Meet the people running in South Mississippi for state Supreme Court, other court seats
This article was published in partnership with The Marshall Project, a nonprofit news organization covering the U.S. criminal justice system. Sign up for The Marshall Project’s Jackson newsletter, and follow them on Instagram, TikTok, Reddit and Facebook.
This November, tens of millions of voters will select Vice President Kamala Harris or former President Donald Trump to be president for the next four years. But, the presidency is just one piece of our democracy.
Here in Mississippi, voters also have the opportunity to determine who will serve on their state and local courts.
South Mississippi voters will have the chance to weigh in on one seat on the state Supreme Court and one seat on the Court of Appeals. These courts make rulings that impact the lives of Mississippians. Those elected to judicial offices hand down hundreds of decisions each year about criminal convictions, civil rights and the law.
The Marshall Project - Jackson and Mississippi Today compiled information about each race and candidate to help you make an informed decision at the polls. Election Day is Nov. 5. The last day to register to vote is Oct. 7. Find your local polling place and see how your ballot will look here.
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You can download a printable PDF of our Judicial Election Guide here.
Mississippi Supreme Court
One Mississippi Supreme Court seats is up for election in South Mississippi, with Associate Justice Dawn Beam facing a challenge.
The race is nonpartisan, but not apolitical, Mississippi College law professor Matt Steffey told The Marshall Project - Jackson.
In the race for District 2, Place 2, which covers the southern part of the state, the state’s Republican Party endorsed incumbent Dawn Beam, who is facing Gulfport-based attorney David P. Sullivan.
The high court is divided into three districts across the state with three seats, each called a “place.” Each justice is elected to an eight-year term. The district boundaries are being challenged in federal court. The lawsuit seeks to redraw the districts, claiming that the way the lines are drawn splits the state’s largest concentration of Black voters, which violates the Voting Rights Act and dilutes Black voting power.
District 2 encompasses 27 counties in the southern parts of the state, from Clarke and Adams counties down to the Mississippi Gulf Coast.
To qualify for the court, a candidate must be: eligible to vote in the district; at least 30 years old; a practicing attorney; and a resident of the state for five years before the election. Associate justices make $173,800 annually, presiding justices make $176,737, and the chief justice makes $181,491. The roles are assigned by seniority, with the chief justice the most senior, followed by two presiding justices.
The state Supreme Court often has the final say in cases involving criminal, civil and death penalty appeals, questions on the state’s laws and its constitution, and legal issues of public interest. It hears appeals from lower courts, such as the chancery and circuit courts. The court decided 260 cases in 2023 and issued rulings in 2,656 motions and petitions.
In a controversial 2023 decision, the court voted 8-0 to uphold the creation of a separate court system in Jackson, commonly called House Bill 1020, but also struck down a provision that would allow four judges to be appointed, rather than elected, to Hinds County Circuit Court. These judges, appointed by White state leadership, would have joined four judges that have been elected by Hinds County’s predominantly Black population.
In 2021, the high court invalidated the state’s ballot initiative process after voters approved a measure to legalize medical marijuana. The ballot initiative process, outlined in the state constitution, allowed voters to place a constitutional amendment proposal on the ballot by collecting a set number of signatures from each of the state’s congressional districts.
When this process was outlined in 1992, the state had five congressional districts. It was down to four by 2021. In a 6-3 vote, the court ruled the medical marijuana vote invalid. It argued that the ballot initiative process outlined in the state constitution would only work if amended, and that amending it was beyond the court’s power.
Supreme Court seat, District 2, Place 2
Admitted to Mississippi Bar: 1989
Residence: Sumrall, Lamar County
Relevant experience: Five years as chancellor for the 10th District Chancery Court (Forrest, Lamar, Marion, Pearl River and Perry counties); former Lamar County prosecutor; attorney in private practice.
Campaign finance: As of July 10, Justice Beam’s campaign committee raised $63,958, mostly from political action committees, and spent $28,595, leaving the campaign with $35,363 on hand. Read the latest report here.
Statement of economic interest: Beam and her husband, a physician, own Beam Properties, LLC. Read the latest statement here.
Associate Justice Dawn H. Beam has focused her career on improving child welfare. Before taking the bench on the high court in 2016, she oversaw youth court as a chancery judge in the 10th District, where she worked to clear a backlog of cases and identify abused and neglected children. She has also worked as a youth court prosecutor and child support counsel for the state’s Department of Human Services. In 2007, she told the Hattiesburg American newspaper that reforming youth court led her to run for Lamar County attorney.
Beam joined the state Supreme Court in 2016, after being appointed by Gov. Phil Bryant to fill the seat left vacant by former Justice Randy Pierce. In various news interviews, Bryant cited Beam’s experience as chancery judge, prosecutor and private attorney, coupled with her concern for abused and neglected children, as qualifiers for his appointment. She was later elected to a full eight-year term, and is now running for her second term. She is the only woman on the court.
While serving on the Supreme Court, she has co-chaired the Mississippi Commission on Children’s Justice, created by the court to develop a comprehensive approach to improving the child welfare system. Through that commission, she introduced the Family First Initiative to fix the state’s foster care system alongside former first lady Deborah Bryant, which went unfunded amid a recent welfare scandal.
She also co-chaired the Guardianship and Conservatorship Commission, which recommended the GAP Act to protect children and vulnerable adults. She is a member of the Mississippi Access to Justice Commission, which addresses the accessibility of civil legal representation for poor people.
On the campaign trail this year, she’s courted Republican groups across her district and visited various festivals and churches. The daughter of a minister, she often references her Christian beliefs as a guiding factor in her career. Beam has the endorsement of the state’s Republican Party.
“Justice Beam has a long track record of issuing conservative rulings from the court,” Republican Party Chairman Mike Hurst said in a statement.
In both the ballot initiative and House Bill 1020 decisions, Beam voted with the majority.
Contributors to her reelection committee include political action groups Truck PAC; Mississippi REALTOR PAC; Mississippi Poultry Association; and Mississippi Medical PAC. Contributors also include corporations like Gulfport’s Island View Casino Resort, CEO Warren A. Hood Jr. of Hood Companies, Inc., and Republican politicians, including former state Sen. Sally Burchfield Doty.
Admitted to Mississippi Bar: 1995
Residence: Gulfport, Harrison County
Relevant experience: Public defender in Harrison, Stone and Pearl River counties; municipal judge in D’Iberville since 2019; municipal judge pro tempore in Ocean Springs; former city prosecutor of Gulfport.
Campaign finance: Sullivan’s campaign has raised $38,800 as of July 10 and spent $1,381, leaving the campaign with $37,419 on hand. Read the latest report here.
Statement of economic interest: None on file.
David P. Sullivan comes from a family of Mississippi lawyers. His father was the late Supreme Court Justice Michael D. Sullivan. His grandfather was a state senator and Hattiesburg city attorney, a position his great-grandfather also held.
Sullivan is running to continue the family’s legacy, he said at an August D’Iberville Business Club meeting, as well as to increase the Gulf Coast’s representation on the court. In the Supreme Court district, two of the three justices have connections to the Gulf Coast.
Sullivan grew up in Hattiesburg, but moved to the Gulf Coast in 1994 after completing law school at the University of Mississippi.
Sullivan brings 29 years of experience in the courtroom, where he has taken on multiple roles.
His early experience in private law firms included providing legal representation for insurance companies and for businesses facing workers’ compensation claims. He then served two years as city prosecutor in Gulfport before opening his private practice.
Sullivan’s firm now focuses on criminal defense. He is also a public defender in Harrison, Stone and Pearl River counties.
In addition to his practice, Sullivan is a municipal court judge in D’Iberville. Municipal judges have jurisdiction over misdemeanor crimes, city ordinances and traffic violations. They may also conduct initial court appearances, where defendants are advised of their charges and whether they will be eligible to be released on bond.
His election committee’s two largest campaign contributions, $5,000 each, came from Jackson-based personal injury attorney Crymes G. Pittman, a former president of the Mississippi Trial Lawyers Association, and James F. Hardin Jr., owner of Aladdin Construction in Biloxi.
Mississippi Court of Appeals
The Mississippi Court of Appeals is an appellate court, meaning it reviews cases that have already been decided in a lower trial court. The Court of Appeals hears both civil and criminal cases.
The court was created by the state Legislature to reduce a backlog at the state Supreme Court. It began hearing cases in 1995. All appeals are filed with the Supreme Court, which then decides whether to keep the case or assign it to the Court of Appeals. The Court of Appeals decided 354 cases in 2023, issuing about 58% of appellate decisions.
Two judges are elected to the court from each of its five districts. They serve eight-year terms. This year, one Court of Appeals seat is up for election. Like all judicial elections, they are nonpartisan.
Three candidates are running for the District 5, Place 2, seat, which is held by Judge Joel Smith. Smith was appointed by Gov. Tate Reeves in 2021 to fill a vacancy and won a special election in 2022. He is not seeking reelection. The candidates are: Ian Baker, a prosecutor; Jennifer Schloegel, a four-term chancery court judge; and Amy Lassiter St. Pé, a municipal court judge. District 5 is the southernmost district, encompassing the Gulf Coast. The appellate court judgeship pays $168,467 a year.
Court of Appeals, District 5, Place 2
Admitted to Mississippi Bar: 2006
Residence: Gulfport, Harrison County
Relevant experience: Assistant district attorney; former clerk for Court of Appeals Judge Bill Myers; attorney in private practice; attorney for Biloxi Civil Service Commission.
Campaign finance: As of July 10, Baker’s campaign committee raised $70,780 and spent $2,793, leaving it with $67,988 on hand. Read the latest report here.
Statement of economic interest: Baker is employed by Harrison County as an assistant district attorney. Read the full report here.
Ian Baker’s experiences center on criminal law. For the past 11 years, Baker has prosecuted cases for the district attorney’s office serving Harrison, Hancock and Stone counties. He is a division chief in the office, where he prosecutes major violent crimes, gang crimes, sex crimes and drug trafficking. Along with being an assistant district attorney, he also teaches at the Gulf Coast Law Enforcement Training Academy and is a nationally certified gang prosecutor.
Baker stated on his campaign website that he was hired to join the district attorney’s office by Smith, the current judge, who was the district attorney at the time.
Prior to his stint as a prosecutor, Baker owned a private practice, Baker & Brewer, PLLC, in Biloxi. He was also an attorney for the Biloxi Civil Service Commission, which governs city employees. After graduating law school, Baker worked as a clerk in the Court of Appeals under Judge Bill Myers.
Baker’s campaign committee contributions come mainly from individuals in the Gulf Coast area. This includes a $25,000 personal loan from the candidate and contributions from attorneys.
Admitted to Mississippi Bar: 1991
Residence: Gulfport, Harrison County
Relevant experience: Elected to four terms as chancery court judge for Harrison, Hancock and Stone counties; attorney in private practice.
Campaign finance: As of July 10, Schloegel’s campaign committee raised $159,120 and spent $29,230, leaving it with $131,878 on hand. Read the latest report here.
Statement of economic interest: Schloegel’s statement of economic interest lists her position as a chancery court judge. Read the full report here.
Judge Jennifer Schloegel is serving her fourth term as chancery court judge in Harrison, Hancock and Stone counties. Chancery judges handle civil cases, including land and business disputes, divorces, child custody disputes, wills and estates. Schloegel issues decisions that may end up in front of the Court of Appeals or the Supreme Court. According to Schloegel, these courts upheld, in full or in part, 32 of 33 of her decisions that were appealed over 14 years.
In one case, Schloegel ruled against then-State Auditor Stacey Pickering and then-Attorney General Jim Hood in a public records access case. After the Biloxi Sun Herald newspaper requested records in 2012 from the Department of Marine Resources, Pickering’s office subpoenaed the documents and claimed they were being used in investigations, exempt from public records laws. Schloegel ruled that the records were public and held Pickering and others in contempt for failing to turn them over as she ordered. In 2017, the state Supreme Court affirmed Schloegel’s ruling.
Schloegel has also been appointed to the Committee on Continuing Judicial Education, a task force that offers recommendations on how many mandatory judicial education hours judges must receive.
Schloegel’s campaign raised the most money in this race, including contributions from both individuals and corporations. The corporations include law firms, Island View Casino Resort and Scarlet Pearl Casino Resort. The two largest individual contributions, $5,000 each, came from Rebecca Watts Thompson, the candidate’s mother, and James R. Reeves, Jr., a Biloxi personal injury attorney.
Schloegel acknowledged receiving the candidate questionnaire from The Marshall Project - Jackson and Mississippi Today, but did not respond.
Admitted to Mississippi Bar: 2003
Residence: Pascagoula, Jackson County
Relevant experience: Municipal court judge; city attorney; attorney in private practice.
Campaign finance: As of July 10, St. Pé’s campaign committee raised $154,050 and spent $41,756, leaving it with $112,294 on hand. Read the latest report here.
Statement of economic interest: St. Pé owns a law firm and is a board member of Merchants & Marine Bank. She also receives income from the cities of Moss Point, Gautier and Pascagoula. Read the full report here.
Amy Lassiter St. Pé is an attorney in private practice, a municipal court judge in Gautier and city attorney of Moss Point. She is the first woman to hold a municipal court judgeship in Jackson County, according to news reports. St. Pé has also held many roles involving redevelopment. She provides legal counsel for the Pascagoula Redevelopment Authority, an urban renewal organization started by the city in 2011.
Gov. Tate Reeves appointed St. Pé to the Gulf Coast Restoration Fund’s advisory council. The fund was created in 2018 to manage money from the settlement following the 2010 BP oil spill. It has funded projects such as a road in Jackson County to reduce traffic on Interstate Highway 10 and the completion of the Mississippi Aquarium.
As a municipal court judge, she handles initial appearances and sets bonds for criminal defendants. Municipal judges also have jurisdiction over misdemeanor crimes, city ordinances and traffic violations. As city attorney, she represents Moss Point in lawsuits and provides legal counsel.
As a private attorney, St. Pé is lead counsel in a case before the state Supreme Court, representing Ocean Springs Islands RV Resort, LLC. A Jackson County judge ruled that the company could build its RV park in the Gulf Park Estate neighborhood, but some residents oppose it. Adam Dial and W. Ed Trehern, developers on the project, have made some of the largest individual contributions to St. Pé’s campaign committee.
St. Pé’s campaign contributions include $1,000 or more from Republican politicians such as state Sen. Brice Wiggins and the Committee to Elect Jeremy England, another Mississippi state senator. St. Pé’s campaign has also received contributions from corporations including the Island View Casino Resort, M&T Family Dentistry and Desporte Seafood. Her committee has received support from the Mississippi Physicians PAC and many individual doctors. St. Pé’s husband, Laurin St. Pé, is chief executive officer of Singing River Health System.
Additional reporting was contributed by Taylor Vance of Mississippi Today.