State of Mississippi Judiciary

Supreme Court honors Poplarville attorney Colette Oldmixon

May 27, 2022

The Mississippi Supreme Court on Thursday, May 26, honored attorney Colette Oldmixon of Poplarville for 26 years of service on the Supreme Court’s Advisory Committee on Rules.

During a lunch meeting of the Rules Advisory Committee at the Supreme Court, Presiding Justice Jim Kitchens presented Oldmixon with a plaque in appreciation for her service. Oldmixon was recognized “for extraordinary service to the bench, bar and people of the state of Mississippi.”

Presiding Justice Kitchens said, “The Court is exceedingly grateful to you, Colette. The Committee is of tremendous importance to the Court. The people of Mississippi are the ultimate beneficiaries of the Committee and this work you have done.”

The Advisory Committee on Rules advises the Supreme Court on needs for changes in procedural rules that govern the handling of matters in the courts of the state. Among its current work is a review intended to update the language and make rules of court easier to understand, said Circuit Judge Ashley Hines, chairman of the Rules Advisory Committee.

“It is a tremendous asset” to the Supreme Court, said Chief Justice Mike Randolph.

Presiding Justice Kitchens noted that Oldmixon has assisted the Rules Advisory Committee a lot longer than she has been an official member. Immediately after she graduated from the University of Mississippi School of Law in 1981, she went to work for attorney David R. Smith, one of the original members of the Rules Advisory Committee. She assisted Smith with his work for the Advisory Committee.

Oldmixon has been repeatedly renominated as one of the Mississippi Bar’s two representatives on the Advisory Committee since she was first appointed in 1996. She served as Advisory Committee vice-chair 2007-2009, and chair 2010-2013.She became secretary/treasurer in 2014, and continues in that role. She also served as chair of the Mississippi Rules of Civil Procedure Subcommittee 2006-2015.

“When you point to the person who makes the train run on time, that is Colette,” said Judge Hines.

Oldmixon plans to leave the Rules Advisory Committee at the end of her term in December.

The Supreme Court also recognized Oldmixon’s work on numerous other bar-related committees. She chaired the Mississippi Bar Ethics Committee 2002-2003, and the Professional Responsibility Committee 2008-2009. She was president of the Mississippi Bar Foundation 2008-2009. She has participated in the Bar’s professionalism and ethics orientation for new law students at both law schools since the program began in 2000, and has judged mock trial competitions for students for 24 years.

Justice Kenny Griffis said that Oldmixon comes to Jackson nearly every Friday, taking time out from her law practice, to do work on behalf of the Rules Advisory Committee. “Colette has been the epitome of the professional bar,” he said.

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