Dawn Henderson Beam (born May 15, 1964) is an associate justice of the Supreme Court of Mississippi.

Dawn Beam
Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of Mississippi
Assumed office
January 1, 2016
Appointed byPhil Bryant
Preceded byRandy G. Pierce
Personal details
Born (1964-05-15) May 15, 1964 (age 60)
Marks, Mississippi, U.S.
SpouseStephen Beam
Children5
EducationUniversity of Mississippi (BA, JD)

Biography

edit

Dawn Beam was born May 15, 1964, in Marks, Mississippi.[1] She earned a Bachelor of Arts in business from the University of Mississippi and a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Mississippi School of Law. She was admitted to the Mississippi Bar in 1989.[2]

State court service

edit

Previously, Beam was a judge for the 10th Chancery District in Mississippi. She was re-elected on November 4, 2014, for a term that began in 2015 and would have expired in 2018.[1]

Supreme Court of Mississippi

edit

On December 28, 2015, Governor Phil Bryant appointed Beam to fill the remaining 10-month term of Justice Randy G. Pierce, who resigned on February 1, 2016.[3]

Advocacy

edit

In her early career, she worked extensively in child support enforcement. Her work as a chancellor and as a county prosecutor included protection of abused and neglected children. After her appointment to the Supreme Court, she continued work for the protection of children as co-chair of the Commission on Children's Justice and ReNewMS. She spearheaded efforts to organize Rescue 100 programs to train more foster parents.[2]

Personal

edit

Beam makes her home in Sumrall. She is a member of Sumrall United Methodist Church in Lamar County. She is married to Dr. Stephen Beam. They have five children.[2]

As of 2016, her sister is serving a prison sentence for multiple federal counts of fraud, mail fraud and money laundering after admitting to swindling veterans and the elderly out of more than $2 million.[4]

References

edit
  1. ^ a b "Chancellor Dawn Beam". Retrieved January 16, 2018.
  2. ^ a b c "Associate Justice Dawn H. Beam District 2, Place 2". courts.ms.gov. Retrieved January 16, 2018.
  3. ^ "Bryant names Lamar County judge Beam to state Supreme Court". December 28, 2015. Retrieved January 16, 2018.
  4. ^ Brumfield, Patsy (March 29, 2016). "Sister of new Supreme Court justice admits she swindled veterans". Retrieved January 16, 2018.
edit
Legal offices
Preceded by Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of Mississippi
2016–present
Incumbent