William Lowe Waller Jr. (born February 9, 1952) is an American judge who served on 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 1998 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he was chief justice for his last decade in office. Waller was a candidate for the Republican nomination of

Governor of Mississippi The governor of Mississippi is the head of government of Mississippi and the commander-in-chief of the U.S. state, state's Mississippi National Guard, military forces. The governor has a duty to enforce state laws, and the power to either appro ...

in the 2019 election, but was defeated by Lieutenant Governor

Tate Reeves Jonathan Tate Reeves (born June 5, 1974) is an American politician serving as the 65th List of governors of Mississippi, governor of Mississippi since 2020. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, Reeves served as the ...

Early life and education

Waller, a native and current resident of

Jackson, Mississippi Jackson is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Mississippi, most populous city of the U.S. state of Mississippi. The city sits on the Pearl River (Mississippi–Louisiana), Pearl River and is locate ...

, is the son of William "Bill" Waller. Sr., the

from 1972 to 1976, and Carroll Waller. The junior Waller graduated from Murrah High School and

Mississippi State University Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Mississippi State, Mississippi, Un ...

in 1974, where he was a member of the

Sigma Phi Epsilon Sigma Phi Epsilon (), commonly known as SigEp, is a social college Fraternities and sororities, fraternity for male college students in the United States. It was founded on November 1, 1901, at Richmond College, which is now the University of ...

fraternity. He received his

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 ...

in 1977.

Career

Waller practiced law with the firm of Waller and Waller in Jackson for over 20 years and served as a Municipal Judge for the City of Jackson. Waller was elected to the Mississippi Supreme Court in November 1996, for a term beginning in January 1998. He won reelection in November 2004. He served as a Presiding Justice from January 2004 until December 2008, and assumed the position of Chief Justice in January 2009. Waller has sought to bring reforms in the administration of justice. He supported adoption by the Supreme Court of

mediation Mediation is a structured, voluntary process for resolving disputes, facilitated by a neutral third party known as the mediator. It is a structured, interactive process where an independent third party, the mediator, assists disputing parties ...

rules for

civil litigation Civil law is a major "branch of the law", in common law legal systems such as those in England and Wales and in the United States, where it stands in contrast to criminal law. Glanville Williams. ''Learning the Law''. Eleventh Edition. Stevens. 1 ...

and served as chairman of the Mississippi

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 ...

Task Force from 2000 to 2005. Waller was principal architect of what became legislation that created the Office of Capital Post Conviction Counsel, the Office of Indigent Appeals and the Comprehensive Electronic Court Systems Fund. Waller served as chairman of the Supreme Court Rules Committee from 2001 to 2008. In 2012, he led efforts that resulted in the passage of judicial compensation reform legislation. In March 2018, Chief Justice Waller and Justice King dissented when the majority of the Mississippi Supreme Court found that sentencing a juvenile to

life without parole Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment under which the convicted individual is to remain incarcerated for the rest of their natural life (or until pardoned or commuted to a fixed term). Crimes that result in life imprisonment are co ...

did not violate '' Miller v. Alabama'' (2012). Waller is a member of the Stennis Institute Advisory Board at Mississippi State University. He is an Eagle Scout and serves on the advisory board of the Andrew Jackson Council, Boy Scouts of America. Justice Waller serves on the adjunct faculty of the

Mississippi College School of Law Mississippi College School of Law (MC Law or MC Law School) is an American Bar Association accredited law school. MC Law is one of two law schools in the state of Mississippi, and is the only law school in the capital city of Jackson, Mississipp ...

2019 gubernatorial candidacy

Waller was a candidate for

in the 2019 primary election. Failing to achieve 50 percent of the vote in the primary, two candidates – Waller and lieutenant governor Tate Reeves – were forced into a runoff, where Reeves won with 54 percent.

Military career

Presently assigned to the Retired Reserve, Justice Waller attained the rank of brigadier general while serving as commander of the 66th Troop Command,

Mississippi Army National Guard The Mississippi Army National Guard is the Army National Guard component of the Mississippi National Guard. It was originally formed in 1798. It is a component of the United States Army and the National Guard (United States), National Guard. It ...

, Jackson, Mississippi.

Awards and recognition

* Judicial Innovation Award (2003–2004) by the

Hinds County Hinds County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Mississippi. With its county seats (Raymond, Mississippi, Raymond and the state's capital, Jackson, Mississippi, Jackson), Hinds is the most populous county in Missis ...

Bar Association and the Jackson Young Lawyers Association * Chief Justice Award (2005) for his work as chairman of a special study committee to develop a statewide e-filing and docket management system * Mississippi State University Pre-Law Society’s Distinguished Jurist award (2009) * Judicial Excellence Award (2011–2012) from the Capital Area Bar Association and the Jackson Young Lawyers Association. * Honorary Doctor of Laws degree (2012) from Mississippi College School of Law

Personal life

Waller and his wife, Charlotte, have three children and are members of First Baptist Church Jackson, where he has served as chairman of the deacons.

References

External links

Official campaign website
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Waller, Bill, Jr. 1952 births 20th-century American judges 21st-century American judges Chief justices of the Supreme Court of Mississippi Lawyers from Jackson, Mississippi Living people Mississippi Republicans Mississippi State University alumni Justices of the Supreme Court of Mississippi Politicians from Jackson, Mississippi United States Army generals University of Mississippi School of Law alumni