Governor appoints Amanda James Tollison to Mississippi Supreme Court

• Tollison will fill the vacancy in District 3, Place 2 created by former state Supreme Court Justice James Maxwell’s confirmation to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi.

Governor Tate Reeves (R) announced the appointment of Amanda James Tollison of Oxford to the Mississippi Supreme Court on Monday.

Tollison will fill the vacancy in District 3, Place 2 created by former state Supreme Court Justice James Maxwell’s confirmation to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi. Maxwell was nominated by President Donald Trump (R) to fill the federal post.

Of his appointment of Tollison, Governor Reeves said she has distinguished herself throughout her career as an excellent attorney, respected leader in the Mississippi Bar, and a dedicated public servant.

“Her extensive legal experience, knowledge of Mississippi’s legal system, and longstanding commitment to public service make her exceptionally qualified for the bench,” Reeves stated.

Tollison graduated with her law degree from the Mississippi School of Law and her undergraduate degree from Mississippi State University.

Tollison has been a partner at Butler Snow LLP since 2012. She previously served as legal counsel to Governor Haley Barbour (R), advising him on legal, legislative, and policy matters. As a member of the Board of Bar Commissioners, and as a trustee and fellow of the the Mississippi Bar Foundation.

“I am deeply grateful to Governor Reeves for this appointment and humbled by his trust in me to fulfill the duties of a justice on the Mississippi Supreme Court,” Tollison stated, before that, she also practiced law at Bradley Arant Rose & White LLP and Phelps Dunbar LLP.

She has served as President of the Mississippi Bar. “I will faithfully uphold the Constitution and the rule of law, and I look forward to serving the people of Mississippi with integrity, fairness, and a steadfast commitment to justice.”

Tollison’s term will begin on September 1, 2026, and will continue until it is filled by a special election.

This makes two seats on the state Supreme Court the governor has apppointed in less than a month.

Reeves appointed Celeste Embrey Wilson of Southaven to the Mississippi Supreme Court, Northern District 3, Place 1 in late July. Wilson succeeds former state Supreme Court Justice Robert Chamberlin who was also nominated by President Trump and confirmed by the U.S. Senate to serve on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi.