State of Mississippi Judiciary

Justice Ann Lamar will not seek re-election to Supreme Court

January 15, 2016

Mississippi Supreme Court Justice Ann H. Lamar will not seek re-election to the court at the end of her term. She announced today that she plans to leave the court when her current term ends in December 2016.

Justice Lamar, 63, of Senatobia, was appointed to the Supreme Court on May 21, 2007, and was elected to an eight-year term in November 2008. She is the third woman to serve on the Mississippi Supreme Court.

“I have enjoyed it immensely. It has been an honor to serve on this Court. I have the greatest respect for the Court and the justices I have served alongside,” Justice Lamar said. “I have been on the Court since 2007 and I commute weekly from my home in north Mississippi. Ten years is a long time to be commuting and spending time away from home and family and grandchildren. After much prayer and thoughtful consideration, I know that it is time to leave the Court.”

Justice Lamar said, “I am making this announcement now in order to give potential candidates for the position time to make plans for a campaign.”

The next election for the 33-county District 3, Place 1 judgeship from north Mississippi will be in November 2016. The new term will begin in January 2017.

Justice Lamar’s public service career spans 32 years. She served for five and one-half years as a Circuit Court Judge in the 17th Circuit Court District, which encompasses Desoto, Tate, Panola, Yalobusha, and Tallahatchie counties. She served for two years as district attorney and nine years as an assistant district attorney. Before she enrolled in law school, she worked as a court reporter for two years and for four years as an administrative assistant in the Governor's Office of Education and Training.

Justice Lamar serves as chair of the Supreme Court Rules Committee on Criminal Practice and Procedure, which since 2012 has devoted extensive study to proposed Rules of Criminal Procedure. She serves on the Board of Governors of the Mississippi Judicial College. In 2008, Justice Lamar served as co-chair of the Commission for the Study of Domestic Abuse Proceedings. As a circuit judge, she served the Conference of Circuit Court Judges as chair in 2006-2007, vice-chair in 2005-2006, and treasurer for three years. She is a member and past president of the William C. Keady American Inns of Court. She is a former member of the Board of Directors of the Mississippi Prosecutor's Association.

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