A South MS lawyer suing a judge for sexual harassment also wants his job
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Chancery judge candidate Jennifer Harris is suing incumbent Neil Harris
- Judge Harris denies allegations; jury trial is set June 15 before a special judge
- Ocean Springs attorney Matt Pavlov is also running for the District 16 seat.
An Ocean Springs attorney is suing Chancery Judge Neil Harris while running against him for his seat.
Jennifer Sekul Harris is one of two lawyers in the race against Judge Harris. Jennifer Harris and Neil Harris are not related. A second Ocean Springs attorney in the race is Matthew Pavlov.
Both Pavlov and Jennifer Harris practice family law and have appeared before Judge Harris. Neil Harris has served as a Chancery judge since 2007.
Jennifer Harris filed a lawsuit against the judge in March 2024, accusing him of negligent infliction of emotional distress and defamation. She claims in the lawsuit that the judge propositioned and sexually harassed her. When she turned down his advances, she claims, he told a third party that she had forged a document in an adoption case, which she said was not true.
Harris has denied any wrongdoing, saying in a written response to her lawsuit that he neither sexually harassed nor defamed her.
The case is set for a jury trial June 15 before Special Judge Forrest A. Johnson Jr. because Neil Harris’ colleagues in the 16th District have recused themselves from the case. Nonpartisan judicial elections will be held Nov. 3.
Harris is the only District 16 candidate with opposition and is running for the Place 1 seat. Incumbents Ashlee Cole, Place 2, and Mark Maples, Place 3, are running unopposed. Family law attorney Kaleigh Nelson also is running unopposed for a new Place 4 seat.
