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Robert Chamberlin
Robert Chamberlin is a judge on the United States District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi. He was nominated to the court by President Donald Trump (R) on September 2, 2025, and confirmed by the United States Senate on December 9, 2025, by a vote of 51-46.[1][2][3] To see a full list of judges appointed by Donald Trump, click here.
The United States District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi is one of 94 U.S. District Courts. They are the general trial courts of the United States federal courts. To learn more about the court, click here.
Prior to joining the court, Chamberlin was a member of the Mississippi Supreme Court. He was first elected to the court in 2016, filling the seat vacated by Ann Lamar.[4] To read more about judicial selection in Mississippi, click here.
Chamberlin was previously a judge on the Mississippi Seventeenth Judicial District court.[5]
In 2020, Ballotpedia published Ballotpedia Courts: State Partisanship, a study examining the partisan affiliation of all state supreme court justices in the country. As part of this study, we assigned each justice a Confidence Score describing our confidence in the degree of partisanship exhibited by the justices' past partisan behavior, before they joined the court.[6] Chamberlin received a confidence score of Strong Republican.[7] Click here to read more about this study.
Judicial nominations and appointments
United States District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi (2025-present)
- See also: Federal judges nominated by Donald Trump
On August 12, 2025, President Donald Trump (R) announced his intent to nominate Chamberlin to the United States District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi.[1] He was confirmed by a 51-46 vote of the U.S. Senate on December 9, 2025.[2] Chamberlin received commission on December 16, 2025.[3] To read more about the federal nominations process, click here.
 |
| Nominee Information |
| Name: Robert Chamberlin |
| Court: United States District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi |
| Progress |
| Confirmed 98 days after nomination. |
 Nominated: September 2, 2025
|
| ABA Rating: Well qualified
|
| Questionnaire: Questionnaire |
| Hearing: September 3, 2025
|
| Hearing Transcript: Hearing Transcript |
| QFRs: (Hover over QFRs to read more) |
| Reported: November 20, 2025
|
| Confirmed: December 9, 2025
|
| Vote: 51-46
|
Confirmation vote
The U.S. Senate confirmed Chamberlin by a vote of 51-46 on December 9, 2025.[2] To see a full breakdown of the vote on the official U.S. Senate website, click here.
| Chamberlin confirmation vote (December 9, 2025) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Yea | Nay | No vote | ||||||
 Democratic |
0 | 44 | 1 | ||||||
 Republican |
51 | 0 | 2 | ||||||
 Independent |
0 | 2 | 0 | ||||||
| Total | 51[8] | 46 | 3 | ||||||
Senate Judiciary Committee hearing
The Senate Judiciary Committee held hearings on Chamberlin's nomination on September 3, 2025.[2] The committee voted to advance Chamberlin's nomination to the full Senate on November 20, 2025, after a 12-10 committee vote.[9]
Nomination
On September 2, 2025, President Donald Trump (R) nominated Chamberlin to the United States District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi.[2] To read more about the federal nominations process, click here.
Chamberlin was nominated to replace Judge Sharion Aycock, who assumed senior status on April 15, 2025.[10]
The American Bar Association (ABA) rated Chamberlin well qualified.[11] To read more about ABA ratings, click here.
Biography
Early life and education
Chamberlin was born in 1965 in Memphis, Tennessee. He earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Mississippi in 1987 and a law degree from the University of Mississippi School of Law in 1990. He was admitted to the bar in 1990.[12][3]
Professional career
- 2025-present: Judge, United States District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi
- 2017-2025: Justice, Mississippi Supreme Court
- 2004-2017: Judge, Mississippi Circuit Court, Seventeenth Judicial District
- 2001-2004: Private practice, Hernando, Mississippi
- 2001-2004: Counsel, DeSoto County, Mississippi Board of Supervisors
- 2000-2004: State senator, District One, Mississippi
- 1990-2001: Private practice, Southaven, Mississippi
- 1991-1999: Municipal judge, Hernando, Mississippi
- ca. mid 1990s: Special master, Mississippi Chancery Court, Third Judicial District
- 1992: Municipal prosecutor, Horn Lake, Mississippi[3]
About the court
| Northern District of Mississippi |
|---|
| Fifth Circuit |
|
| Judgeships |
| Posts: 3 |
| Judges: 2 |
| Vacancies: 1 |
| Judges |
| Chief: Debra M. Brown |
| Active judges: Debra M. Brown, Robert P. Chamberlin Senior judges: |
The United States District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi is one of 94 United States district courts. When decisions of the court are appealed, they are appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit based in downtown New Orleans at the John Minor Wisdom Federal Courthouse.
The Northern District of Mississippi has original jurisdiction over cases filed within its jurisdiction. These cases can include civil and criminal matters that fall under federal law.
The jurisdiction of the court includes facilities in Aberdeen, Ackerman, Clarksdale, Cleveland, Corinth and Greenville.
The geographic jurisdiction of the Northern District of Mississippi consists of all the following counties in the northern part of the state of Mississippi.
- Alcorn County
- Attala County
- Benton County
- Bolivar County
- Calhoun County
- Carroll County
- Chickasaw County
- Choctaw County
- Clay County
- Coahoma County
- DeSoto County
- Grenada County
- Humphreys County
- Itawamba County
- Lafayette County
- Lee County
- LeFlore County
- Lowndes County
- Marshall County
- Monroe County
- Montgomery County
- Oktibbeha County
- Panola County
- Pontotoc County
- Prentiss County
- Quitman County
- Sunflower County
- Tallahatchie County
- Tate County
- Tippah County
- Tishomingo County
- Tunica County
- Union County
- Washington County
- Webster County
- Winston County
- Yalobusha County
To read opinions published by this court, click here.
The federal nomination process
Federal judges are nominated by the president of the United States and confirmed by the Senate. There are multiple steps to the process:
- The president nominates an individual for a judicial seat.
- The nominee fills out a questionnaire and is reviewed by the Senate Judiciary Committee.
- The Senate Judiciary Committee holds a hearing with the nominee, questioning them about things like their judicial philosophy, past rulings or opinions, etc.
- As part of this process, the committee sends a blue slip to senators from the home state in which the judicial nomination was received, allowing them to express their approval or disapproval of the nominee.
- After the hearing, the Senate Judiciary Committee will vote to approve or return the nominee.
- If approved, the nominee is voted on by the full Senate.
- If the Committee votes to return the nominee to the president, the president has the opportunity to re-nominate the individual.
- The Senate holds a vote on the candidate.
- If the Senate confirms the nomination, the nominee receives a commission to serve a lifelong position as a federal judge.
- If the Senate does not confirm the nomination, that nominee does not become a judge.
Elections
2024
See also: Mississippi Supreme Court elections, 2024
General election
General election for Mississippi Supreme Court District 3 Position 1
Incumbent Robert P. Chamberlin won election in the general election for Mississippi Supreme Court District 3 Position 1 on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Robert P. Chamberlin (Nonpartisan) | 100.0 | 341,895 |
| Total votes: 341,895 | |||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Endorsements
Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Chamberlin in this election.
2016
- See also: Mississippi judicial elections, 2016
Chamberlin ran for a seat on the Mississippi Supreme Court in 2016.[13] He defeated John Brady in a runoff election on November 29.
Election results
November 29 runoff election
| Mississippi Supreme Court, District 3, Place 1, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Robert Chamberlin |
54.59% | 19,974 |
| John Brady | 45.41% | 16,612 |
| Total Votes (588 of 619 reporting: 95%) | 36,586 | |
| Source: WAPT News/Associated Press | ||
November 8 general election
| Mississippi Supreme Court, District 3, Place 1, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Robert Chamberlin |
31.17% | 103,133 |
| John Brady |
29.15% | 96,452 |
| James T. Kitchens | 24.58% | 81,313 |
| Steve Crampton | 15.10% | 49,947 |
| Total Votes (617 of 617 precincts reporting: 100%) | 330,845 | |
| Source: The New York Times | ||
2014
- See also: Mississippi judicial elections, 2014
Chamberlin ran for re-election to the Seventeenth Judicial District.
General: He was unopposed in the general election on November 4, 2014.
[14]
2010
- Main article: Mississippi judicial elections, 2010
Chamberlin was re-elected to the Seventeenth Judicial District after running unopposed.[15]
Campaign themes
2024
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Robert P. Chamberlin did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Analysis
Ballotpedia Courts: State Partisanship (2020)
Last updated: June 15, 2020
In 2020, Ballotpedia published Ballotpedia Courts: State Partisanship, a study examining the partisan affiliation of all state supreme court justices in the country as of June 15, 2020.
The study presented Confidence Scores that represented our confidence in each justice's degree of partisan affiliation. This was not a measure of where a justice fell on an ideological spectrum, but rather a measure of how much confidence we had that a justice was or had been affiliated with a political party. The scores were based on seven factors, including but not limited to party registration.[16]
The five resulting categories of Confidence Scores were:
- Strong Democrat
- Mild Democrat
- Indeterminate[17]
- Mild Republican
- Strong Republican
This justice's Confidence Score, as well as the factors contributing to that score, is presented below. The information below was current as of June 2020.
Robert
Chamberlin
Mississippi
- Partisan Confidence Score:
Strong Republican - Judicial Selection Method:
Elected - Key Factors:
- Held political office as a Republican
- Was a registered Republican before 2020
- Donated less than $2,000 to Republican candidates
Partisan Profile
Details:
Chamberlin was a Republican member of the Mississippi State Senate from 1999-2004. He was a registered Republican prior to 2020. Chamberlin donated $1,500 to Republican candidates and organizations. He was appointed by Gov. Haley Barbour (R). At the time of his appointment, Mississippi was a Republican trifecta.
State supreme court judicial selection in Mississippi
- See also: Judicial selection in Mississippi
The nine justices on the Mississippi Supreme Court are elected to eight-year terms in nonpartisan elections. All candidates must run in the general election (as Mississippi holds no primary for judicial candidates) and must face re-election if they wish to serve again.[18] For more information about these elections, visit the Mississippi judicial elections page.
Unlike most states, supreme court justices in Mississippi are elected to represent specific districts. The nine justices are divided among three supreme court districts (not to be confused with the 22 divisions of the circuit courts) and are voted into office by the residents of their respective regions.[19] Only the states of Illinois, Kentucky, and Louisiana use a similar system.
Qualifications
To serve on this court, a judge must be:
- a qualified elector for and from the district in which election is sought;
- a minimum of 30 years old;
- a practicing attorney; and
- a state citizen for at least five years.[18]
Chief justice
The court's chief justice is selected by seniority. He or she serves until retirement when the justice with the next most judicial experience becomes chief.[18]
Vacancies
If a midterm vacancy occurs on the court, a temporary judge is named by the governor. Appointees serve out the remainder of their predecessor's unexpired term if four or fewer years of the term remain. If there are more than four years remaining, the appointee will run in the next general election, taking place nine months or more after the vacancy occurs. The winner of the election will serve the remainder of the term.[20]
The map below highlights how vacancies are filled in state supreme courts across the country.
See also
- United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
- United States District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi
External links
- United States District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi
- Biography from Federal Judicial Center
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Truth Social, "Truth Details," accessed August 12, 2025
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Congress.gov, "PN466-1 — Robert P. Chamberlin — The Judiciary," accessed September 9, 2025
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 The Federal Judicial Center, "Chamberlin, Robert Porter," accessed December 16, 2025
- ↑ WTVA, "Hernando judge seeks state Supreme Court seat," March 23, 2016
- ↑ State of Mississippi Judiciary, "Circuit Judges & Support Staff," accessed June 29, 2021
- ↑ We calculated confidence scores by collecting several data points such as party registration, donations, and previous political campaigns.
- ↑ The five possible confidence scores were: Strong Democrat, Mild Democrat, Indeterminate, Mild Republican, and Strong Republican.
- ↑ Note: The bolded number reflects the largest number.
- ↑ U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary, "RESULTS OF COMMITTEE EXECUTIVE BUSINESS MEETING," accessed November 24, 2025
- ↑ Judge Aycock's Biography from the Federal Judicial Center.
- ↑ American Bar Association, "STANDING COMMITTEE ON THE FEDERAL JUDICIARY," accessed October 2, 2025
- ↑ Martindale, "Robert P. Chamberlin," accessed June 29, 2021
- ↑ WTVA, "Hernando judge seeks state Supreme Court seat," March 23, 2016
- ↑ Mississippi Secretary of State, "2014 Candidate Qualifying List," accessed June 29, 2021
- ↑ Mississippi Secretary of State, "Election Results," accessed June 29, 2021
- ↑ The seven factors were party registration, donations made to partisan candidates, donations made to political parties, donations received from political parties or bodies with clear political affiliation, participation in political campaigns, the partisanship of the body responsible for appointing the justice, and state trifecta status when the justice joined the court.
- ↑ An Indeterminate score indicates that there is either not enough information about the justice’s partisan affiliations or that our research found conflicting partisan affiliations.
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 National Center for State Courts, "Methods of Judicial Selection," accessed September 7, 2021
- ↑ State of Mississippi Judiciary, "Supreme Court," accessed September 7, 2021
- ↑ National Center for State Courts, "Methods of Judicial Selection," accessed September 7, 2021
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Sharion Aycock |
United States District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi 2025-Present |
Succeeded by - |
| Preceded by - |
Mississippi Supreme Court District 3 Position 1 2017-2025 |
Succeeded by - |
| |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 |
Thomas Parker • Elizabeth Branch • Neil Gorsuch • Amul Thapar • David C. Nye • John K. Bush • Kevin Newsom • Timothy J. Kelly • Ralph Erickson • Scott Palk • Trevor McFadden • Joan Larsen • Amy Coney Barrett • Allison Eid • Stephanos Bibas • Donald Coggins Jr. • Dabney Friedrich • Greg Katsas • Steven Grasz • Don Willett • James Ho • William L. Campbell Jr. • David Stras • Tilman E. Self III • Karen Gren Scholer • Terry A. Doughty • Claria Horn Boom • John Broomes • Rebecca Grady Jennings • Kyle Duncan • Kurt Engelhardt • Michael B. Brennan • Joel Carson • Robert Wier • Fernando Rodriguez Jr. • Annemarie Carney Axon • | ||
| 2018 |
Andrew Oldham • Amy St. Eve • Michael Scudder • John Nalbandian • Mark Bennett • Andrew Oldham • Britt Grant • Colm Connolly • Maryellen Noreika • Jill Otake • Jeffrey Beaverstock • Emily Coody Marks • Holly Lou Teeter • Julius Richardson • Charles B. Goodwin • Barry Ashe • Stan Baker • A. Marvin Quattlebaum Jr. • Terry F. Moorer • Susan Baxter • William Jung • Alan Albright • Dominic Lanza • Eric Tostrud • Charles Williams • Nancy E. Brasel • James Sweeney • Kari A. Dooley • Marilyn J. Horan • Robert Summerhays • Brett Kavanaugh • David Porter • Liles Burke • Michael Juneau • Peter Phipps • Lance Walker • Richard Sullivan • Eli Richardson • Ryan Nelson • Chad F. Kenney, Sr. • Susan Brnovich • William M. Ray, II • Jeremy Kernodle • Thomas Kleeh • J.P. Hanlon • Mark Norris • Jonathan Kobes • Michael Brown • David Counts | ||
| 2019 |
Eric Miller • Chad Readler • Eric Murphy • Neomi Rao • Paul Matey • Allison Jones Rushing • Bridget S. Bade • Roy Altman • Patrick Wyrick • Holly Brady • David Morales • Andrew Brasher • J. Campbell Barker • Rodolfo Ruiz • Daniel Domenico • Michael Truncale • Michael Park • Joseph Bianco • Raúl Arias-Marxuach • Daniel Collins • Joshua Wolson • Wendy Vitter • Kenneth Kiyul Lee • Kenneth Bell • Stephen Clark • Howard Nielson • Rodney Smith • Jean-Paul Boulee • Sarah Daggett Morrison • Rossie Alston • Pamela A. Barker • Corey Maze • Greg Guidry • Matthew Kacsmaryk • Allen Winsor • Carl Nichols • James Cain, Jr. • Tom Barber • J. Nicholas Ranjan • Clifton L. Corker • Peter Phipps • Daniel Bress • Damon Leichty • Wendy W. Berger • Peter Welte • Michael Liburdi • William Shaw Stickman • Mark Pittman • Karin J. Immergut • Jason Pulliam • Brantley Starr • Brian Buescher • James Wesley Hendrix • Timothy Reif • Martha Pacold • Sean Jordan • Mary Rowland • John M. Younge • Jeff Brown • Ada Brown • Steven Grimberg • Stephanie A. Gallagher • Steven Seeger • Stephanie Haines • Mary McElroy • David J. Novak • Frank W. Volk • Charles Eskridge • Rachel Kovner • Justin Walker • T. Kent Wetherell • Danielle Hunsaker • Lee Rudofsky • Jennifer Philpott Wilson • William Nardini • Steven Menashi • Robert J. Luck • Eric Komitee • Douglas Cole • John Sinatra • Sarah Pitlyk • Barbara Lagoa • Richard Myers II • Sherri Lydon • Patrick Bumatay • R. Austin Huffaker • Miller Baker • Anuraag Singhal • Karen Marston • Jodi Dishman • Mary Kay Vyskocil • Matthew McFarland • John Gallagher • Bernard Jones • Kea Riggs • Robert J. Colville • Stephanie Dawkins Davis • Gary R. Brown • David Barlow • Lewis Liman | ||
| 2020 |
Lawrence VanDyke • Daniel Traynor • John Kness • Joshua Kindred • Philip Halpern • Silvia Carreno-Coll • Scott Rash • John Heil • Anna Manasco • John L. Badalamenti • Drew Tipton • Andrew Brasher • Cory Wilson • Scott Hardy • David Joseph • Matthew Schelp • John Cronan • Justin Walker • Brett H. Ludwig • Christy Wiegand • Thomas Cullen • Diane Gujarati • Stanley Blumenfeld • Mark Scarsi • John Holcomb • Stephen P. McGlynn • Todd Robinson • Hala Jarbou • David Dugan • Iain D. Johnston • Franklin U. Valderrama • John Hinderaker • Roderick Young • Michael Newman • Aileen Cannon • James Knepp • Kathryn Kimball Mizelle • Benjamin Beaton • Kristi Johnson • Toby Crouse • Philip Calabrese • Taylor McNeel • Thomas Kirsch • Stephen Vaden • Katherine Crytzer • Fernando Aenlle-Rocha • Charles Atchley • Joseph Dawson | ||
| 2025 |
Whitney Hermandorfer • Joshua Divine • Cristian M. Stevens • Zachary Bluestone • Emil Bove • Edward Artau • Kyle Dudek• Maria Lanahan• Jennifer Mascott• Anne-Leigh Gaylord Moe• Chad Meredith• Harold Mooty• Jordan Pratt• Edmund LaCour• Bill Lewis• Eric Tung• Rebecca Taibleson• Joshua D. Dunlap• Bill Mercer• Susan Rodriguez• Robert Chamberlin• Matthew Orso• David Bragdon | ||
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
| |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Current judges | Jenifer Branning, Josiah Coleman, T. Kenneth Griffis, David Ishee, Leslie King, Jimmy Maxwell, Mike Randolph, David Sullivan | ||
| Former judges | Dawn H. Beam, George Carlson, Robert P. Chamberlin, David Chandler, Oliver Diaz, Jess Dickinson, Jim Kitchens, Ann Lamar, Randy Pierce, William Waller | ||
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State of Mississippi Jackson (capital) |
|---|---|
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