MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2005 5th Extraordinary Session
To: Rules
By: Senator(s) Gordon, Browning, Bryan, Burton, Chaney, Dawkins, Dearing, Doxey, Huggins, Hyde-Smith, Kirby, Lee (47th), Little, Morgan, Posey, Robertson, Thames, Turner, White, Frazier
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION COMMENDING THE LIFE AND DEDICATED PUBLIC SERVICE OF THE HONORABLE STEPHEN J. KIRCHMAYR OF JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI, LONGTIME COUNSEL FOR THE STATE COLLEGE BOARD AND COURT ADMINISTRATOR FOR THE MISSISSIPPI SUPREME COURT, AND EXPRESSING THE SYMPATHY OF THE LEGISLATURE.
WHEREAS, the Honorable Stephen J. Kirchmayr of Jackson, Mississippi, Counsel and Court Administrator for the Mississippi Supreme Court and the state court system, passed away on Tuesday, October 4, 2005, at his home; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Kirchmayr, an attorney, worked in public service for 28 years in the office of the State Attorney General, at the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning and at the Mississippi Supreme Court. He served under four state attorneys general and five chief justices of the Mississippi Supreme Court; and
WHEREAS, for the past 12 years, Mr. Kirchmayr served as Counsel and Court Administrator to the Mississippi Supreme Court. He oversaw financial operations, personnel, planning and all other non-judicial functions of the Mississippi Supreme Court and Court of Appeals; and
WHEREAS, as Supreme Court Administrator, he oversaw implementation of a new court system for the state after the Legislature created the 10-member Court of Appeals in 1994. He oversaw technological improvements for the Supreme Court, Court of Appeals and the state trial courts. He supervised programs which made the decisions, docket and oral arguments of the Supreme Court and Court of Appeals available to the public via the Internet. He oversaw resource improvements for trial courts; and
WHEREAS, from 1992-1993, Mr. Kirchmayr served as Special Assistant to the Commissioner of Higher Education, he joined the office of then-Attorney General A.F. Summer as an Assistant State Attorney General in 1977, providing legal advice and representation to state and local government officials and state agencies. In 1985, he became Deputy Attorney General, second-in-command under then-Attorney General Edwin L. Pittman, a position he held until 1992; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Kirchmayr was born September 6, 1942, in Vicksburg, Mississippi. He graduated from St. Aloysius High School. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Southern Mississippi in 1964. He earned a Juris Doctorate degree from the Mississippi School of Law in 1972. He worked in private law practice in Jackson, Mississippi, for five years before joining the office of the Attorney General; and
WHEREAS, he was a member of the Mississippi Bar Association, the Hinds County Bar Association, the Federal Bar Association and the Mississippi Court Administrators' Association. He was a fellow of the Mississippi Bar Foundation and a former member of the Charles Clark Chapter of American Inns of Court. He served as Secretary of the Conference of Mississippi Judges. From 1991 to 1993, he served as a member of Civil Justice Reform Act Advisory Committee for the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi. He was a former Chairman of the Governmental Law Section of the Mississippi Bar Association. He was a member of the St. James Episcopal Church. Mr. Kirchmayr was a private pilot who enjoyed going to the circus and playing practical jokes; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Kirchmayr was preceded in death by his parents, Stephen and Earline Kirchmayr. Survivors include his wife, Kathy Crowder Kirchmayr, Jackson, Mississippi; son, Stephen Kirchmayr, Jackson, Mississippi; daughter, Deidra Kirchmayr O'Connor and her husband, the Reverend Edward F. O'Connor, Gulfport, Mississippi; and three grandchildren; and
WHEREAS, we are grateful for Steve's legacy of service in state government, and we will miss our friend dearly:
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING THEREIN, That we do hereby commend the life and dedicated public service of the Honorable Stephen J. Kirchmayr of Jackson, Mississippi, longtime Counsel for the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning and Court Administrator for the Mississippi Supreme Court, and express to his family the sympathy of the Legislature on his passing.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That this resolution be forwarded to the surviving family of Stephen Kirchmayr, to the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning and the Mississippi Supreme Court and be made available to the Capitol Press Corps.