U.S. District Judge Lyonel Senter retires from senior status

April 14, 2011

Mississippi: Judge Lyonel Senter (a.k.a. "L.T. Senter"), of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi, retired on April 8, 2011 at the age of 77. Although he assumed senior status in 1998, Judge Senter has continued to help out with the court's heavy caseload. He is most well-known for presiding over hundreds of lawsuits filed as a result of Hurricane Katrina. After over five years of work, his office closed 1,421 cases relating to the devastating hurricane.

Senter was first appointed to the federal District Court in 1979. Previously, he served as a state court judge. Jerry Read, one of Senter's law clerks, stated, "Judge Senter, day-in and day-out, month-in and month-out, year-in and year-out, has the best attitude and outlook on life of anyone I've ever known - not worked for - known."