Chief Justice Mike Randolph has appointed Circuit Judge Smith Murphey V of Batesville as a member of the Commission on Judicial Performance and Judge Stanley A. Sorey of Raleigh as an alternate member.
Murphey has served as an alternate member of the judicial disciplinary body since February 2020. Gov. Tate Reeves recommended that Murphey take the place on the Commission previously held by Judge John Emfinger of Brandon, and that Sorey be appointed as an alternate member. Emfinger stepped down from the Commission when he left the Circuit Court bench to become a judge of the Mississippi Court of Appeals on March 3.
The order signed by Randolph on April 12 appoints Murphey and Sorey for the balance of the current Judicial Performance terms that will end Dec. 31, and for new six-year terms which will end Dec. 31, 2027.
The Commission on Judicial Performance investigates allegations of judicial misconduct and makes recommendations for discipline to the Supreme Court. The Commission includes seven members and seven alternates. An alternate member sits on a judicial disciplinary hearing panel when a member has a conflict or cannot otherwise participate.
Murphey joined the 17th Circuit bench in January 2011. The district includes DeSoto, Panola, Tallahatchie, Tate and Yalobusha counties. Murphey previously served as chair, vice chair and secretary-treasurer of the Conference of Circuit Judges.
He previously served as an assistant district attorney of the 17th Circuit District for almost 15 years. He is former president of the Mississippi Prosecutors Association and former president of the Prosecutors Section of the Mississippi Bar. He has served on the Mississippi Board of Bar Admissions since January 2009.
Murphey, a native of Sumner, earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Mississippi and a law degree from Mississippi College School of Law. He served for two years as a law clerk for former Supreme Court Justice James L. Roberts Jr. of Pontotoc.
Sorey has served on the 13th Circuit Court bench since January 2016. He is senior judge of the district that includes Covington, Jasper, Simpson and Smith counties.
