James Lamar Roberts Jr. (born June 8, 1945) is an American retired jurist who served as a 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 ...

from 1992 to 1999. Leslie Southwick
Mississippi Supreme Court Elections: A Historical Perspective 1916-1996
18 Miss. C. L. Rev. 115 (1997-1998). Born in

Pontotoc, Mississippi Pontotoc is a city in and the county seat of Pontotoc County, Mississippi, located to the west of the larger city of Tupelo. The population was 5,640 at the 2020 census. Pontotoc is a Chickasaw word that means, “Land of the Hanging Grapes. ...

, Roberts received a J.D. from the

University of Mississippi School of Law The University of Mississippi School of Law, also known as Ole Miss Law, is an ABA-accredited law school located on the campus of the University of Mississippi in Oxford, Mississippi, United States. Established in 1854, the School of Law offers t ...

in 1971, and served as the prosecuting attorney for

Pontotoc County, Mississippi Pontotoc County is a county located in the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2020 census, the population was 31,184. Its county seat is Pontotoc. It was created on February 9, 1836, from lands ceded to the United States under the Chickasa ...

from 1972 to 1983. In 1984, Governor

Bill Allain William A. Allain (February 14, 1928 – December 2, 2013) was an American politician and lawyer who held office as the 59th governor of Mississippi as a Democrat from 1984 to 1988. Born in Adams County, Mississippi, he attended the Universit ...

appointed him State Commissioner of Public Safety, a position he held for four years. Roberts became a justice of the Supreme Court of Mississippi in 1992. In April 1999, Roberts resigned form his seat on the Supreme Court to campaign for the office of governor in that year's election. He sought the Democratic nomination, facing Lieutenant Governor

Ronnie Musgrove David Ronald Musgrove (born July 29, 1956) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 62nd governor of Mississippi from 2000 to 2004. A Democratic Party (United States), Democrat, he previously served as the 29th lieutenant governor ...

. Roberts did little to build a gubernatorial platform and spent most of his time attacking Musgrove for his use of state vehicles for campaign activities. Musgrove won the August 3 Democratic primary, taking 57 percent of the vote to Roberts' 26 percent. In January 2019, Roberts suffered a stroke. He tendered his resignation from his circuit court judgeship effective February 29, 2020.

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Works cited

* 1945 births Living people People from Pontotoc, Mississippi University of Mississippi School of Law alumni Justices of the Supreme Court of Mississippi {{Mississippi-state-judge-stub