State of Mississippi Judiciary

Legislature honors Supreme Court Presiding Justice Leslie King

March 7, 2024

The Mississippi Legislature honored Supreme Court Presiding Justice Leslie D. King of Greenville for his recent selection by the National Judicial College as one of its 60 Courageous Judges.

The Senate adopted Senate Concurrent Resolution 516 honoring Presiding Justice King on Feb. 12. The House approved the resolution on March 6.

The National Judicial College in Reno, Nevada, announced honorees on Dec. 7, 2023, stating, “We honor 60 judges, present and past, from courts in the United States and abroad, who have demonstrated courage in upholding the rule of law and providing justice for all.” Presiding Justice King was the only judge from Mississippi honored by the nation’s oldest education program for judges.

Senate Concurrent Resolution 516 said, in part, “We join the National Judicial College in recognizing Mississippi's longest-serving Appellate Judge and former member of the Mississippi House of Representatives Leslie King for his record of service to the legal profession and our system of justice.”

The Resolution noted Presiding Justice King’s response to the honor from the National Judicial College: “He recalled his oath from January 1995 when he became a judge. He stressed his commitment to impartial and equal justice, in line with the U.S. Constitution and Mississippi laws. He stated this his goal as a judge is to honor his oath.”

The Resolution also said, “It is with great pride that we commend an individual who has devoted himself to serving the public, the legal profession, and the administration of justice over the span of his professional career, contributing significantly to our system of justice and to the legal profession and to the State of Mississippi.”

The Resolution noted that Presiding Justice King has 29 years of appellate judicial services. He was one of the original members of the Mississippi Court of Appeals, taking the bench in January 1995 when the newly created court began hearing cases. He was the first African American to serve as Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals. He held the leadership position at the Court of Appeals for almost seven years. He was appointed to the Supreme Court on March 1, 2011, becoming the fourth African-American justice to serve on the state’s highest court.

Presiding Justice King previously served for 15 years in the Mississippi House of Representatives, from 1980 through 1994. He served as vice-chairman of the Ways and Means Committee and vice-chairman of the Conservation and Water Resources Committee. Other committees on which he served included Judiciary, Insurance, Environmental Protection Council, Housing Finance Oversight, and Universities and Colleges. He was chairman of the Mississippi Black Legislative Caucus in 1988.

He has practiced law for more than 50 years, having been admitted to the Mississippi Bar on May 8, 1973. He graduated from the University of Mississippi in 1970, and from the Texas Southern University School of Law in 1973.

The resolution was introduced by Senators Derrick T. Simmons, David Blount, Jenifer Branning, Hillman Frazier, Briggs Hopson, Walter Michel, Sollie Norwood and Mike Thompson.

Here is a link to the bill: https://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/documents/2024/html/SC/SC0516PS.htm.

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