Contact: Sammy McDavid
STARKVILLE, Miss.--A veteran Michigan district court judge is the 2008 selection for Mississippi State's annual judicial recognition.
Judge Elizabeth Pollard Hines of Ann Arbor will accept the university Pre-Law Society's Distinguished Jurist Award during an 11 a.m. public program March 25 in the John Grisham Room of Mitchell Memorial Library. After receiving the award, Hines will deliver prepared remarks on a legal topic of her choosing.
Also open to the public, a 10:30 reception precedes the ceremony in the same location.
The MSU student organization created the award some three decades ago to recognize both sitting and retired jurists of distinction at all levels of service.
Hines, a 1977 graduate of the University of Michigan School of Law, has served on the state's 15th Judicial District bench since 1992. She was chief judge 1997-2001.
Each year, Hines, two other judges and a magistrate handle more than 40,000 cases. Their work includes small claims, traffic, landlord-tenant, civil cases under $25,000, criminal misdemeanors, and felony probable-cause hearings.
For her leadership efforts, the 1974 UM honor graduate has been recognized by the "Problem-Solving Courts" program of the National Center for State Courts. Beyond a regular caseload, she also presides over a special domestic violence docket and "homeless court."
In 2000, Hines helped create "Street Outreach Court," a community project of the local criminal justice system and numerous agencies working with homeless individuals and families. The project is design to give credit for successful participation in substance abuse, mental health and other related programs that can both reduce crime and jail overcrowding.
Last year, Hines was appointed to the executive committee of the American Judges Association. She serves as chair of the AJA's Access to Justice Committee.
For more information, contact Doug Feig at 662-325-7863 or feig@ps.msstate.edu.
For more information about Mississippi State University, see http://www.msstate.edu/.