Mississippi Litigation Review & Commentary : Mississippi Personal Injury Lawyer & Attorney : Phillip W. Thomas Law Firm : MS Litigation Review & Commentary

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Governor Barbour appointed Malcolm Harrison Circuit Court Judge for Hinds County today to fill the term of Judge Bobby DeLaughter. Harrison is currently the County Attorney for Hinds County. Here is Harrison's bio:

Hinds County Attorney, S. Malcolm O. Harrison is a native of Jackson, Mississippi and graduated with honors from Jackson State University in 1991. Attorney Harrison attended Cumberland School of Law, Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama graduating in 1994 with his Juris Doctor degree. Attorney Harrison was admitted to the Mississippi Bar, April of 1995. Attorney Harrison is licensed to practice law in all Courts in the State of Mississippi, including the Supreme Court of Mississippi as well as the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in Louisiana.

Attorney Harrison is a member of several legal associations including, the American Bar Association, Mississippi Bar Association, Magnolia Bar Association, Mississippi Trial Lawyers Association, and American Trial Lawyers Association.

Attorney Harrison is involved and holds many offices in civic organizations, including Leadership Jackson; City of Jackson, Mayor's Youth Initiative, NAACP; Salvation Army; Trustee Board Member, Farish Street Missionary Baptist Church; 7th District Scholarship Chairman; Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc.; T.C. Almore Lodge #242 F&AM; and Jackson State University, National Alumni Association.

On November 2,1999, Attorney Harrison was elected County Attorney for Hinds County Attorney for Hinds County, Mississippi. Attorney Harrison was the first African American elected County Attorney for Hinds County, Mississippi. Attorney Harrison also serves as the City Prosecuting Attorney for Bolton, Mississippi.

Attorney Harrison is married to the former Tammiko Walker and they have two sons, Khari and Kiland.

You can read my prior posts speculating about Harrison getting this seat here. I view this as a smart appointment by Barbour, who appears to be positioning himself for a possible presidential bid. He recently came under criticism for not appointing African-American judges, which I discussed here. Look for Barbour to appoint more black judges over the next couple of years in order to repair his image on this issue.

Harrison will probably have opposition in the next election, but he stands a good chance to retain the seat if he campaigns hard.

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According to Matt Eichelberger at Ipse Blogit , Rep. Phillip Gunn of Clinton will be appointed to fill Judge DeLaughter's unexpired term. This would be a smart choice by Governor Barbour. Gunn has a good reputation as a lawyer and politician. He would presumably get a ton of votes in the Clinton area when he has to run against a challenger.

It's my understanding the Malcolm Harrison is viewed by many to be the favorite to take the seat in an open election. A Gunn v. Harrison match-up would be an important race that attracts a lot of attention and money. Racial demographics in the district will be important. The plus side is that either of these two would probably make a fine circuit judge.

Meanwhile, there has been no announcement of who may run against presumptive favorite Ashley Ogden to fill Judge Yerger's seat when he steps down. Barbour will probably fill Yerger's position before an election with someone like Jeff Weill who the Republicans think has a chance to win an election. Ogden will be the favorite if he campaigns as aggressively has in his past campaign. Ogden's plans are unclear, however, and his Take Back Jackson web site appears to have expired. 

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A reader of this blog emailed me and suggested that Malcolm Harrison would be a strong candidate in a special election to fill Judge DeLaughter's seat should the position become open. Harrison is the current county prosecutor, has a solid reputation, lives in the Raymond area (seat of the 2nd judicial district), is African-American and has previously won two county-wide elections. These are strong credentials for the position.

Another suggested possibility to fill the seat was Jackson attorney Melvin Priester. It has been a number of years since any of the Hinds County Circuit Court Judge positions were vacant. A vacancy would no doubt cause a huge amount of political intrigue and jockeying.