senior status in the Fall. My prior posts on the vacancy are here, here, and here.
Justice Graves is very deserving and will do a fine job on the Fifth Circuit. He was a great Circuit Court judge who earned the respect of lawyers on the plaintiff and defense side. Watching hearings before Judge Graves was entertaining. He told many lawyers that they were winning based on their brief—but were losing the lead in oral argument. It was always interesting to see who had the sense to sit down and shut up. He had little tolerance for bad cases and unprepared attorneys.
Graves was also extremely effective and under rated in getting cases settled. He could scare both sides into settling. Judge Charles Pickering was the only judge that I have encountered who was as effective at pressuring the parties into settlement.
Some may disagree, but I view Justice Graves as a moderate in civil cases on the Mississippi Supreme Court. Sometimes he votes for the plaintiff, sometimes for the defense. I expect that to continue on the Fifth Circuit.
On Monday I will look to how Justice Graves' appointment may impact the dynamics on the Mississippi Supreme Court and speculate on possible appointments for the seat by Governor Barbour.
