United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi

The United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi (in case citations, S.D. Miss.) is a federal court in the Fifth Circuit with facilities in Gulfport, Hattiesburg, Natchez, and Jackson.

United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi
(S.D. Miss.)
Location	Jackson More locations Hattiesburg Gulfport United States Courthouse (Natchez)
Appeals to	Fifth Circuit
Established	June 18, 1838
Judges	6
Chief Judge	Halil Suleyman Ozerden
Officers of the court
U.S. Attorney	Patrick Lemon (acting)
U.S. Marshal	Mark B. Shepherd
www.mssd.uscourts.gov

Appeals from cases brought in the Southern District of Mississippi are taken to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are appealed to the Federal Circuit).

The United States attorney for the Southern District of Mississippi represents the United States in civil and criminal litigation in the court. As of January 18, 2025^[update] the Acting United States attorney is Patrick Lemon.^[1]

Counties under jurisdiction

• Adams
• Amite
• Claiborne
• Clarke
• Copiah
• Covington
• Forrest
• Franklin
• George
• Greene
• Hancock
• Harrison
• Hinds
• Holmes
• Issaquena
• Jackson
• Jasper
• Jefferson
• Jefferson Davis
• Jones
• Kemper
• Lamar
• Lauderdale
• Lawrence
• Leake
• Lincoln
• Madison
• Marion
• Neshoba
• Newton
• Noxubee
• Pearl River
• Perry
• Pike
• Rankin
• Scott
• Sharkey
• Simpson
• Smith
• Stone
• Walthall
• Warren
• Wayne
• Wilkinson
• Yazoo

Current judges

As of November 4, 2024^[update]:

#	Title	Judge	Duty station	Born	Term of service			Appointed by
					Active	Chief	Senior
19	Chief Judge	Halil Suleyman Ozerden	Gulfport	1966	2007–present	2024–present	—	G.W. Bush
12	District Judge	Henry Travillion Wingate	Jackson	1947	1985–present	2003–2010	—	Reagan
18	District Judge	Daniel P. Jordan III	Jackson	1964	2006–present	2017–2024	—	G.W. Bush
20	District Judge	Carlton W. Reeves	Jackson	1964	2010–present	—	—	Obama
21	District Judge	Kristi Haskins Johnson	Jackson	1980	2020–present	—	—	Trump
22	District Judge	Taylor B. McNeel	Gulfport	1983	2020–present	—	—	Trump
11	Senior Judge	Tom Stewart Lee	Jackson	1941	1984–2006	1996–2003	2006–present	Reagan
15	Senior Judge	David C. Bramlette	Natchez	1939	1991–2006	—	2006–present	G.H.W. Bush
16	Senior Judge	Louis Guirola Jr.	Gulfport	1951	2004–2018	2010–2017	2018–present	G.W. Bush
17	Senior Judge	Keith Starrett	Hattiesburg	1951	2004–2019	—	2019–present	G.W. Bush

Former judges

#	Judge	State	Born–died	Active service	Chief Judge	Senior status	Appointed by	Reason for termination
1	George Adams	MS	1784–1844	1838[Note 1][Note 2]	—	—	Jackson/Operation of law	resignation
2	Samuel J. Gholson	MS	1808–1883	1839–1861[Note 2]	—	—	Van Buren	resignation
3	Robert Andrews Hill	MS	1811–1900	1866–1891[Note 2]	—	—	A. Johnson	retirement
4	Henry Clay Niles	MS	1850–1918	1891–1918[Note 3][Note 2]	—	—	B. Harrison	death
5	Edwin R. Holmes	MS	1878–1961	1918–1936[Note 4]	—	—	Wilson	elevation to 5th Cir.
6	Sidney Carr Mize	MS	1888–1965	1937–1965	1961–1962	—	F. Roosevelt	death
7	William Harold Cox	MS	1901–1988	1961–1982	1962–1971	1982–1988	Kennedy	death
8	Dan Monroe Russell Jr.	MS	1913–2011	1965–1983	1971–1982	1983–2011	L. Johnson	death
9	Walter Nixon	MS	1928–present	1968–1989	1982–1989	—	L. Johnson	impeachment and conviction
10	William H. Barbour Jr.	MS	1941–2021	1983–2006	1989–1996	2006–2021	Reagan	death
13	Walter J. Gex III	MS	1939–2020	1986–2004	—	2004–2020	Reagan	death
14	Charles W. Pickering	MS	1937–present	1990–2004	—	—	G.H.W. Bush	elevation to 5th Cir.

1. Reassigned from the District of Mississippi.
2. Jointly appointed to the Northern and the Southern Districts of Mississippi.
3. Recess appointment; formally nominated on December 10, 1891, confirmed by the United States Senate on January 11, 1892, and received commission the same day.
4. From 1918 to 1929, Judge Holmes was jointly appointed to the Northern and the Southern Districts of Mississippi.

Chief judges

Chief judges have administrative responsibilities with respect to their district court. Unlike the Supreme Court, where one justice is specifically nominated to be chief, the office of chief judge rotates among the district court judges. To be chief, a judge must have been in active service on the court for at least one year, be under the age of 65, and have not previously served as chief judge.

A vacancy is filled by the judge highest in seniority among the group of qualified judges. The chief judge serves for a term of seven years, or until age 70, whichever occurs first. The age restrictions are waived if no members of the court would otherwise be qualified for the position.

When the office was created in 1948, the chief judge was the longest-serving judge who had not elected to retire, on what has since 1958 been known as senior status, or declined to serve as chief judge. After August 6, 1959, judges could not become or remain chief after turning 70 years old. The current rules have been in operation since October 1, 1982.

Succession of seats

Seat 1 Seat reassigned from District of Mississippi on June 18, 1838 by 5 Stat. 247 (concurrent with Southern District) Adams 1838 Gholson 1839–1861 Hill 1866–1891 Niles 1892–1918 Holmes 1918–1936 Seat reassigned solely to Southern District on March 1, 1929 by 45 Stat. 1422 Mize 1937–1965 Russell Jr. 1965–1983 Lee 1984–2006 Jordan III 2006–present

Seat 2 Seat established on May 19, 1961 by 75 Stat. 80 Cox 1961–1982 Barbour Jr. 1983–2006 Reeves 2010–present

Seat 3 Seat established on May 18, 1966 by 80 Stat. 75 Nixon Jr. 1968–1989 Pickering 1990–2004 Starrett 2004–2019 Johnson 2020–present

Seat 4 Seat established on July 10, 1984 by 98 Stat. 333 Wingate 1985–present

Seat 5 Seat established on July 10, 1984 by 98 Stat. 333 Gex III 1986–2004 Guirola Jr. 2004–2018 McNeel 2020–present

Seat 6 Seat established on December 1, 1990 by 104 Stat. 5089 Bramlette III 1991–2006 Ozerden 2007–present

See also

• Courts of Mississippi
• List of current United States district judges
• List of United States federal courthouses in Mississippi