Charlie Webster, 64, is running for his fourth term as circuit court judge.
Webster, a 1972 Clarksdale High School graduate, graduated from Mississippi State University in 1976 and Ole Miss law school in 1979.
“Born and raised here,” Webster said. “Lived here all my life. It is my community.”
Webster’s challenger for the circuit court judge’s seat, Darnell Felton, 62, graduated from Cleveland East Side High School in 1974, Ole Miss in 1980 and earned his Juris Doctorate from the University of North Dakota in 1989.
Both candidates have practiced law in Clarksdale for several years.
Webster has been the city court prosecutor for Clarksdale, a public defender for circuit court for 14 years, practiced law for 30 years in private practice before being a judge, was the Clarksdale Municipal School District board vice president for six years, assisted the CMSD in moot court, was an offensive tackle and defensive guard for the Wildcats, and has announced their games on the radio for 22 years.
Felton has been a city court judge and prosecutor, a member of the Board of Coahoma Opportunities Inc., done trial work, been in the United States Air Force, a substitute teacher, is a trained mediator and a certified arbitrator. He has been an adjunct instructor for constitutional law and administrative law at Ole Miss and business law at Coahoma Community College.
“I don’t keep a list of things that I accomplish,” Felton said. “To me, this is what I’m supposed to do. I help people. I go to the Care Station and help with their Thanksgiving meal delivery and things like that. Then I see a lot of my students I taught at the college.”
One of Webster’s biggest accomplishments during his three terms in office is working with the 11th Circuit Court drug court.
“We take non-violent offenders that are committing crimes because they are drug related to finance their drugs or things like that, and we put them in drug court instead of sending them to prison,” he said. “The goal is to return those individuals to productive citizens of society, drug free.”
Webster, who was licensed to practice all laws in Mississippi when practicing law, including federal court and the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans and the United States Supreme Court, said he takes pride in the fact that few of his rulings as judge have been overturned.
As judge, there are times Webster shows compassion and instances where he takes a hard stand.
“If you commit a crime and you’re convicted in my court and you’ve committed a crime with a deadly weapon, you are going to prison,” he said. “I’m not going to give you probation. You’re going to prison. If it’s a non-violent crime, your first offense, I’m probably going to have a little more compassionate view toward you and try to work with you a little bit. But, if you get out and start hurting people, you cross a line.”
Felton saw ways the court system could be improved.
“What I would like to do is talk with the circuit court and see what is their position about electronic filing?” he said. “What that does is initial complaints still have to be filed physically or either through the mail, but once that is filed, everything else can be filed electronically because we do have a pilot program here in Mississippi for that.”
Crime was another concern of Felton’s.
