Five judges appointed to Committee on Continuing Judicial Education

Published 8:00 am Thursday, November 25, 2021

Chief Justice Mike Randolph recently reappointed Supreme Court Justice James D. Maxwell II of Oxford and Court of Appeals Judge Deborah A. McDonald of Fayette to the Committee on Continuing Judicial Education.

Justice Maxwell has served on the Committee since March 2, 2017. Judge McDonald has been a member since Feb. 28, 2019.

Circuit Judge Toni Walker Terrett of Vicksburg, Chancellor Jennifer Schloegel of Gulfport and County Court Judge Lisa J. Howell of Meridian were recently selected by their fellow judges to serve on the Committee on Continuing Judicial Education. Chief Justice Randolph signed an order on behalf of the unanimous Supreme Court on Nov. 3 formalizing all of the appointments.

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The Committee on Continuing Judicial Education exercises general supervisory authority over the administration of the Rules and Regulations for Mandatory Continuing Judicial Education and recommends rule changes to the Supreme Court.

The rules govern the nature and number of mandatory judicial education hours which judges must receive before taking office and annually. The rules cover Supreme Court justices and judges of the Court of Appeals, Circuit, Chancery, County and Youth Courts, including Youth Court referees, as well as senior status judges.

Judge Schloegel has served as a chancellor of the 8th Chancery Court since January 2011. She   practiced law for 19 years in the areas of business law, estate planning, wills and probate matters.

She earned a Bachelor’s degree in English and philosophy from Louisiana State University and a law degree from the University of Mississippi School of Law.

Justice Maxwell was appointed to the Mississippi Supreme Court on Jan. 1, 2016.  He previously served as a judge of the Mississippi Court of Appeals for almost seven years.  Before he came to the bench, he was an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Mississippi.  Justice Maxwell earned his undergraduate degree and Juris Doctor from the University of Mississippi.

Judge McDonald has served on the Court of Appeals since January 2019. She was Fayette Municipal Judge for 23 years. She was attorney for the city of Port Gibson and represented the Hazlehurst School District. She represented clients in state and federal courts, including extensive civil rights litigation.

She began her legal career as an attorney representing the poor at the former Southwest Mississippi Legal Services in McComb. She worked for Legal Services for nine years, and was director of the McComb office for three years. Judge McDonald is a graduate of Alcorn State University. She earned a Juris Doctor from the University of Mississippi School of Law.