State of Mississippi Judiciary

Justice Ishee sworn in to begin new term on Supreme Court

January 7, 2020

Justice David M. Ishee of Gulfport took the oath of office Jan. 6 to begin a new term on the Mississippi Supreme Court.

Chief Justice Mike Randolph administered the oath in his Jackson office at the Supreme Court.

Justice Ishee was elected without opposition 14 months ago, on Nov. 6, 2018. The new eight-year term began Jan. 6. His seat on the Supreme Court in District 2, Position 1, has by statute a 14-month delay between the election and the beginning of the eight-year term.

Justice Ishee has served on the Supreme Court since Sept. 18, 2017. Gov. Phil Bryant appointed him to a vacancy on the court.

He previously served for 13 years on the Mississippi Court of Appeals, having first been appointed in September 2004 by Gov. Haley Barbour.

Justice Ishee was born in Gulfport in 1963. He graduated from the University of Southern Mississippi in 1985 with a Bachelor of Science Degree in History. He also attended the University of London and received his Juris Doctor from the University of Mississippi School of Law.

He entered private law practice with his late father-in-law, Elmo Lang of Pascagoula. He practiced law for almost 14 years in the firm of Lang and Ishee.

In 1993, at the age of 29, he was appointed Municipal Court Judge for the City of Pascagoula. He was re-appointed for a second term in 1996. During this time, he also served one year as interim Municipal Court Judge for the City of Ocean Springs, and was Judge Pro Tem for the Jackson County Youth Court, where he presided over numerous child custody hearings as well as hearings involving abused and delinquent children. He was appointed Municipal Court Judge for the City of Gulfport in October 1999.

He joined the law firm of Franke, Rainey and Salloum, PLLC, in 2002, where he represented local hospitals in medical malpractice cases and numerous businesses in general insurance defense.

Justice Ishee is admitted to and has extensively practiced in all federal and state courts in the state of Mississippi, and is admitted to practice in the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. He served as president of the Jackson County Young Lawyers Division, and secretary, vice-president and president of the Jackson County Bar Association. In addition to his participation on numerous committees of the Mississippi Bar, he was appointed as president of its Historical Preservation Committee.

He was appointed by the Chief Justice of the Mississippi Supreme Court to chair the Criminal Section of the Model Jury Instructions Revision Committee, which revised the Criminal Model Jury Instructions for the Circuit Courts of Mississippi. He has also served as a special Circuit Court Judge and Chancellor in numerous counties by appointment of the Mississippi Supreme Court.

Justice Ishee has served as President of the Southern Mississippi Law Constituent Society since 2010 and is a member of the Law Alumni Board of Directors for the University of Mississippi School of Law. He was inducted into the University of Southern Mississippi Alumni Hall of Fame in 2014, and as a Fellow of the Mississippi Bar in 2016.

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