Michael K. Randolph (born December 4, 1946) is the chief 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 ...

, serving in the position since 2019. Before that, he was appointed to the Supreme Court in 2004. He represents District 2 Place 3.

Early life and education

Born in 1946, Randolph is a native of

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 137,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Dayton metro ...

. He is the son of a construction worker who had a third-grade education. He served as an

air traffic controller An Air traffic controller (ATC) is a person responsible for the coordination of traffic in their assigned airspace. Typically stationed in area control centers or control towers, they monitor the position, speed, and altitude of aircraft and c ...

during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

with the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

1st Infantry Division and was

honorably discharged A military discharge is given when a member of the armed forces is released from their obligation to serve. Each country's military has different types of discharge. They are generally based on whether the persons completed their training and the ...

in 1967. He attended

Ohio State University The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one ...

before graduating from

Rollins College Rollins College is a Liberal arts college, private liberal arts college in Winter Park, Florida. It was founded in November 1885 and has about 30 undergraduate majors and several master's programs. Florida's fourth oldest post-secondary institut ...

with a

bachelor of science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

in business administration in 1972; two years later, he earned a

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

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 ...

. While in law school, he joined the U.S. Naval Reserve, graduated from the

Naval Justice School The Naval Justice School (NJS) is an educational institution of the United States Navy whose mission is to instruct Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard officers and enlisted personnel in the fundamental principles of military justice, civil and ...

, and serving as an attorney with the

Judge Advocate General Corps The Judge Advocate General's Corps (JAG or JAG Corps) is the military justice branch or specialty of the United States Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marine Corps, and Navy. Officers serving in the JAG Corps are typically called judge advocates. ...

. He was honorably discharged in 1975.

Career

From 1975 until 2004, Randolph practiced law in

Biloxi, Mississippi Biloxi ( ; ) is a city in Harrison County, Mississippi, United States. It lies on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast in southern Mississippi, bordering the city of Gulfport, Mississippi, Gulfport to its west. The adjacent cities ar ...

and

Hattiesburg, Mississippi Hattiesburg is a city in the U.S. state of Mississippi, located primarily in Forrest County, Mississippi, Forrest County (where it is the county seat and most populous city) and extending west into Lamar County, Mississippi, Lamar County. The ci ...

, working for several firms before starting his own practice with two others. On April 23, 2004, Gov.

Haley Barbour Haley Reeves Barbour (born October 22, 1947) is an American attorney, politician, and lobbyist who served as the 63rd governor of Mississippi from 2004 to 2012. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he previously ser ...

appointed Randolph to the

Mississippi Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Mississippi is the 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 1869. The court ...

to serve the unexpired term of former Chief Justice Edwin L. Pittman. In November 2004, Randolph was elected to the Supreme Court for an eight-year term that began January 1, 2005. He was reelected in 2012 and 2020. He became a Presiding Justice of the Supreme Court on January 1, 2013. He became Chief Justice on February 1, 2019. President

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

appointed Randolph to serve on the National Coal Council. Randolph has also served on the board of directors for

William Carey College William Carey University (Carey, William Carey, or WCU) is a private Christian university in Mississippi, United States. The institution is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention and the Mississippi Baptist Convention. The main campus ...

, and was past president of the South Central Mississippi Bar Association. He is the former chairman of the Forrest County Republican Executive Committee. Randolph was rumored as a potential Republican candidate in the

2019 Mississippi gubernatorial election The 2019 Mississippi gubernatorial election took place on November 5, 2019, to choose the next List of governors of Mississippi, governor of Mississippi. Incumbent Governor Phil Bryant was ineligible to run for a third term due to term lim ...

Personal life

Randolph is married to Kathy Webb Randolph. He has three children and five grandchildren. He is a member of Temple Baptist Church.

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Randolph, Michael K. 1946 births Living people 20th-century American lawyers 21st-century American judges 21st-century American lawyers Chief justices of the Supreme Court of Mississippi Justices of the Supreme Court of Mississippi Rollins College alumni University of Mississippi alumni Air traffic controllers United States Army personnel of the Vietnam War United States Army soldiers United States Navy sailors United States Navy reservists