MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2018 Regular Session
To: Rules
By: Senator(s) Dawkins, Jackson (11th), Jordan, Frazier, Norwood, Witherspoon, Simmons (12th), Butler, Blackmon, Horhn, Turner-Ford, Burton, Dearing, Hopson, Jackson (32nd)
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION REMEMBERING THE LEGACY AND DISTINGUISHED LEGAL CAREER OF CIRCUIT COURT DISTRICT JUDGE MARCUS D. GORDON, MISSISSIPPI'S LONGEST-SERVING TRIAL COURT JUDGE WHO PRESIDED OVER HISTORIC MISSISSIPPI CIVIL RIGHTS CRIMINAL CASES, AND EXPRESSING BELATED CONDOLENCES TO HIS SURVIVING FAMILY.
WHEREAS, we join The Mississippi Bar and the legal community of Newton County and Mississippi legal historians in remembering the distinguished career of Mississippi 8th Circuit Court District and longest-serving Trial Court Judge Marcus D. Gordon. Judge Gordon, who presided over the belated trial of a hometown childhood acquaintance in the 1964 "Mississippi Burning" kidnapping and murder of three Civil Rights workers, and who meted out the maximum sentence, passed away on May 26, 2016. He was 84; and
WHEREAS, a Newton County native, Gordon grew up near the Neshoba County line and had always claimed kinship with the neighboring county where his mother was born. Following graduation from Union High School in 1950, Judge Gordon embarked on a career at East Central Community College as an athlete. After a semester, he enlisted in the United States Air Force. With four years of service under his belt as an enlisted man, Gordon was honorably discharged in 1954 and pondered a career in law. He returned to East Central Community College and at age 21 enrolled in the University of Mississippi and received his bachelor's degree and later his law degree in 1959; and
WHEREAS, he entered private practice in Decatur with his older brother, Rex, and practiced with the Gordon Law Firm from 1959 through 1977 with offices in Decatur and Union. His extensive record of public legal service is as follows: Attorney for the City of Union, Fall 1959 through March 1977; Attorney for the Union Special Municipal Separate School District, Fall 1959 through March 1977; Newton County Prosecuting Attorney, 1964-1968; District Attorney for the Eighth Circuit Court District (Leake, Neshoba, Newton and Scott Counties), January 1972 through March 1977; Attorney for the Newton County Board of Supervisors (various time periods); and Circuit Judge for the Eighth Circuit Court District (Leake, Neshoba, Newton and Scott Counties), March 1977 through March 2016; and
WHEREAS, in the "Mississippi Burning" trial, a reference to the title of the fictional 1988 film that was loosely based on the case, Edgar Ray Killen was convicted of manslaughter in 2005 by a racially mixed jury, exactly 41 years after the murders of the three Civil Rights workers in Neshoba County, Mississippi; and
WHEREAS, for Judge Gordon, the trial hit close to home. Mr. Killen, a Sawmill Operator and part-time Minister, had grown up just down the road from him. He had preached at the church that Judge Gordon's parents attended and presided over their combined funerals just a year after the murders; and
WHEREAS, Judge Gordon gave Mr. Killen the maximum sentence: 60 years in prison. He was confined to the State Penitentiary at Parchman and recently died; and
WHEREAS, "It is my responsibility to make that decision, and I have done it," Judge Gordon said at the conclusion of the trial, which was televised. "Each life has value. Each life is equally as valuable as the other life, and I have taken that into consideration. Law does not recognize the distinction of age." Judge Gordon said he viewed the crime as a stain on his state and county and their citizens. The crime vas "not the act of Neshoba County," he told The Los Angeles Times. "That was the act of a mob"; and
WHEREAS, Judge Gordon was the longest-serving Trial Judge in the history of the State of Mississippi, serving for 37 years, 1977 through 2016, and kept one of the best Trial Judge records in the state; and
WHEREAS, after Mr. Killen's arrest, Judge Gordon said he intended to treat the case routinely, despite its infamy and his familiarity with the defendant. "I accepted this case like any other," he told The Clarion Ledger. "My responsibility is to provide a fair trial. The verdict of the jury will be the verdict of the jury; and
WHEREAS, he is survived by his wife, the former Polly Matthews; three sons: Craig, Darin and Brian; daughter, Teresa Parker; four grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren; and
WHEREAS, Judge Gordon served as a leader and mentor to practicing attorneys. He consistently lectured on professional standards of the practice of law, including ethics, integrity, civility, courtesy and adherence to the Golden Rule. His public service honored both The Mississippi Bar and this great state that he served:
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING THEREIN, That we do hereby remember the legacy and distinguished legal career of Circuit Court District Judge Marcus D. Gordon, Mississippi's longest-serving Trial Court Judge who presided over historic Mississippi Civil Rights criminal cases, and expressing belated condolences to his surviving family.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That this resolution be presented to Judge Gordon's surviving family, forwarded to The Mississippi Bar, and made available to the Capitol Press Corps.