Administrative Office of Courts
Former Coahoma County Court Judge Joe Webster died Jan. 16 Former Coahoma County Court Judge Joe Webster, 65, of Clarksdale died Wednesday, Jan. 16, at Northwest Mississippi Regional Medical Center from injuries sustained in an automobile accident on Highway 322 in Clarksdale. Funeral services are scheduled for 11 a.m. Friday, Jan. 18, at St. Pauls United Methodist Church in Clarksdale. Visitation will begin at 10 a.m. at the church. Burial will be in the Oakridge Cemetery. Meredith-Nowell Funeral Home in Clarksdale is handling the arrangements. Judge Webster served as a Coahoma County Court and Youth Court Judge for 20 years. He was elected in 1982 and served through December 2002. He continued to preside over cases as a Senior Status Judge by appointment of the Mississippi Supreme Court. Judge Webster handled 15 cases by appointment of the Supreme Court in 2012. Mississippi Supreme Court Chief Justice Bill Waller Jr. said, “He is one of the outstanding trial judges who has served in the state since retirement. He has offered his services selflessly to assist the court in the fair and efficient administration of justice. His decisions are always sound and based on correct analysis of the law and application to the facts. He will be missed by all of the judiciary and the citizens of the state.” The Supreme Court may appoint a special judge to hear cases in which trial court judges recuse themselves. About 40 retired judges serve as senior status judges. The Supreme Court made 501 special judge appointments in 2012. Judge Webster graduated from Clarksdale-Coahoma County High School. He was a graduate of the University of Mississippi and the University of Mississippi School of Law. He was admitted to the bar in 1972, and engaged in private law practice in Clarksdale for 10 years before he was elected to the bench. He was a member of the Mississippi Bar and Coahoma County Bar Association. He was a member of St. Pauls United Methodist Church. #### |
