Charles Easley
From Judgepedia
Charles “Chuck” Easley is a Justice on the Mississippi Supreme Court, District 3 Place 2. In 2000, Easley defeated then-Supreme Court Chief Justice Lenore Prather--the first female justice to serve on the court--in a hard-fought race. In 2008, he is running for re-election; his opponent is David Chandler.
Justice Easley graduated from the University of Mississippi in 1972 with a Bachelor of Business Administration, Mississippi State University in 1976 with a Master’s of Business Administration, University of Mississippi in 1979 with a Juris Doctorate, and from the National District Attorneys College - Career Prosecutor’s Course, Houston, Texas in 1980. Also, he is a graduate of the American Academy of Judicial Education: The Judge as Fact Finder & Decision Maker.
Easley served as an Assistant District Attorney for the Third Judicial Court District from 1980- 1983, Prosecutor of the Town of Caledonia, and Judge of the Town of Caledonia. He practiced law in Columbus, Mississippi, from 1983-2000.
Justice Easley and his wife reside in Lowndes County, Mississippi, and they are members of the Kolola Springs Baptist Church. Justice and Mrs. Easley raise goats and donkeys. Also, Justice Easley owns and operates a tree farm. Before becoming a lawyer, Justice Easley was a farmer and cattleman in Houlka, Mississippi.
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Awards and Associations
Justice Easley is a member of the Mississippi Bar Association, American Association of Retired Persons (AARP), the Lowndes County Bar Association, the American Bar Association (ABA), lifetime member of the National Rifle Association (NRA), Mason, Shriner, York Rite, Scottish Rite, the National Geographic Society, Audubon Society, and American Judges Association. He is a former member of Mississippi Municipal Judge’s Association and Mississippi Prosecutor’s Association.
Justice Easley now serves on the Mississippi Supreme Court Security Committee, the Mississippi Supreme Court Library Committee, the Mississippi Supreme Court Human Resources Committee and as Chairman of the Mississippi Continuing Judicial Education Committee. He formerly served on the Board of Directors of the following organizations: Big Brothers and Big Sisters, American Cancer Society, and Mississippi Prosecutor’s Association. Justice Easley teaches courses on ethics for both judges and attorneys.[1]
2008 campaign
Easley came under fire early in the campaign season when he filed to simultaneously run for two different seats on the court, an endeavour he ultimately abandoned. He originally sought to run both for the seat he occupies, as well as the seat occupied by Ann Lamar.
Easley's response to criticisms levelled at him--including a local columnist who said "why would a judge who wanted to be taken seriously resort to such a self-serving tactic?"--is that:
- He was making a statement "about special interest groups wanting appointed judges. Mississippians should always have the right to vote for their judges."
- Easley believes the current court is "too liberal" and says it "bends over backwards for criminals," and as a result of these systemic problems, he wanted to protest the way governors appoint judges when midterm vacancies occur.
- "I want voters to maintain the right to elect their judges. It seems to be whoever the governor wants to get appointed. It's just cronyism at its worst."[1]
In the News: Articles
Rivals outraise Incumbents (June 29, 2008)
Some opponents of three Mississippi Supreme Court justices are far outpacing the incumbents in campaign contributions in their quest to gain a seat on the nine-member court, based on initial campaign finance reports. In the Charles Easley race, Easley, who was elected to the high court in 2000, reported receiving $400. His opponent, state Court of Appeals Judge David Chandler of Ackerman, has raised $82,350 and spent $10,159. When asked about the campaign contributions, Easley said, "I don't need a lot of money. He will need the money. I have right justice on my side." Easley said he expects Chandler to raise at least $500,000. [1]
Easley speaks on prior decisions and opponent (May 15, 2008)
Easley — who boasts of being tough against criminals — said he’s eager to defend his decisions on the nine-member Supreme Court. “My record speaks for itself. ... My record for law and order is stronger than anybody’s,” said the former assistant district attorney who had a private law practice in Columbus for 17 years before joining the high court in 2001. He alleged Tupelo attorney Jim Waide and other criminal-defense lawyers are running Chandler to unseat Easley. “Waide thinks I’m too hard on criminals,” Easley said. Chandler could not be reached for comment. Waide said he does support Chandler — his former law partner — but isn’t pulling the strings for his campaign. “It’s preposterous to say I’m putting up David Chandler,” Waide said. “I’m supporting David Chandler, but I have no control over him.”
Easley was the lone dissenter in the state Supreme Court’s 2006 decision that threw out the murder conviction of one of Waide’s most famous clients: Tyler Edmonds. The high court said Oktibbeha County Circuit Judge Jim Kitchens made erroneous rulings that denied the teenager a fair trial. He hasn’t been retried yet. Easley said Edmonds was properly found guilty of killing Joey Fulgham and should stay in prison for life. Edmonds and sister Kristi Fulgham were charged with jointly holding the pistol and pulling the trigger to murder her husband while he slept at home near Starkville in 2003. She was found guilty in 2005 and sentenced to death. The case has received national publicity. Edmonds was 13 when the murder occurred.[1]
Easley speaks on running for two seats (May 14, 2008)
Mississippi Supreme Court Justice Charles "Chuck" Easley has qualified to run for two state Supreme Court seats from the state's northern district - the one he has 2000 and the seat Justice Ann Lamar of Senatobia was appointed to in 2007. Since Easley can't legally occupy both of those seats on the bench of the state's highest court, a journalist asks, why would a judge who wanted to be taken seriously resort to such a self-serving tactic - one that followed to its logical extreme could force the taxpayers to foot the bill for a special election?
Easley has told the press that he's qualified to seek both judicial posts in order to make a statement "about special interest groups wanting appointed judges. Mississippians should always have the right to vote for their judges." Calling the current court "too liberal" and suggesting that it "bends over backwards for criminals," Easley told his hometown newspaper that he qualified for two Supreme Court seats to protest how governors appoint judges when midterm vacancies occur, he said. "I want voters to maintain the right to elect their judges," Easley told The Columbus Commercial Dispatch on Saturday. "It seems to be whoever the governor wants to get appointed. It's just cronyism at its worst," Easley said. His point is made by the fact that the present nine-member state Supreme Court has five justices first placed there by governors. Lamar was appointed to take the place of the retiring Justice Kay Cobb. In Easley's remarks to the Columbus newspaper, there's also the suggestion of a little crass sexism as well. In 2000, Easley defeated then-Supreme Court Chief Justice Lenore Prather of Columbus. Prather was first appointed in 1982 by then-Gov. William Winter to fill a vacancy. Capitol reporter John Mott Coffey quoted Easley as saying that in tapping Justice Lamar for the vacancy created when Justice Cobb stepped down, Gov. Haley Barbour made a "politically correct" appointment to ensure the Supreme Court had at least one female member. "Gov. Barbour just pulled her out of the air," Easley said of Lamar, a former district attorney and circuit court judge.
A year ago when Lamar was appointed, Easley said something completely different. In an official Supreme Court press release dated May 9, 2007, Easley called Lamar "a superb addition to the court." Easley was quoted as saying: "She (Lamar) has an excellent record. She is very experienced and very qualified. I've heard lawyers all over the northern part of the state comment that she is an excellent judge. I look forward to working with her. She is a superb addition to the court."[1]
Business and Industry Political Education Committee scores Judges
Judges and judicial candidates are discouraged by Mississippi judicial conduct codes from expressing their individual philosophies on almost all issues. The Business and Industry Political Education Committee (BIPEC) commissioned The Economic Judicial Report (EJR) in order to fill this void of information and give voters a meaningful measuring device for assessing how Mississippi's Supreme Courts and Court of Appeals rule. Specifically, BIPEC's concern is "liability"--as the Committee believes that the public is increasingly more vulnerable to being sued. That, "the fundamental premise behind the evaluations is that the enormous expansion of civil liability in American courts over the past 45 years discourages job growth and changes for the worse how we conduct our personal and professional lives."[1]
Kay Cobb is scored highest with 82%, and Judge George Carlson is scored second highest with a rating of 75%. James Smith was scored with 72%, William Waller with 69%, and Craig Sorrell Pittman with 85%. Those scoring under 50% are James Graves (34%), Oliver Diaz (28%), Charles Easley (27%), and Chuck McRae (8%). To learn more, or read this study, visit [BIPEC's Economic Judicial Report
External Links
- Easley: damning himself with faint praise
- NNBD.com
- Project Vote Smart
- Easley speaks on running for two spots
- Mississippi Supreme Court Election Information
- The Commercial Dispatch: Easley on decisions and opponent
