--- title: "Tom Stewart Lee | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/tom-s-lee" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-09" --- # Tom Stewart Lee U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi · U.S. District Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi - State: Mississippi - Role: U.S. District Judge - Service status: senior - Last verified: 2026-07-25 ## Summary Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge. ## Biography ### Professional career - Judge, Forest Mississippi Municipal Court, 1982-present - Judge, District Court, S.D. Mississippi, 1984-2006 - Practiced law privately in Forest, Mississippi, from 1965 to 1984 and held several local judicial positions, including prosecuting attorney for Scott County (1968–1971), judge of the Scott County Youth Court (1979–1982), and municipal judge for Forest, Mississippi, in 1982 - Lee held the role of a captain in the U.S. Army Reserve Judge Advocate General Corps from 1965 to 1973 - Prosecutor, Scott County, Mississippi, 1968-1971 - His father, Percy Mercer Lee, and his brother, Roy Noble Lee Sr., both served on the Mississippi Supreme Court, with his brother also serving as chief justice ### Education - University of Mississippi School of Law — J.D. (1965) - Mississippi College — B.A. (1963) ### Additional information - He assumed senior status on April 8, 2006, and retired from active service on June 26, 2026 - Lee held the role of chief judge from 1996 to 2003 - President Ronald Reagan nominated Lee to the United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi on May 15, 1984, to fill the seat vacated by Dan Monroe Russell Jr. - Private practice, Forest, MS, 1965-1984 - Private practice, Forest, Mississippi, 1965-1984 - U.S. Army Reserve captain, JAG Corps, 1965-1973 - Prosecutor, Scott County, MS, 1968-1971 - Date of birth: 1941-01-01 - Earlier in his career, he oversaw the conviction of State Senator Tommy Brooks for attempted extortion related to horse racing legislation - received his commission the same day. - overseeing the implementation of the Case Management and Electronic Case Filing system (CM/ECF), which remains in use today. - Judge Lee presided over several high-profile cases, including the “Goon Squad” case, where six former Rankin County law enforcement officers pleaded guilty to torturing two Black men after an unlawful home invasion. - He also ruled on a Mississippi voting rights case involving activist Ike Brown, marking the first successful use of the Voting Rights Act to allege voter discrimination by Black voters against whites. - Birth place: Jackson, MI ## Before you appear - Read the judge-specific standing order first when one is listed. - Check the docket and case orders for requirements that supersede broader guidance. - Confirm current remote-access and courtroom technology arrangements before the proceeding. ## Courtroom Rules ### courtroom technology Scope: courtwide Courtwide presentation-related guidance applies to this judge. Evidence excerpt: . For best utilization of this equipment, the Court recommends attorneys test laptop computers used to present evidence in the courtroom before use in open court. Attention should also be given to testing the compatibility of the VCR and the cassette player. [Courtroom Technologies | Southern District of Mississippi | United States District Court](https://www.mssd.uscourts.gov/courtroom-technologies) Source checked: 2026-07-24 ### civil remote testimony Scope: courtwide In federal district-court civil proceedings, testimony is ordinarily taken in open court; remote contemporaneous testimony requires good cause in compelling circumstances and appropriate safeguards. Evidence excerpt: For good cause in compelling circumstances and with appropriate safeguards, the court may permit testimony in open court by contemporaneous transmission from a different location. [Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 43(a), Testimony in Open Court](https://www.uscourts.gov/forms-rules/current-rules-practice-procedure/federal-rules-civil-procedure) Source checked: 2026-07-26 ### criminal recording and broadcasting Scope: courtwide Federal district courts may not permit courtroom photography or broadcasting during criminal judicial proceedings unless a statute or another federal rule provides an exception. Evidence excerpt: Except as otherwise provided by a statute or these rules, the court must not permit the taking of photographs in the courtroom during judicial proceedings or the broadcasting of judicial proceedings from the courtroom. [Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 53, Courtroom Photographing and Broadcasting Prohibited](https://www.uscourts.gov/court-records/access-court-proceedings/remote-public-access-proceedings/history-cameras-broadcasting-and-remote-public-access-courts) Source checked: 2026-07-26 ## Sources - [Official profile](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1383766) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1383766) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1383766) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/1893/tom-stewart-lee/) - [Courtroom Technologies | Southern District of Mississippi | United States District Court](https://www.mssd.uscourts.gov/courtroom-technologies) - [Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 43(a), Testimony in Open Court](https://www.uscourts.gov/forms-rules/current-rules-practice-procedure/federal-rules-civil-procedure) - [Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 53, Courtroom Photographing and Broadcasting Prohibited](https://www.uscourts.gov/court-records/access-court-proceedings/remote-public-access-proceedings/history-cameras-broadcasting-and-remote-public-access-courts) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/1893/tom-stewart-lee/) - [Judge Tom Stewart Lee](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1383766) - [Wikidata: Tom Stewart Lee](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7817692) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/tom-s-lee", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/tom-s-lee", "name": "Tom Stewart Lee | KnowJudges", "description": "Tom Stewart Lee, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi. 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Section-specific exceptions, waivers, later amendments and case orders remain applicable. This is a source excerpt, not an exhaustive statement of the rule. [Official source](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/federal-rules-of-civil-procedure.pdf). Collected 2026-10-27. - [Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, December 1, 2025](https://knowjudges.com/courtroom-rules/national-shared-set-8721a344fececced2257fe1d) — Criminal proceedings in United States District Courts; this conservative mapping does not distribute appellate-specific provisions to appellate judges. Section-specific exceptions, waivers, later amendments and case orders remain applicable. This is a source excerpt, not an exhaustive statement of the rule. [Official source](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/federal-rules-of-criminal-procedure.pdf). Collected 2026-10-27.