David P. Sullivan is an American lawyer who has served as an associate justice of the

Supreme Court of Mississippi The Supreme Court of Mississippi is the Supreme court, highest court in the state of Mississippi. It was established in 1818 per the terms of the first constitution of the state and was known as the High Court of Errors and Appeals from 1832 to 1 ...

since 2025.

Education

Sullivan graduated with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

from

Millsaps College Millsaps College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Jackson, Mississippi. It was founded in 1890 and is affiliated with the United Methodist Church. History The college was founded ...

cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...

'' in 1990, and the University of Mississippi Law School in 1994.

Career

Sullivan has practiced law for 30 years in Mississippi. From 2019 to 2025, he served as municipal judge for

D'Iberville, Mississippi D'Iberville ( ) is a city in Harrison County, Mississippi, United States, immediately north of Biloxi, across the Back Bay. The population was 12,721 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Gulfport-Biloxi Metropolitan Area. Etymology It is nam ...

. He also served as a city prosecutor and

public defender A public defender is a lawyer appointed to represent people who otherwise cannot reasonably afford to hire a lawyer to defend themselves in a trial. Several countries provide people with public defenders, including the UK, Belgium, Hungary and Si ...

Mississippi Supreme Court

Sullivan was the opponent to incumbent Justice Dawn H. Beam. On November 5, 2024, Sullivan won election to the court, defeating Beam. Sullivan was sworn into office on January 6, 2025.

Personal life

Sullivan's father, Michael D. Sullivan, also served on the Supreme Court from 1984 to 2000. His grandfather was a Mississippi state senator and

Hattiesburg Hattiesburg is a city in the U.S. state of Mississippi, located primarily in Forrest County (where it is the county seat and most populous city) and extending west into Lamar County. The city population was 48,730 in 2020, making it the 5th m ...

city attorney. Sullivan identifies as a

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

and

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

References

External links

* Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Place of birth missing (living people) 20th-century American lawyers 21st-century American judges 21st-century American lawyers American prosecutors Justices of the Supreme Court of Mississippi Millsaps College alumni Mississippi lawyers Public defenders University of Mississippi School of Law alumni {{Mississippi-state-judge-stub