News
Archives and Special Collections news is available here.
Recent Press Releases
UM Program Celebrates Opening of J.P. Coleman’s Judicial Papers(9 February 2011)
Panel Discussion to Examine Judicial Papers of Former State Supreme Court Justice (22 June 2010)
New and Open Collections
Judicial Papers of J.P. Coleman Open to Researchers
The Archives & Special Collections is pleased to announce the opening of Fifth Circuit papers of Judge J.P. Coleman. To commemorate the occasion, the archive is hosting a program in the Faulkner Room on Tuesday, March 8th at 5:30 p.m. The J.P. Coleman Collection finding aid is available online at http://purl.oclc.org/umarchives/MUM01734/.
Judge Leslie Southwick of the Fifth Circuit will discuss the nomination and confirmation of Coleman, John B. Clark (senior partner of Daniel, Coker, Horton, and Bell in Jackson, MS) will recall his service as the judge’s law clerk, and Dr. John Winkle of the UM Political Science Department will address the realignment of the Fifth Circuit Court with particular attention to Coleman’s role in the process. The event is open to the public and also approved for one hour of Mississippi CLE and judicial education credit. Material from the collection will be on exhibit in the hallway outside of Special Collections.
Born in 1914, J.P. Coleman had an active career in state politics: district attorney for the Fifth Circuit of Mississippi, state circuit judge, member of the Mississippi Supreme Court, state attorney general, Mississippi governor, and Mississippi legislator. In 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson nominated Coleman to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
Coleman served on the Fifth Circuit bench for nineteen years. He became Chief Judge in 1979, assumed senior status in 1981, and retired from the bench in 1984. Coleman died on 28 September 1991 and his body lay in state in the Old Capitol in Jackson, Mississippi prior to burial.
Please direct any questions about the program or the collection to Leigh McWhite at 662-915-1850 or slmcwhit@olemiss.edu
