Keith Starrett
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2019 - Present
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Keith Starrett is a federal judge on senior status on the United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi. He joined the court in 2004 after being nominated by President George W. Bush. Starrett retired from full-time service, assuming senior status, on April 30, 2019.
Early life and education
A native of McComb, Mississippi, Starrett graduated from Mississippi State University with his bachelor's degree in 1972 and from the University of Mississippi School of Law with his J.D. in 1974.[1]
Professional career
- 2004 - Present: Judge, United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi
- 2019 - Present: Senior status judge
- 1992-2004: Judge, Mississippi Fourteenth Judicial District
- 1981: Assistant district attorney, Mississippi Fourteenth Judicial District
- 1975-1992: Private practice, Mississippi[1]
Judicial career
Southern District of Mississippi
 |
| Nominee Information |
| Name: Keith Starrett |
| Court: United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi |
| Progress |
| Confirmed 138 days after nomination. |
 Nominated: July 6, 2004
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| ABA Rating: Unanimously Well Qualified
|
| Questionnaire: |
| Hearing: September 8, 2004
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| QFRs: (Hover over QFRs to read more) |
| Reported: September 30, 2004
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| Confirmed: November 21, 2004
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| Vote: Voice vote
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Starrett was nominated by President George W. Bush on July 6, 2004, to a seat on the United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi vacated by Charles Pickering. The American Bar Association rated Starrett Unanimously Well Qualified for the nomination. Hearings on Starrett's nomination were held before the Senate Judiciary Committee on September 8, 2004, and his nomination was reported by U.S. Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) on September 30, 2004. Starrett was confirmed on a voice vote of the U.S. Senate on November 21, 2004, and he received his commission on December 13, 2004. Starrett retired from full-time service, assuming senior status, on April 30, 2019.[1][2][3]
Noteworthy cases
Ruling in favor of Hattiesburg over Voting Rights Act (2009)
In 2008, Starrett ruled in favor of the city of Hattiesburg, Mississippi, in a case regarding the drawing of voting district lines. The plaintiffs alleged that the city violated the Voting Rights Act of 1965 by including dormitory students in population calculations used to draw the city's wards. Starrett, however, ruled that the city did not violate the Act.
Starrett found that the "plaintiffs did not show that Hattiesburg's new wards violate the one-person, one-vote principle. Starrett said it would be impossible to draw three majority-black city wards without excluding the students."[4]
Appeal to Fifth Circuit
This ruling was appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit. A three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit affirmed Starrett's 2008 ruling. Thomas Reavley, Jerry Smith, and James Dennis upheld Starrett's finding that the redrawing of districts did not violate the one-person, one-vote principle. Judge Smith wrote for the court and dissented with regard to the majority's endorsement of Starrett's interpretation of the Gringles factors, a legal test for determining violation of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.[4][5]
See also
- United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi
- United States Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Federal Judicial Center, "Biography of Judge Keith Starrett," accessed June 21, 2017
- ↑ United States Congress, "PN 1788 — Keith Starrett — The Judiciary," accessed June 21, 2017
- ↑ American Bar Association, "Ratings of Article III judicial nominees, 108th Congress," accessed June 21, 2017
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 United States Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit, Fairley et al. v. Hattiesburg, Mississippi 2009
- ↑ All About Redistricting, "Where are the lines drawn?" accessed June 21, 2017
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by: Charles Pickering |
Southern District of Mississippi 2004–2019 Seat #3 |
Succeeded by: Kristi Johnson
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|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 |
Armijo • Bates • Beistline • Blackburn • Bowdre • Bunning • Bury • Caldwell • Camp • Cassell • Cebull • Clement • Clifton • Crane • Eagan • Engelhardt • Friot • Gibbons • Granade • Gregory • Gritzner • Haddon • Hartz • Heaton • Hicks • Howard • Johnson • Jorgenson • Krieger • Land • Leon • Mahan • Martinez • Martone • McConnell • Melloy • Mills • O'Brien • Parker • Payne • Prost • Reeves • Riley • Robinson • Rogers • Royal • Shedd • B. Smith • L. Smith • Walton • Wooten • Zainey | ||
| 2002 |
Africk • Anderson • Autrey • Baylson • Cercone • Chesler • Clark • Collyer • Conner • Conti • Corrigan • Davis • Davis • Dorr • England • Ericksen • Fuller • Gardner • Godbey • Griesbach • Hanen • Hovland • Hudson • Jones • Jordan • Kinkeade • Klausner • Kugler • Leighton • Linares • Moses • Marra • Martinez • Martini • Mays • McVerry • Phillips • Raggi • Reade • Rose • Rufe • Savage • Schwab • Smith • St. Eve • Walter • White • Wolfson | ||
| 2003 |
Adams • Altonaga • Bea • Benitez • Bennett • Boyle • Brack • Breen • Browning • Burns • Bybee • Callahan • Campbell • Cardone • Carney • Castel • Chertoff • Cohn • Colloton • Conrad • Coogler • Cook • Cooke • Crone • Der-Yeghiayan • Drell • Duffey • Duncan • Erickson • Feuerstein • Figa • Filip • Fischer • Fisher • Flanagan • Floyd • Frost • Gibson • Greer • Gruender • Guirola • Hall • Hardiman • Hayes • Herrera • Hicks • Holmes • Holwell • Hopkins • Houston • Irizarry • Jones • Junell • Karas • Kravitz • Martinez • McKnight • Minaldi • Montalvo • Mosman • Otero • Pickering • Prado • Pratter • Proctor • Quarles • Robart • Roberts • Robinson • Rodgers • Rodriguez • Sabraw • Sanchez • Saylor • Selna • Sharpe • Simon • Springmann • Stanceu • Steele • Stengel • Suko • Sutton • Sykes • Titus • Townes • Tymkovich • Van Antwerpen • Varlan • Wake • Wesley • White • Woodcock • Yeakel | ||
| 2004 |
Alvarez • Benton • Boyko • Covington • Diamond • Harwell • Kelley • Schiavelli • Schneider • Starrett • Watson | ||
| 2005 |
Alito • Barrett • Batten • Bianco • Brown • Burgess • Conrad • Cox • Crotty • Delgado-Colon • Dever • DuBose • Griffin • Griffith • Johnston • Kendall • Larson • Ludington • Mattice • McKeague • Neilson • Owen • Pryor • Roberts • Sandoval • Schiltz • Seabright • Smoak • Van Tatenhove • Vitaliano • Watkins • Zouhary | ||
| 2006 |
Besosa • Bumb • Chagares • Cogan • Gelpi • Golden • Gordon • Gorsuch • Guilford • Hillman • Holmes • Ikuta • D. Jordan • K. Jordan • Kavanaugh • Miller • Moore • Shepherd • Sheridan • Smith • Whitney • Wigenton | ||
| 2007 |
Anderson • Aycock • Bailey • Bryant • Davis • DeGiusti • Dow • Elrod • Fairbank • Fischer • Frizzell • Gutierrez • Hall • Hardiman • Haynes • Howard • Jarvey • Jones • Jonker • Kapala • Kays • Laplante • Limbaugh • Lioi • Livingston • Maloney • Mauskopf • Mendez • Miller • Neff • O'Connor • O'Grady • O'Neill • Osteen • Ozerden • Reidinger • Sammartino • Schroeder • Settle • Smith • Snow • Southwick • Suddaby • Sullivan • Thapar • Tinder • Van Bokkelen • Wood • Wright • Wu | ||
| 2008 |
Agee • Anello • Arguello • Brimmer • Gardephe • Goldberg • Jones • Kethledge • Lawrence • Matsumoto • Melgren • Murphy • Scriven • Seibel • Slomsky • Trenga • Waddoups • White | ||
Federal courts:
Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Northern District of Mississippi, Southern District of Mississippi • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Northern District of Mississippi, Southern District of Mississippi
State courts:
Mississippi Supreme Court • Mississippi Court of Appeals • Mississippi circuit courts • Mississippi Chancery Court • Mississippi county courts • Mississippi justice courts • Mississippi youth courts • Mississippi Municipal Courts
State resources:
Courts in Mississippi • Mississippi judicial elections • Judicial selection in Mississippi
