Jimmy Robertson’s death conjures memories of wildly confusing Supreme Court election

Even his detractors would recognize James Robertson, who died earlier this month, as one of the brightest individuals to have served on the Mississippi Supreme Court.

Robertson, a Harvard educated attorney, University of Mississippi Law School professor and former editor of the Ole Miss student newspaper, was appointed to the state’s highest court in 1983 by then-Gov. William Winter to fill a vacancy. He was defeated in 1992 after twice winning election to the Supreme Court.

Robertson’s tenure on the court and his election loss in 1992 are noteworthy.

In 1992, James Lawton Robertson, known as Jimmy, was challenged by James L. Roberts Jr., also known as Jimmy. At the very least, the election was unique because of the confusion it caused voters.

But it was noteworthy for more than the similarity of the candidates’ names.

Before 1992, most Supreme Court races were low profile. Occasionally there were hotly contested elections for open seats, but often candidates ran unopposed. And it was especially unusual for an incumbent like Robertson to face serious opposition and even more unusual for an incumbent to lose.

Before Robertson lost in 1992, three incumbents on the nine-member Supreme Court dating back to 1948 were defeated, according to research by Leslie Southwick, a judge on the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals. He provided a comprehensive history of the Supreme Court elections while an adjunct professor at the Mississippi College School of Law. His article, published in 1998 in the school’s law review, was titled Mississippi Supreme Court: A Historical Perspective 1916-1996.

A watershed event

The 1992 race was a watershed event because it ushered in more high profile Supreme Court races where more money was spent and where various special interest groups aligned behind candidates.

Both Roberts and Robertson touted impressive qualifications and had unique personalities. Robertson was known for his ability to turn a phrase. Roberts has a self-deprecating sense of humor. Robertson had been on the court for almost a decade. Roberts, a Pontotoc County native, was a chancery judge, and previously served as the public safety commissioner in the administration of Gov. Bill Allain.

Both contributed to the state as public servants.

In 1992, Roberts was endorsed by the Mississippi Prosecutors Association. Efforts were made to paint Robertson as too liberal and soft on crime. Southwick wrote, “An anonymous circular was disseminated throughout the campaign, a document distributed by others and not by Chancellor Roberts, that focused on different opinions by Justice Robertson on criminal cases.” Southwick said the circular misrepresented at least one Robertson opinion, making it seem he opposed the death penalty when in fact his concerns were with one “problematic jury instruction” in a death penalty case.

At any rate, Roberts won 39,601 votes to 29,632 in the north Mississippi district. The race was one of the most expensive to date: Robertson spent $152,000 to $124,000 for Roberts.

It should be noted that two years before the 1992 race, another incumbent was defeated. Justice Joel Blass, a former Gulf Coast legislator, lost to Chuck McRae. That race was different, though, in that Blass had just been appointed by then-Gov. Ray Mabus to fill a vacancy and did not take office until February of 1989 — just before the 1990 election. McRae won with the backing of the Mississippi Trial Attorneys and the Mississippi Prosecutors Association and spent $183,500 to $100,500 for Blass.

Tough times to come

The 1990 McRae-Blass race and the 1992 Roberts-Robertson contest appeared to be a harbinger of tougher times for Supreme Court incumbents. After only four incumbents lost between 1948 and 1992, another four incumbents were defeated between 2000 and 2008. In most of those races, contributions to the candidates came from business groups and from trial attorneys who were on opposite ends of civil justice issues.

That 1992 race concluded with Roberts resigning in 1999 before his term ended to run an unsuccessful campaign for governor. He later said resigning from the Supreme Court was a mistake. But he eventually was appointed in 2007 to a circuit court judicial post in northeast Mississippi by then-Gov. Haley Barbour. He retired in 2020.

After his defeat, Robertson practiced law in Jackson, wrote books and articles and was lauded upon his death.

Michael B. Wallace, a staunch Republican who practiced law with Robertson, said in a Supreme Court news release, “He was not only brilliant. He was courageous. As a judge he would apply the law as he saw it, no matter where the chips would fall … He thought people deserved a fair trial and he was willing to do what was necessary to make that happen … He believed very strongly and had the courage to act upon it.”