MS. Supreme Court Justice Stepping Down

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) – Justice Randy Pierce says he will resign from the Mississippi Supreme Court on Feb. 1 to take another job in the legal field.

Pierce said Monday that he will become director of the Mississippi Judicial College, which is based at the University of Mississippi law school. In that role, he will oversee training and continuing legal education for judges and staff for the state court system.

Gov. Phil Bryant will choose someone to fill the final months of Pierce’s term, which expires in December 2016.

Pierce was first elected to the Supreme Court in 2008 and had already announced that he wouldn’t seek re-election in 2016.

His announcement comes a week after Justice David Chandler left the Supreme Court when Bryant appointed him to oversee the state’s foster care system.