Voters will decide the winners in two judicial race runoff elections Tuesday. Polls will be open from 7 a.m.-7 p.m.
The Dispatch sat down with candidates in both races — Mississippi Supreme Court District 3, Position 1, and Mississippi Court of Appeals District 3, Position 1, to compile a brief summary of each candidate on the ballot.
Mississippi Supreme Court
John Brady
Brady is a Columbus-based attorney with the Mitchell, McNutt and Sams law firm who has defended businesses and government organizations from lawsuits for more than 20 years. Placing second in the general election with about 29 percent of the vote, Brady said his main concern with campaigning between the Nov. 8 election and Tuesday’s runoff is reminding his supporters to return to the polls.
“Initially our goal was to get my name out there as much as possible so when people went out to vote, they would know a little bit about me and be able to make an informed decision,” he said. “Now that we are in the runoff, and it’s me and one other opponent and my name is out there, the key is to get people to the polls. We don’t have the presidential election driving people to the polls.”
He said his years of legal experience making persuasive arguments qualify him for the post, despite the fact he’s never run for office or been a judge. Circuit judges have a different role than Supreme Court justice, he said. Trial court judges make sure the law is being upheld in a court room and don’t necessarily talk with others about their opinions. Justices, on the other hand, have to persuade each other of their opinions, which is what he has done for 22 years as an attorney.
“I think we need conservative Christians on the court that will fairly apply the law to the facts and not legislate from the bench,” he said.
Bobby Chamberlin
Chamberlin is a former state senator and now sits on the 17th Circuit Court District bench. He received about 31 percent of the vote on Nov. 8, and like Brady, is hoping to get his voters to go back to the polls on Tuesday’s runoff.
“The people who have confidence in my position…have to come back for me to be successful,” he said.
He’s focusing primarily on his home area of Hernando, along with Lee, Monroe and Lowndes counties where he wants to perform better in the runoff.
“(Voters) should be looking for candidates that are going to go to Jackson and apply the law to the facts of the case and not try to make the law,” he said. “I believe what they should look to…is my experience over the last 12 years on the court bench doing that day-in and day-out.”
That’s what the Supreme Court is meant to do, he said. If voters don’t come out to elect a new justice, he added, they miss out on an opportunity to pick a candidate who will make those decisions.
“We have nine (Supreme Court) justices,” he said. “They make very important decisions about very serious issues every day. I think it’s important for the people to make sure they have good justices on the court.”
Mississippi Court of Appeals
Jack Wilson-incumbent
Wilson was appointed by Governor Phil Bryant to the Mississippi Court of Appeals more than 18 months ago. Since then, he said he has written more than 90 opinions, one of the highest among Court of Appeals justices.
With more than 49 percent of the vote, Wilson placed first on Nov. 8 among the original three-candidate field but fell just short of the votes needed to avoid a runoff. He said he’s been campaigning hard over the past three weeks to maintain his supporters.
“That’s always kind of the concern with the runoff and particularly when the first ballot is with the presidential election,” he said.
When campaigning, Wilson tells voters about the importance of the Court of Appeals, a court not as many people know about.
The court handles criminal, civil and chancery court appeals.
“On the Court of Appeals we decide about 500 or so cases a year on average,” he said. “Sometimes it’s a little bit more than that. Whereas the Supreme Court decides maybe 150 or 175. And of the 500 cases we decide a year, you can appeal further to the Supreme Court, but the Supreme Court only agrees to hear about 50 of those. …So for the vast majority of cases in the state, the Court of Appeals is the final court that hears the appeals.”
Ed Hannan
Hannan has 19 years of judicial experience and serves a senior county court judge for Madison County as well as special circuit judge for Felony Drug Court in Madison and Rankin counties.
Hannan received about 25 percent of the vote and has been campaigning all over his district since the Nov. 8 election without necessarily focusing on one particular area or county.
“I got 19 counties (in the district) and every vote counts,” he said.
He’s been reaching out online and in person — “talking to every voter I can,” he said.
When voting for judicial candidates, voters should look first and foremost for trial judge experience, Hannan said.
“The Court of Appeals is primarily an error correction court,” he said. “It reviews the work of the trial courts to determine whether or not they committed an error. Right now, there are no former circuit or county court judges on the Court of Appeals. These are the judges who try jury cases, criminal and circuit. I firmly believe we need that type of experience on the Court of Appeals.”
With 19 years of experience working on six different types of courts and “thousands and thousands of cases,” he said he is the only candidate with the necessary qualifications.
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