On Tuesday, Nov. 26, voters will determine who will fill one of three central Mississippi seats on the nine-member state Supreme Court. This 22-county area includes Hinds and Jackson counties.

Justice Jim Kitchens is seeking a third eight-year term on the Supreme Court. State Senator Jenifer B. Branning is the challenger.

The state Supreme Court often has the final say in cases involving criminal, civil and death penalty appeals, questions of state laws and constitution, and legal issues of public interest. It hears appeals from lower courts, such as the chancery and circuit courts. The court decided 260 cases in 2023 and issued judgments in 2,656 motions and petitions.

The Marshall Project – Jackson and Mississippi Today has compiled information about each candidate to help you make an informed decision at the polls.

Admitted to the Mississippi Bar: 1967

Stay: Crystal Springs, Copiah County

Relevant experience: Completion of second term as Supreme Court judge; 41 years as a practicing attorney, including nine as district attorney of Copiah, Walthall, Pike and Lincoln counties.

Campaign funding: As of Oct. 10, his campaign committee had raised $288,502, mostly from trial lawyers, and spent $189,675, leaving the campaign with $98,827. Read the latest report Here.

Declaration of economic interest: Kitchens and his wife are partners in a real estate company, Kitchens Properties, LLC, in Copiah County. Read the latest report Here.

Kitchens was first elected to the seat in 2008 after more than 40 years of practice, which includes nine years as a four-county district attorney. He is one of two Chief Justices who have the most years on the bench, after the Chief Justice. Presiding justice is a role on the court’s executive committee that includes administrative duties such as enforcing court deadlines and presiding over panels during oral arguments.

Campaign at the 2024 Neshoba County FairKitchens emphasized his courtroom experience, particularly in criminal cases, and promised impartiality.

Kitchens said he is “the guy who carries his oath of office in his pocket as a daily reminder of what he swore to do. That oath teaches me that I shouldn’t care whether the people in front of the court are rich, poor, black, white, Republican, Democrat, libertarian, or independent. And I don’t care.”

Mississippi College of Law professor Matthew Steffey described Kitchens as a “middle-of-the-road centrist.” On the bench, Kitchens’ dissents introduced what the justices called overreach in judicial power and scrutinized prosecutors’ decisions.

Kitchens wrote a partial dissent to the ruling on House Bill 1020, calling the creation of the Hinds County court a “fiction of convenience that oversteps our judicial function and, of paramount importance, our constitutional duty.” He also joined a divergent opinion in the case that killed Mississippi’s ballot initiative.

Ensuring that defendants who cannot afford representation have court-appointed attorneys is a theme throughout Kitchens’ career. He was chairman of the Public Defender Task Force, which was created in 2000 to study and make recommendations about public defender systems in the state. In a 2018 interview with Mississippi TodayKitchens expressed support for a better organized and adequately funded state public defender system for Mississippi.

The bulk of Kitchens’ campaign donations through Oct. 10 came from trial lawyers. In addition to attorneys in Mississippi, the campaign also received contributions from attorneys in Oregon and Pennsylvania. In the three months since the July financial report, Kitchens’ campaign has raised more than $200,000, more than it had previously raised in the entire race. He also received an endorsement from the Southern Poverty Law Center, an advocacy group specializing in civil rights litigation.

Read Kitchens’ response to The Marshall Project’s candidate questionnaire – Jackson and Mississippi Today.

Admitted to the Mississippi Bar: 2004

Stay: Philadelphia, Neshoba County

Relevant experience: State Senator since 2016.

Campaign funding: As of October 10, Branning’s campaign committee had raised $665,624, including a $250,000 loan from the candidate, and spent $343,728. The campaign reported a balance of $319,876, which left a discrepancy of about $2,000. Read the latest report Here.

Declaration of economic interest: Branning is listed as a member, owner, shareholder or partner in several companies located in Philadelphia, including her law firm, Branning Properties, LLC and Triple E Investments. Read her latest report Here.

republican state Senator Jennifer B. Branning is running on a platform to represent the conservative values ​​of Mississippians on the Supreme Court, she said at the Neshoba County Fair’s 2024 candidate forum.

Branning has no judicial experience. Since joining the Mississippi Bar in 2004, she has practiced law, primarily representing companies through her private practice in areas such as real estate development, banking and agribusiness. She also served as a special prosecutor in Neshoba County, a guardian ad litem in Neshoba and Winston counties, and as an attorney with the Mississippi Secretary of State’s Services and Regulatory Division.

Branning was described as a “Christian Conservative”. She was endorsed by the state Republican Party and the National Federation of Independent Business Mississippi PAC, a special interest group for small businesses. She was openly about overturning Roe v. Wade and support for state abortion bans and business tax cuts. Branning is also a member of the National Rifle Association. On criminal justice issues, Branning has voted in favor of mandatory and increased minimum sentences for crimes including shoplifting, motor vehicle theft and fleeing law enforcement.

In the state Senate, Branning chairs the Highways and Transportation Committee. She touted her record of lowering taxes and reducing regulations for farmers and small business owners.

Branning comes from several generations of business owners in Neshoba County. Her grandfather, Olen Burrage Jr., owned and operated a trucking farm, hauling lumber and corn, according to previous news.

Her campaign committee received contributions from political action groups including Truck PAC, Mississippi Petroleum Marketers & Convenience Stores Association PAC and Mississippi REALTOR PAC.

Much of Branning’s campaign funding, however, comes from the candidate herself. She started her campaign with a $250,000 candidate loan. She has also financed her previous senate campaigns, with loans to candidates of up to $50,000 in 2018. This year, her campaign committee also received funding from other Republican politicians and their fundraisers. campaign, including Lt. Govt. Delbert Hosemann, Committee to Elect Jeremy. England (State Senator), Harkins for MS (State Senator Josh Harkins) and Friends of Jason White (Speaker of the Mississippi House).

Branning did not acknowledge or return the candidate questionnaire from The Marshall Project – Jackson and Mississippi Today.