Administrative Office of Courts
Justice Graves, Judge Barnes inducted as Fellows of Mississippi Bar Foundation Mississippi Supreme Court Justice James E. Graves Jr. of Jackson and Court of Appeals Judge Donna M. Barnes of Tupelo were among 15 lawyers inducted Thursday, April 12, as Fellows of the Mississippi Bar Foundation. Being named a Fellow of the Mississippi Bar Foundation is the highest honor given by the Foundation, said President-Elect H. Hunter Twiford III of Jackson. Only 10 percent of the state’s lawyers are eligible to be named as Fellows, Twiford said at a dinner ceremony at the Old Capitol Inn in Jackson. “It is a recognition by your peers of the highest professionalism, civility, ethics and legal ability,” Twiford said. Others inducted as Fellows Thursday include Martha J. Bergmark, Jackson; Robert A. Byrd, Biloxi; David W. Clark, Jackson; G. Gerald Cruthird, Picayune; Edward J. Currie, Jr., Jackson; Barney E. Eaton, III, Oxford; G. Hugh Gibson, Eupora; John C. Henegan, Jackson; F. Ewin Henson, III, Greenwood; Robert C. Latham, Natchez; Selene D. Maddox, Tupelo; David O. McCormick, Pascagoula; and Carey R. Varnado, Hattiesburg. Justice Graves was appointed to the Mississippi Supreme Court in November 2001, and was elected in November 2004. He previously served for 10 years as a circuit court judge for the 7th Circuit District. Justice Graves received a B.A. degree in sociology from Millsaps College. He received his law degree from Syracuse University College of Law. He also holds a Master of Public Administration degree from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University. He worked as a staff attorney at Central Mississippi Legal Services and as a special assistant attorney general. He headed the Human Services Division of the attorney general's office, where he served as chief legal counsel to the Mississippi Department of Human Services. He later was director of the Division of Child Support Enforcement of the Mississippi Department of Human Services. Judge Graves is chair of the Mississippi Public Defender Task Force and is a member of the Mississippi Access to Justice Commission. Judge Barnes was appointed to the Court of Appeals in 2004, and elected in 2006. Judge Barnes earned her B.A. and law degrees from the University of Mississippi. For more than 18 years, she practiced law in Tupelo. She took sabbatical to study at the University of Cambridge, where she earned her Master of Law in 1997. She currently serves on the Mississippi Access to Justice Commission, the Judicial Advisory Study Committee, and the Criminal Code Revision Consulting Group. #### |
