Jess Dickinson
Jess H. Dickinson was a presiding justice of the Mississippi Supreme Court. He represented District 2, Place 1, and was elected in 2002. He was reelected in 2010 for a term that would have ended in 2019.[1] In August 2017, Republican Governor Phil Bryant announced that he had appointed Dickinson to be the state's Commissioner of the Department of Child Protection Services and that Dickinson would step down from the bench before the end of his term to accept the appointment.[2]
Education
Dickinson earned his B.S. from Mississippi State University in 1978 and his J.D. from the University of Mississippi School of Law in 1982.[3] [4]
Career
- 2004-2017: Justice, Mississippi Supreme Court
- 2003-2004: Judge, Mississippi Twelfth Judicial District
- 1982-2003: Attorney, private practice[1][5]
Awards and associations
Awards
- 2010: Chief Justice Award, Mississippi Bar Association[6]
- 2009: Adjunct Professor of the Year, Mississippi College School of Law
- 2004: Chief Justice Award[1]
Associations
- Charter member, Mississippi Access to Justice Commission[1]
Elections
2010
Dickinson was re-elected after running unopposed.
- Main article: Mississippi judicial elections, 2010
Noteworthy cases
Court rules Judge's remarks are protected speech
The Mississippi Supreme Court has ruled that the First Amendment protects comments of a George County court judge who said he believed homosexuals should be put in a mental institution. The Mississippi Commission on Judicial Performance last year asked the Supreme Court to publicly reprimand and fine Judge Connie Glenn Wilkerson, citing him for judicial misconduct. In an opinion written by Dickinson, the court, in a 5-2, said it would not punish Wilkerson for the remarks.[7]
Political ideology
In October 2012, political science professors Adam Bonica and Michael Woodruff of Stanford University attempted to determine the partisan ideology of state supreme court justices. They created a scoring system in which a score above 0 indicated a more conservative-leaning ideology, while scores below 0 were more liberal.
Dickinson received a campaign finance score of 1.22, indicating a conservative ideological leaning. This was more conservative than the average score of 0.69 that justices received in Mississippi.
The study was based on data from campaign contributions by the judges themselves, the partisan leaning of those who contributed to the judges' campaigns, or, in the absence of elections, the ideology of the appointing body (governor or legislature). This study was not a definitive label of a justice, but an academic summary of various relevant factors.[8]
See also
External links
- State of Mississippi Judiciary, Jess H. Dicksinon
- Project Vote Smart, Associate Justice Jess H. Dickinson (MS)
- Insurance Jounral, "Miss. Supreme Court Overturns $80 Million Breach of Contract Verdict," November 22, 2004
- "Judges see steps made toward standardizing tort system," January 15, 2004
- Forbes, "Buying Justice," July 21, 2003
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 State of Mississippi Judiciary, Jess H. Dickinson
- ↑ Daily Journal, "Supreme Court shuffle gives governor more influence," August 13, 2017
- ↑ Project Vote Smart, Associate Justice Jess H. Dickinson (MS)
- ↑ Mississippi Judiciary: Justice Dickinson
- ↑ The Neshoba Democrat, "2010's political feast," July 15, 2009
- ↑ WXVT.com, "Miss. chief justice to honor 3," July 1, 2010 (dead link)
- ↑ First Amendment Center, "Mississippi high court: Judge's remarks about gays are protected," July 6, 2004
- ↑ Stanford University, "State Supreme Court Ideology and 'New Style' Judicial Campaigns," October 31, 2012
Federal courts:
Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Northern District of Mississippi, Southern District of Mississippi • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Northern District of Mississippi, Southern District of Mississippi
State courts:
Mississippi Supreme Court • Mississippi Court of Appeals • Mississippi circuit courts • Mississippi Chancery Court • Mississippi county courts • Mississippi justice courts • Mississippi youth courts • Mississippi Municipal Courts
State resources:
Courts in Mississippi • Mississippi judicial elections • Judicial selection in Mississippi
