Roy Noble Lee (October 19, 1915 – January 21, 2015) [1] was an American judge who served as Justice of the Supreme Court of Mississippi from 1976 to 1983, and as chief justice from 1987 to 1993.
Born in Madison County, Mississippi, Lee was the son of Percy Mercer Lee, who also served on the state supreme court. [2] Lee received his bachelor's degree from Mississippi College and his law degree from Cumberland University in Lebanon, Tennessee. He was an FBI agent from 1942 to 1944 and served in the United States Navy Reserves during World War II. [3] Lee was a state district attorney and then a state circuit court judge. [1]
Following the resignation of Justice Henry Lee Rodgers in January 1976, Governor Cliff Finch appointed Lee to the seat, and Lee was sworn in on March 1, 1976. [2] In the primary election that Summer, Lee "made a personal campaign through the district", and won more than 70% of the vote. He ran unopposed in the general election. [2] Lee was reelected without oppoistion in 1984, and announced in 1992 that he would retire rather than running for a third full term. [2]
Lee died in January 2015 at his home in Forest, Mississippi, aged 99. [1]
References
- ^ a b c "Former Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Noble Lee Passes". January 22, 2015. Retrieved January 22, 2015.
- ^ a b c d Leslie Southwick, Mississippi Supreme Court Elections: A Historical Perspective 1916-1996, 18 Miss. C. L. Rev. 115 (1997-1998).
- ^ "Sid Salter: Roy Noble Lee helped Modernize state courts", Daily Journal (dailyjournal.com), Tupelo, Mississippi, January 25, 2015, updated May 18, 2017. Retrieved June 27, 2021.
| Supreme Judges of Mississippi (1818–1832) |  | |
|---|---|---|
| High Court of Errors and Appeals of Mississippi (1832-1870) | ||
| Supreme Court of Mississippi (since 1870) | ||
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- 1915 births
- 2015 deaths
- People from Madison County, Mississippi
- Mississippi College alumni
- Cumberland School of Law alumni
- Chief Justices of the Mississippi Supreme Court
- Mississippi state court judges
- Military personnel from Mississippi
- Federal Bureau of Investigation agents
- United States Navy personnel of World War II
- United States Navy reservists
- People from Forest, Mississippi
- 20th-century American judges
- American state court judge stubs