Three West Point attorneys have qualified to run for circuit court judge.

Mark Cliett, Michelle Easterling and Bennie L. Jones Jr. have all qualified through the Mississippi Office of the Secretary of State to run for circuit court judge for the 16th district of Mississippi.

The 16th district, which includes Lowndes, Oktibbeha, Clay and Noxubee counties, has three circuit court judges, one from each area of the district — one from Lowndes County, one from Oktibbeha County and one from Clay and Noxubee counties. Circuit court primarily handles felony criminal cases.

Cliett, Easterling and Jones will all run for the Clay and Noxubee judge position. Current judge Lee Coleman said he has chosen not to run for reelection.

Cliett was born and raised in West Point, and now operates the Cliett Law Firm. Graduating from the University of Mississippi School of Law, he has worked as an attorney since 1994.

Cliett has served as a Clay County public defender, as well as the municipal prosecutor and municipal judge for West Point. Cliett said he believes he is qualified for this position because he has worked several cases and trials in circuit court and understands the importance of criminal defense.

“I feel like I have the experience necessary, and I want to do it to help my community and try to make this community better,” Cliett said. “ … the experience that I have on criminal defense, prosecution and as a judge makes me a more well-rounded or complete candidate for this job because I have all of those aspects in my experience.”

Cliett said he is running because he wants to serve his community and looks forward to meeting residents of the Golden Triangle throughout the campaign process.

“It’s a long time — 10 months — until the general election, but I’m looking forward to getting out and meeting people and having the opportunity to earn their vote,” Cliett said.

Easterling has practiced law since 1998, graduating from Ole Miss law school and is a partner at Edwards, Storey, Marshall, Helveston and Easterling law firm in West Point.

Easterling has served Clay County as the county prosecutor since 2013 and the city of West Point as the municipal prosecutor since 2016. She has also represented East Mississippi Community College as the board attorney since 2017 and served the Mississippi Bar Association as the representative for the 16th circuit court district.

“I feel like the experience I’ve gotten representing individuals through all of my positions and work qualifies me for this position,” Easterling said.

A Clay County native, Easterling said she wants to serve all areas of the Golden Triangle, not just her county. She said she looks forward to the campaign journey and listening to other people’s experiences in order to hopefully help her perform the job to the best of her abilities.

“I enjoy meeting people and hearing their perspectives,” Easterling said. “I try to meet as many people as I can. I’m looking forward to going out into these communities across the Golden Triangle and meeting as many people as I can to tell them why this election is so important and why I’m their candidate for circuit judge.”

Growing up in the Mississippi Delta, Jones moved to West Point after graduating law school from the University of Florida. He works as an attorney at his law firm, Bennie L. Jones Jr. and Associates and has practiced law for more than 35 years.

Jones has served as a municipal judge for the town of Maben and the city of West Point, as well as a board attorney for at least four different school districts. He has practiced criminal law not just in the Golden Triangle, but across the state and southern parts of the country.

“I feel like I can help many people running for circuit court judge,” Jones said. “I’m a family man. I’m a Christian man. I just feel like I have the life experiences to be able to serve the people better in the capacity as a circuit court judge.”

Jones said he would have run for circuit court judge several years ago, but he enjoyed practicing law and felt he could be more helpful to people in the community in that capacity. He said he feels now is the right time to run for the position.

“One of my favorite things about practicing law is getting to work with people and having interactions with people,” Jones said. “ … As a circuit judge candidate, I’m going to be one who follows the law. I’m going to be fair and honest, and I’m going to be balanced and follow the law with any case that comes before the court.”

Incumbent James T. Kitchens Jr. is the only individual who has qualified for the Lowndes County judge position.

Lee J. “Jay” Howard, son of current judge Lee Howard, has qualified for the Oktibbeha County position. He said he will issue a press release in the coming weeks regarding his reasoning for running for judge.

The circuit court judge general election will be Nov. 8.

Oktibbeha County court
Due to population growth reported in the 2020 Census, Oktibbeha County is required to now have a county court. The Oktibbeha County board of supervisors is awaiting approval from Gov. Tate Reeves to move forward with the process of creating this court.

All candidates for county court judge must qualify by the end of January, but Oktibbeha County Circuit Court Clerk Tony Rook said he hopes county court qualifications will be extended due to the court awaiting approval and county court elections can be held the same time as circuit court elections.