JANS – Former Mississippi Appeals Court Judge Ceola James, a resident of Vicksburg, graduated Magna Cum Laude from Horizons University in Paris, France, on November 3, 2023. Judge James wrote her thesis on International Law and the Deterrence of Criminal Activities in France and in Other Countries. The classes were taught in French.
“Ever since I took my first course in French, I was determined to pursue the language as far as I could,” Judge James said. “It’s like a dream come true for me.”
Judge James was elected to a four-year term in a special election in November 2012. She was sworn in and began her duties on the Court of Appeals on January 7, 2013. An investiture was held January 16, 2013 in the Court of Appeals En Banc Courtroom in Jackson.
Judge James previously served as Ninth District Chancery Judge from 1999 through 2002. She was appointed interim Warren County Justice Court Judge in 1997 and served by appointment as a judicial special master in Warren County Chancery Court from 1992 to 1994.
Judge James earned a law degree from Mississippi College School of Law and was admitted to the practice of law in 1977. She currently conducts her law practice from her office in Vicksburg.
