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Mississippi Today

Jimmy Robertson’s death conjures memories of landmark 1992 race

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1 year ago

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Even his detractors would recognize James Robertson, who died earlier this month, as one of the brightest individuals to have served on the Mississippi Supreme Court.

Robertson, a Harvard educated attorney, University of Mississippi Law School professor and former editor of the Ole Miss student newspaper, was appointed to the state’s highest court in 1983 by then-Gov. William Winter to fill a vacancy. He was defeated in 1992 after twice winning election to the Supreme Court.

Robertson’s tenure on the court and his election loss in 1992 are noteworthy.

In 1992, James Lawton Robertson, known as Jimmy, was challenged by James L. Roberts Jr., also known as Jimmy. At the very least, the election was unique because of the confusion it caused voters.

But it was noteworthy for more than the similarity of the candidates’ names.

Before 1992, most Supreme Court races were low profile. Occasionally there were hotly contested elections for open seats, but often candidates ran unopposed. And it was especially unusual for an incumbent like Robertson to face serious opposition and even more unusual for an incumbent to lose.

Before Robertson lost in 1992, three incumbents on the nine-member Supreme Court dating back to 1948 were defeated, according to research by Leslie Southwick, a judge on the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals. He provided a comprehensive history of the Supreme Court elections while an adjunct professor at the Mississippi College School of Law. His article, published in 1998 in the school’s law review, was titled Mississippi Supreme Court: A Historical Perspective 1916-1996.

The 1992 race was a watershed event because it ushered in more high profile Supreme Court races where more money was spent and where various special interest groups aligned behind candidates.

Both Roberts and Robertson touted impressive qualifications and had unique personalities. Robertson was known for his ability to turn a phrase. Roberts has a self-deprecating sense of humor. Robertson had been on the court for almost a decade. Roberts, a Pontotoc County native, was a chancery judge, and previously served as the public safety commissioner in the administration of Gov. Bill Allain.

Both contributed to the state as public servants.

In 1992, Roberts was endorsed by the Mississippi Prosecutors Association. Efforts were made to paint Robertson as too liberal and soft on crime. Southwick wrote, “An anonymous circular was disseminated throughout the campaign, a document distributed by others and not by Chancellor Roberts, that focused on different opinions by Justice Robertson on criminal cases.” Southwick said the circular misrepresented at least one Robertson opinion, making it seem he opposed the death penalty when in fact his concerns were with one “problematic jury instruction” in a death penalty case.

At any rate, Roberts won 39,601 votes to 29,632 in the north Mississippi district. The race was one of the most expensive to date: Robertson spent $152,000 to $124,000 for Roberts.

It should be noted that two years before the 1992 race, another incumbent was defeated. Justice Joel Blass, a former Gulf Coast legislator, lost to Chuck McRae. That race was different, though, in that Blass had just been appointed by then-Gov. Ray Mabus to fill a vacancy and did not take office until February of 1989 — just before the 1990 election. McRae won with the backing of the Mississippi Trial Attorneys and the Mississippi Prosecutors Association and spent $183,500 to $100,500 for Blass.

The 1990 McRae-Blass race and the 1992 Roberts-Robertson contest appeared to be a harbinger of tougher times for Supreme Court incumbents. After only four incumbents lost between 1948 and 1992, another four incumbents were defeated between 2000 and 2008. In most of those races, contributions to the candidates came from business groups and from trial attorneys who were on opposite ends of civil justice issues.

That 1992 race concluded with Roberts resigning in 1999 before his term ended to run an unsuccessful campaign for governor. He later said resigning from the Supreme Court was a mistake. But he eventually was appointed in 2007 to a circuit court judicial post in northeast Mississippi by then-Gov. Haley Barbour. He retired in 2020.

After his defeat, Robertson practiced law in Jackson, wrote books and articles and was lauded upon his death.

Michael B. Wallace, a staunch Republican who practiced law with Robertson, said in a Supreme Court news release, “He was not only brilliant. He was courageous. As a judge he would apply the law as he saw it, no matter where the chips would fall … He thought people deserved a fair trial and he was willing to do what was necessary to make that happen … He believed very strongly and had the courage to act upon it.”

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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Mississippi Today

Senate passes redistricting that puts DeSoto Republican, Tunica Democrat in same district, calls for 10 new elections

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4 hours ago

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February 26, 2025

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mississippitoday.org – Taylor Vance – 2025-02-26 17:17:00

Senate passes redistricting that puts DeSoto Republican, Tunica Democrat in same district, calls for 10 new elections

by Taylor Vance, Mississippi Today
February 26, 2025

Voters from 10 Senate districts will have to re-decide in November special elections who should represent them in Jackson, pending court approval, under a resolution the Senate approved on Wednesday. 

The chamber passed the plan 33-16. Two Democrats joined with the GOP majority to support the plan, while three Republicans joined with the Democratic minority to oppose it. 

Even though voters just elected members of the Legislature in 2023, the 10 races will be held again because a three-judge federal panel determined last year that the Legislature did not create enough Black-majority districts when it redrew its districts.

The panel ordered the state to redraw the districts and create a new majority-Black district in the DeSoto County area in the Forrest County area. 

Senate Rules Committee Chairman Dean Kirby, a Republican from Pearl, told senators that the newly redrawn map complies with federal law and will allow Black voters in the two areas to elect a candidate of their choice. 

“It’s not a partisan ordeal,” Kirby said. “We have a court order, and we’re going to comply.” 

The map creates one new majority-Black district each in DeSoto County and Forrest County, with no incumbent senator in either district. To account for this, the plan also pits two pairs of incumbents against one another in newly redrawn districts. 

The proposal puts Sen. Michael McLendon, a Republican from Hernando, who is white and Sen. Reginald Jackson, a Democrat from Marks, who is Black, in the same district. The redrawn District 1 contains a Black voting-age population of 52.4%. 

McLendon spoke against the proposal, arguing the process for was not transparent and it was not fair to the city of Hernando, his home city. 

“I don’t want to be pushed out of here,” McLendon said. 

The plan also puts Sen. Chris Johnson and Sen. John Polk, two Republicans from the Hattiesburg area, in the District 44 seat.  Polk announced on the Senate floor that he would not run in the special election, making Jonson the only incumbent running in the race. 

  • The full list of the Senate districts that were redrawn are: 
  • Senate District 1: Sen. Michael McLendon, R-Hernando, and Sen. Reginald Jackson, D-Marks
  • Senate District 2: David Parker, R-Olive Branch 
  • Senate District 10: Neil Whaley, R-Potts Camp 
  • Senate District 11: New Senate district with no incumbent 
  • Senate District 19: Sen. Kevin Blackwell, R-Southaven 
  • Senate District 34: Sen. Juan Barnett, D-Heidelburg 
  • Senate District 41: Sen. Joey Fillingane, R-Sumrall 
  • Senate District 42: Sen. Robin Robinson, R-Laurel 
  • Senate District 44:  Sen. John Polk, R-Hattiesburg, Sen. Chris Johnson, R-Hattiesburg 
  • Senate District 45: New district with no incumbent 

McLendon and Sen. Derrick Simmons, a Democrat from Greenville, offered amendments that proposed revised maps, but both alternatives were rejected. 

Simmons, the Senate’s Democratic leader, opposed the plan the Senate passed Thursday because he does not believe any incumbent senators should be paired in the same district.

The House earlier in the session approved a plan that redrew five districts in north Mississippi and made the House district in Chickasaw County a majority-Black district. 

Sen. Kirby told reporters he believes the House and the Senate have a “gentleman’s agreement” to pass the other chambers’ plan, which has historically been the custom. 

Under the legislation, the qualifying period for new elections would run from May 19 to May 30. The primary election will be held on August 5, with a potential primary runoff on September 2 and the general election on November 4.

Republican Gov. Tate Reeves has no direct say in legislative redistricting, so once the Legislature passes a redistricting plan, it will go back before the federal courts for approval. 

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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Mississippi Today

Convicted killer whose parole sparked outrage dies in car crash

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8 hours ago

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February 26, 2025

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mississippitoday.org – Jerry Mitchell – 2025-02-26 13:31:00

Mississippi let a double murderer go free. Twice.

Now he is dead, and an older couple is injured.

In May 2023, the Mississippi Parole Board released James Williams III — 18 years after he was convicted of fatally shooting his father, James Jr., and stepmother, Cindy Lassiter Mangum. Williams had previously tried to poison them to death.

His parole faced pushback from the victims’ family, community members and lawmakers. 

At the time, Zeno Magnum, whose mother was killed by Williams, decried the Parole Board’s decision. “He murdered ‘em, threw ‘em in trash bags, put them in Rubbermaid trash cans and threw ‘em out like the trash,” he said. “We are concerned not only for our personal safety, but also for the safety of anyone who may come in contact with this psychopath.”

Parole Board Chairman Jeffrey Belk defended the Parole Board’s decision, saying they received no objection from the family or others at the time — a claim that Magnum’s family disputed.

Less than five months after his parole, he got drunk and wrecked his car on Oct. 20, 2023, the same day of the Brandon-Pearl high school football game, Magnum said. “There were people everywhere. He’s very fortunate he didn’t kill anybody.”

Williams’ parole was revoked, and he returned to prison. 

A month later, the Parole Board found that by violating the law, he violated a condition of his parole. Three of four members voted to return him to prison for a year, according to court records, and Belk cast the lone “no” vote.

Hinds County Circuit Judge Debra Gibbs vacated the Parole Board’s decision to return Williams to prison for at least a year for violating parole. 

“Mr. Williams has already served more than ninety (90) days in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections,” the judge wrote. “Therefore – unless he is held pursuant to some other sentence or order – he SHALL BE RELEASED IMMEDIATELY from the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections and returned to parole.” 

The judge agreed with Williams’ argument that his DUI misdemeanor constituted a technical violation of his parole, meaning that 90 days was the maximum period he could be imprisoned for a first-time technical violation. The judge’s decision matched a recent attorney general’s office opinion on the subject.

When word came that Williams might go free again, Cindy Mangum’s sister, Barbara Rankin, said her family set up a Sept. 16, 2024, meeting with Parole Board members, she said. “They let him out a week before we were set to go.”

Around noon Saturday, Williams met his death near Sanctuary Drive. The 39-year-old was driving his 2009 Honda Civic north on Will Stutely Drive when he collided with a 2019 GMC Sierra that contained Curtis Jones, 73, and his 72-year-old wife, Ruth, who were traveling east, according to the Mississippi Highway Patrol.

Williams was pronounced dead on the scene. Paramedics transported the couple to St. Dominic’s Hospital in Jackson. Their injuries remain unknown, and the patrol continues to investigate to determine if Williams had been intoxicated.

“The ironic thing,” Zeno Magnum said, “is if he was still in prison, he would be alive.”

The whole ordeal has been “cloaked in secrecy,” he said. “My mom was killed, and it was like pulling teeth to get information on it. It was tough even for me as her son to get information.”

Williams’ death has brought him a wide range of emotions. On one hand, he doesn’t want to celebrate the loss of a human being, he said, but on the other hand, the death “does bring my family and I a great deal of closure.”

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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Crooked Letter Sports Podcast

Podcast: Three Mississippi teams in the Top 25 D-1 Baseball poll

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8 hours ago

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February 26, 2025

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mississippitoday.org – Rick Cleveland and Tyler Cleveland – 2025-02-26 12:00:00

Southern Miss and Ole Miss got some welcomed news as both joined Mississippi State, giving the Magnolia State three teams in this week;s college baseball poll. Otherwise, the college basketball grind continues and the best high school basketball teams converge on Jackson for the annual MHSAA boys and girls state tournament.

Stream all episodes here.

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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