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By Beverly Pettigrew KraftCurrent and former judges who haveserved on the Mississippi Court ofAppeals during the past 30 yearsgathered to share recollections and talk aboutthe history of the court on Jan. 9 as theylaunched an anniversary celebration.Gov. Tate Reeves said after a luncheonhonoring the jurists, %u201cFor three decades,the Court of Appeals has played a vital andindispensable role in our state%u2019s judiciary.%u201dSupreme Court Chief Justice Mike Randolph of Hattiesburg said that the Courtof Appeals is an important component ofproviding timely decisions on appeal. Hetold early members of the Court of Appeals,%u201cJob well done. Thank you to you pioneers.%u201dTwenty-four of the 39 judges who haveserved on the Court of Appeals, includingall six of the still living original 10, attendedsome of the day%u2019s events. The six %u201cOriginals%u201dare Supreme Court Presiding Justice LeslieD. King of Greenville, former Chief Judgeof the Court of Appeals; former Chief JudgeRoger McMillin Jr. of New Albany; formerJudge Thomas Coleman of Madison; formerJudge and later Supreme Court PresidingJustice Oliver Diaz of Jackson; former JudgeMary Libby Payne of Pearl; and Judge LeslieSouthwick of Jackson, now a judge of theMississippi Court of Appeals Celebrates30-Year Anniversary With Ceremony, PanelBeverly Pettigrew Kraft has served as publicinformation officer for the Mississippi Administrative Office of Courts for almost 24 years.She previously worked for 20 years as a dailynewspaper reporter covering the justice systemfor The Clarion-Ledger and the former Jackson Daily News. She earned numerous awardsfor news reporting, and was part of a team thatwon the ABA Silver Gavel Award in 1997. Shegraduated magna cum laude from MississippiUniversity for Women with a Bachelor of Science degree in journalism and English.Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.Chief Judge Donna Barnes of Tupelosaid after the luncheon, %u201cI can assure youthat we on the Court today appreciate thelegacy you left to us and we strive every dayto meet the standards you have set.%u201dLater, at a panel discussion in the Courtof Appeals Courtroom, she noted that theoperating procedures established by theoriginal 10 judges are still in use. %u201cWe aredefinitely following the system that the 10...created and I think it%u2019s been working verywell....We owe you so much, the 10 originals,six remaining.%u201dChief Judge Barnes became the secondwoman to serve on the Court of Appealswhen she was appointed in 2004, and theCourt%u2019s first female Chief Judge when shetook that leadership role on Feb. 1, 2019.Now, half of the Court of Appeals judgesare women. The most recent female jurist,Judge Amy Lassitter St. Pe%u2019 of Pascagoula,was sworn in on Jan. 6.The Mississippi Senate and House ofRepresentatives adopted a concurrent resolution honoring the Court of Appeals onits 30th anniversary and documenting thehistory of the Court%u2019s creation. Sen. BriceWiggins of Pascagoula, who presented SenateConcurrent Resolution 501 to the Court ofAppeals on Jan. 9, said the bill was the firstlegislation agreed upon by the two chambersduring the 2025 Session.Presiding Justice King, Judge Southwickand U.S. District Judge Michael P. Mills ofFulton, now a senior status judge, outlinednot just the history of the court, but somecolorful back stories during the afternoonpanel discussion. Presiding Justice King,Judge Mills and former Judge Diaz all servedin the Mississippi House of Representativeswhen the Legislature created the Court ofAppeals. Judge Mills authored the originalHouse bill which called for creation of theCourt of Appeals and the AdministrativeOffice of Courts. Two Senate bills won finalapproval. But that%u2019s getting ahead of thestory.Judge Southwick explained that by theSPRING 2025 13