Coast judge could be headed to Jackson

A press release from Gov. Haley Barbour's office:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, April 11, 2008

GOVERNOR BARBOUR NAMES SIMPSON TO HEAD DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY

(JACKSON, Mississippi) – Governor Haley Barbour today announced his
appointment of Circuit Court Judge Stephen B. Simpson of Gulfport as
Commissioner of the Mississippi Department of Public Safety.

“Judge Simpson has an impressive blend of prosecutorial, judicial and
correctional experience that will serve him well as Commissioner of
Public Safety. He is an outstanding Mississippian. I appreciate his
willingness to accept this new challenge and lead dedicated men and
women whose service is so vital to the people of our state,” Governor
Barbour said.

The Department of Public Safety includes the Mississippi Highway
Patrol, Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics, Mississippi Bureau of
Investigation, Mississippi Office of Homeland Security, the state Crime
Lab, Criminal Information Center, Law Enforcement Officers Training
Academy, Mississippi Medical Examiner, and Public Safety Planning. The
department has a total of about 1,150 employees.

Simpson, 49, has served as a Circuit Court Judge in Mississippi’s
Second Circuit Court District serving Harrison, Hancock and Stone
counties since 2000. A graduate of Gulf Coast Community College, he
holds a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and a master’s degree
in education from Delta State University; he earned his juris doctorate
from the University of Mississippi School of Law in 1988.

He has worked as a probation and parole officer for the Mississippi
Department of Corrections, in private law practice and was an assistant
district attorney in the Second Circuit Court District for seven years
before his elevation to the bench in December 2002.

Simpson and his wife, Elizabeth Bost Simpson, have three daughters,
Erin, Kameron and Britton; the family lives in Gulfport.

Governor Barbour said he would submit Simpson’s name to the
Mississippi Senate in hopes of confirmation before the current
legislative session ends.

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