Circuit Judge John Gregory to retire June 30

Circuit Judge John A. Gregory of Okolona announced Friday that he will retire on June 30.

Judge Gregory, 68, has 43 years of public service.

In a letter announcing his retirement, Judge Gregory said, “When I qualified for re-election in 2018, I fully intended to fulfill my term. However, I have since experienced several life changing events that have contributed to my decision to retire.”

“I want to spend time with my family,” he said in an interview.

Senior Circuit Judge Andrew Howorth also will retire June 30.  Judge Howorth announced his planned retirement in January. The Governor will make two appointments to fill the judicial vacancies in the Third Circuit District. The district includes Benton, Calhoun, Chickasaw, Lafayette, Marshall, Tippah and Union counties.

Judge Gregory took office as a Circuit Judge of the Third Circuit District in January 2011. He served as an assistant district attorney for the Third Circuit District for nine years. He was elected for six terms as Chickasaw County prosecuting attorney, and served 23 years. He served as attorney for the Okolona Municipal Separate School District for 23 years, board attorney for the Chickasaw County Board of Supervisors for about 19 years, and as Okolona city attorney for 15 years.

He began his legal career as a law clerk for Supreme Court Justice Stokes V. Robertson.

It’s been a satisfying career. “Without a doubt it has been,” he said.

He does not plan to practice law after retirement. He may work as a senior status judge, presiding over cases by appointment of the Supreme Court in situations in which local judges recuse themselves.

He is a fellow of the Mississippi Bar Foundation, past president of the Okolona Chamber of Commerce, and an elder of Okolona Presbyterian Church.

He is a graduate of Okolona High School and the University of Mississippi, where he played football. He earned his law degree from the former Jackson School of Law, now Mississippi College School of Law.