Michael K. Randolph

American judge (born 1946)
Michael Randolph
Chief Justice of the Mississippi Supreme Court
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 31, 2019
Preceded byBill Waller Jr.
Justice of the Mississippi Supreme Court
Incumbent
Assumed office
April 23, 2004
Appointed byHaley Barbour
Preceded byEdwin L. Pittman
Personal details
Born1946 (age 77–78)
Dayton, Ohio
Political partyRepublican
SpouseKathy Webb
EducationRollins College (BA)
University of Mississippi,
Oxford (JD)

Michael K. Randolph (born 1946) is the chief justice of the Supreme Court of Mississippi, serving in the position since 2019. Before that, he was appointed to the Supreme Court in 2004. He represents District 2 Place 3.

Early years

Born in 1946, Randolph is a native of Dayton, Ohio.[1][2] He is the son of a construction worker who had a third-grade education.[3]

He served as an air traffic controller during the Vietnam War with the U.S. Army 1st Infantry Division and was honorably discharged in 1967.[2]

He attended Ohio State University before graduating from Rollins College with a bachelor of science in business administration in 1972; two years later, he earned a Juris Doctor from the University of Mississippi School of Law.[2][4] While in law school, he joined the U.S. Naval Reserve, graduated from the Naval Justice School, and serving as an attorney with the Judge Advocate General Corps. He was honorably discharged in 1975.[2]

Career

From 1975 until 2004, Randolph practiced law in Biloxi, Mississippi and Hattiesburg, Mississippi, working for several firms before starting his own practice with two others.[2]

On April 23, 2004, Gov. Haley Barbour appointed Randolph to the Mississippi Supreme Court to serve the unexpired term of former Chief Justice Edwin L. Pittman.[5] In November 2004, Randolph was elected to the Supreme Court for an eight-year term that began January 1, 2005. He was reelected in 2012 and 2020.[2] He became a Presiding Justice of the Supreme Court on January 1, 2013. He became Chief Justice on February 1, 2019.[2]

President Ronald Reagan appointed Randolph to serve on the National Coal Council. Randolph has also served on the board of directors for William Carey College, and was past president of the South Central Mississippi Bar Association.[2] He is the former chairman of the Forrest County Republican Executive Committee.[4]

Personal life

Randolph is married to Kathy Webb Randolph. He has three children and five grandchildren. He is a member of Temple Baptist Church.[2]

References

  1. ^ Elliott, Jr., Jack (April 24, 2004). "Randolph sworn in as state Supreme Court justice". The Vicksburg Post. Associated Press. p. 3.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Supreme Court Justices - Michael K. Randolph". State of Mississippi Judiciary. Retrieved April 18, 2024.
  3. ^ "Campaign Update - Justice Michael K. and Kathy Randolph". University of Mississippi School of Law. 2007. Archived from the original on June 4, 2010.
  4. ^ a b Walters, Kevin (April 24, 2004). "Randolph joins justices on high court". Hattiesburg-American. p. 1.
  5. ^ "Governor's Remarks: Michael K. Randolph Appointed to the Supreme Court". governorbarbour.com. April 23, 2004. Archived from the original on December 27, 2008. Retrieved February 10, 2009.
Legal offices
Preceded by Justice of the Mississippi Supreme Court
2004–present 		Incumbent
Preceded by Chief Justice of Mississippi Supreme Court
2019–present
  • v
  • t
  • e
Chief justices of state and insular area supreme courts
Tom Parker
Michael K. Randolph
Federal districts:
Territories:
Michael Kruse
Robert Torres
Alexandro Castro
Rhys Hodge
Italics indicate appointed supreme courts
1. Chief Justice elected biennially by the court from among its members
2. Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals, Presiding Judge Scott Rowland
3. Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, Presiding Judge Sharon Keller
  • v
  • t
  • e
Supreme Judges of Mississippi (1818–1832)
Seal of the Judiciary of Mississippi
Seal of the Judiciary of Mississippi
High Court of Errors and Appeals of Mississippi (1832-1870)
Supreme Court of Mississippi (since 1870)
  • v
  • t
  • e
Statewide political officials of Mississippi
U.S. senators
State government
Senate
House
Supreme Court