Bill Text: MS SC560 | 2011 | Regular Session | Enrolled
Bill Title: Commend public service of Senator Johnnie E. Walls, Jr.
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Passed) 2011-02-03 - Enrolled Bill Signed [SC560 Detail]
Download: Mississippi-2011-SC560-Enrolled.html
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2011 Regular Session
To: Rules
By: Senator(s) Jackson (11th), Jordan, Butler (38th), Blount, Carmichael, Davis, Fillingane, Frazier, Hewes, Hopson, Jackson (32nd), Jones, Lee (35th), Michel, Montgomery, Stone, Turner, Ward, Watson, Wilemon, Yancey
Senate Concurrent Resolution 560
(As Adopted by Senate and House)
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION TO COMMEND SENATOR JOHNNIE E. WALLS, JR., UPON HIS INVESTITURE AS CIRCUIT COURT JUDGE FOR THE SECOND DISTRICT OF BOLIVAR COUNTY AND FOR HIS DISTINGUISHED SERVICE IN THE MISSISSIPPI SENATE.
WHEREAS, on Monday, January 3, 2011, Honorable Johnnie E. Walls, Jr., took the oath of office as the new Circuit Court Judge for the Second District of Bolivar County, Mississippi, administered by the Honorable Leslie D. King, Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals of the State of Mississippi; and
WHEREAS, Senator Johnnie E. Walls, Jr., was born on April 25, 1945, in Clarksdale, Mississippi, to Elizabeth Barron-Walls and Johnnie E. Walls, Sr., the first of eleven children. Senator Walls graduated from Higgins High School in Clarksdale, Mississippi, and received a B.A. Degree in Biology with a minor in Chemistry from Jackson State University in Jackson, Mississippi, and received a Juris Doctor from the University of Mississippi School of Law in Oxford, Mississippi; and
WHEREAS, Senator Walls began practicing law at the North Mississippi Rural Legal Services in Greenwood, Mississippi. He was appointed to the position of Executive Director and Director of Litigation of the entire North Mississippi Rural Legal Services Program in 1979. Senator Walls began the private practice of law with Charles Victor McTeer, Representative Willie Bailey, and later with college classmates, Robert Buck and Judge Tyree Irving, in the law firm of Walls, Buck and Irving. After several years Senator Walls practiced privately as Walls Law Firm and Johnnie E. Walls, Jr. Law Firm, P.A. until January 3, 2010; and
WHEREAS, in January 1993, Johnnie E. Walls, Jr., took the oath of office as the duly elected State Senator for Senate District 12 where he was re-elected unopposed each term thereafter and has remained in office until January 3, 2011. Senator Walls was elected for two terms as the State Chair of the Mississippi Democratic Party. He successfully led the Mississippi Delegation twice to the Democratic National Convention, the last in Chicago where William Jefferson Clinton received the Democratic Nomination and was subsequently elected the 42nd President of the United States; and
WHEREAS, in the Senate, Johnnie Walls represented District 12 (Bolivar and Washington Counties) and he served with distinction as Chairman of the Constitution and other committees. Senator Walls was an experienced spokesman for the rights of the individual and was particularly involved in the debates of criminal law revision, workers' rights and our civil justice system. Mississippi was fortunate to have a leader of his character and ability in the Senate; and
WHEREAS, Gwendolyn is his wife and his children are Christopher, Sdahri, Nzinga, Kwasi, Anika, Laquitta, Joye', Ashlynn, and Brittany; and
WHEREAS, Senator Walls' service has been marked by his commitment to success and recognized leadership, sound judgment and fairness. He has set the highest standard in all of his many rules, as a father, husband, attorney, citizen, statesman in the Mississippi Senate, friend and now as a Circuit Judge:
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING THEREIN, That we do hereby commend and recognize Senator Johnnie E. Walls, Jr., whose outstanding service to the Legislature enriched everyone with whom he was associated, upon the occasion of his investiture as Circuit Court Judge for the Second Judicial District of Bolivar County, Mississippi, and we wish Judge Walls and his family much success in their future endeavors.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That this resolution be presented to Judge Walls and be made available to the Capitol Press Corps.
