Judge Tom Lee
- Appointed to the U.S. District Court by President Ronald Reagan in 1984, Lee served as the chief judge from 1996 to 2003. Most recently, Judge Lee presided over the high-profile “Goon Squad” cases.
Senior U. S. District Judge Tom S. Lee, 85, will assume inactive status and no longer hear cases in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi as of June 26.
Chief U. S. District Judge Halil S. “Sul” Ozerden made the announcement on Lee’s status earlier this week.
“The judges of our Court join me in congratulating Judge Lee on his lengthy record of dedicated service to the federal judiciary,” Judge Ozerden said in a statement. “He has been a friend and mentor, and he will be deeply missed. We wish him all the best.”
Lee earned his B.A. from Mississippi College in 1963 before graduating from the University of Mississippi School of Law in 1965. He served in the U.S. Army Reserve as a captain in JAG Corps, from 1965-1973 while working in private practice. Lee became a Prosecutor in Scott County in 1968, serving in the role until 1971. He went on to serve as a Youth Court Judge in Scott County from 1979-1982 and a Forest Municipal Court Judge in 1982.
Appointed to the district court bench by President Ronald Reagan in 1984, Lee served as the chief judge from 1996 to 2003. As chief judge, Lee oversaw the implementation of the Case Management and Electronic Case Filing system (known as CM/ECF) in the District, a system still in use today, some 25 years later.
“His essential and invaluable work contributed to ensuring the stability of District operations at a time when the Court faced a massive flood of civil filings, particularly mass torts and personal injury lawsuits,” a statement from the court read.
Most recently, Judge Lee presided over the high-profile “Goon Squad” cases where six former Rankin County law enforcement officers pleaded guilty to torturing and terrorizing two black men for hours after breaking into a home without a warrant.
Columnist Sid Salter wrote of Lee in 2024:
“Judge Tom Lee, from the very beginning of his federal judicial tenure, has been called upon to render judgments in difficult, sensitive cases. Less than a year into his tenure, Lee heard the case of veteran State Sen. Tommy Brooks of Carthage, who was convicted after an 8-day trial of trying to extort $50,000 from the Mississippi Horse Racing Association for his legislative support on a bill to make pari-mutuel betting on horse racing legal in Tunica and Jackson counties.
“Later in his career, Lee would oversee a Mississippi voting rights case that drew international headlines. In 2007, Lee ruled that activist Ike Brown, then the Noxubee County Democratic Party chairman, had violated the Voting Rights Act by engaging “in improper, and in some instances fraudulent conduct, and committed blatant violations of state election laws for the purpose of diluting white voting strength.”
“Brown appealed the ruling to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and a three-judge panel later affirmed Lee’s ruling in 2009, making the Brown case the first time that the Voting Rights Act was used to successfully allege voter discrimination by Blacks against whites.”
Judge Ozerden noted that Judge Lee is highly regarded for his intellect, has a well-deserved reputation for fairness and integrity, and is appreciated by all for efficient management of his cases.
“Equally important, he exemplifies the qualities of humility, courtesy, compassion, and civility, all valuable characteristics in a judicial officer. He is a true ‘gentleman judge’ and a credit to the Court,” the court said of Lee.
Lee took senior status in April 2006, when he was succeeded by Judge Daniel P. Jordan, III.
At his request, Judge Lee will now be excused from the Court’s civil and criminal case draws effective June 26. At that time, his existing cases will be reassigned to other judges in the District.
