Three candidates from widely different backgrounds and experiences are facing off Tuesday for the newly created Place 3 16th Circuit Court judge position.
Lee S. Coleman, Bob Marshall or Nebra Porter, all of West Point, will try cases in Lowndes, Clay, Oktibbeha and Noxubee counties.
Whoever wins the election will work alongside Judge Lee J. Howard and either Judge Jim Kitchens or his place one challenger William Starks.
Coleman, who has practiced law 36 years, is already a seasoned politician with deep roots in the community.
When asked what sets him apart from the other candidates in the race, he pointed to his two terms as a state representative and 26 years as the attorney for the Clay County Board of Supervisors.
“I have the experience,” he added, “to give everyone a fair and impartial trial.”
While Coleman has the most political experience, Marshall is asking voters to examine his integrity in 37 years of practicing law in West Point.
“I”d just ask the voters to check me out and make their own determination about the candidates,” Marshall said.
One point Marshall stressed was that local attorneys had elected him twice to represent the district on the Mississippi Board of Bar Commissioners, the governing board of the state bar association.
Part of the reason they did so, he continued, was because they knew his legal reputation.
“I”ve seen just about every type of case, if not every case, that would come before a judge of this type,” he added.
But two experiences Coleman and Marshall have never had is that of being black and a woman.
Nebra Porter, who is both, said she wants to balance the district circuit court, which has never had a woman or a black judge.
“The bench should reflect, as much as possible, the community it serves,” she said. “My goal is to ensure justice for all that come before the court.”
But besides making history, voters should choose the Louisville, Ky., native because of her legal experience, she said.
She has served exclusively as a defense attorney for 16 of her 20 years in law, representing several clients in high-profile cases in the district, where she has lived the last 10 years.
“I”ve spent my career,” she continued, “trying to make sure people have had equal access.”
One of those cases is the 2005 trial of a Lowndes County detention officer who was found not guilty by a jury of having sex with an inmate, she said.
In another case, she represented 32 Griffin employees who were laid off without benefits in West Point. All 32 employees had their benefits reinstated, she said.
Porter was laid off herself in October 2009 from North Mississippi Rural Legal Services, where she had practiced civil law for four years.
While there, she fought foreclosures and domestic violence, among other cases, she said.
“I believe my extensive trial experience, that I”m a woman, that I”m a criminal defense attorney — all my life experiences — are some of the qualities that distinguish me from my opponents,” she said.
She also claims to be the first only candidate in the race until recently to campaign for a drug court in the district.
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