Administrative Office of Courts
Swearing in ceremony for Hinds County judges is Jan. 5 Newly elected Hinds County Court Judge LaRita Cooper-Stokes and 10 incumbent Hinds County judges will take the oath of office on Jan. 5. The ceremony will begin at 9 a.m. in Courtroom No. 1 of the Hinds County Courthouse in Jackson. The ceremony is open to the public. Incumbent judges will be sworn in first. Supreme Court Chief Justice Bill Waller Jr. will administer the oath of office to Chancellors Denise Owens, Patricia Wise, William Singletary and Dewayne Thomas. Supreme Court Justice Jim Kitchens will administer the oath of office to Circuit Judges Tomie Green, Winston Kidd, William Gowan and Jeff Weill Sr. Chancery Judge Owens will administer the oath of office to incumbent County Court Judges William Skinner and Melvin Priester. Judge Weill will swear in court reporters. Judge Owens will give the oath of office to Judge-elect Cooper-Stokes. Judge-elect Cooper-Stokes previously served as a councilwoman for the city of Jackson’s Ward 3, a position she held since July 2012. She was elected to the Council position previously held by her husband, Kenneth Stokes, who was elected to the Hinds County Board of Supervisors. Judge-elect Cooper-Stokes worked as a staff attorney for the Department of Human Services 1990 to 1996. She is a graduate of Lanier High School, Jackson State University and the Thurgood Marshall School of Law at Texas Southern University. She was admitted to the Mississippi Bar in September 1985. Circuit, Chancery and County Court judges serve four-year terms. #### |
