Keith Starrett
From Judgepedia
| Keith Starrett | |
| Current Court Information: | |
| United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi | |
| Title: | Judge |
| Position: | Seat #3 |
| Station: | Hattiesburg, MS |
| Service: | |
| Appointed by: | George W. Bush |
| Active: | 12/13/2004 - Current |
| Preceded by: | Charles Pickering |
| Past post: | Mississippi Fourteenth Judicial District, Judge |
| Past term: | 1992 - 2004 |
| Personal History | |
| Born: | 1951 |
| Home State: | McComb, MS |
| Bachelors: | Mississippi State U., B.S., 1972 |
| Law School: | U. of Mississippi Law, J.D., 1974 |
Contents |
Keith Starrett is an Article III federal judge for the United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi. He joined the court in 2004 after being nominated by President George W. Bush.
Early life and education
A native of Mississippi, Starrett graduated from Mississippi State University with his Bachelor's Degree in 1972 and later graduated from the University of Mississippi School of Law with his Juris Doctor in 1974. [1]
Professional career
Starett spent his pre-judicial legal career as a private practice attorney licensed in the State of Mississippi from 1975 to 1992. In addition to his private practice work, Starrett also served as a part-time assistant district attorney for the 14th Circuit Court District of Mississippi in 1981. In 1992, Starrett became a circuit court judge for the 14th Circuit Court District of Mississippi and served in the role until his appointment to the Federal Bench in 2004. [1]
Judicial career
Southern District of Mississippi
On the unanimous recommendation of U.S. Senators Thad Cochran and Trent Lott, Starrett was nominated by President George W. Bush on July 6, 2004, to a seat vacated by Charles Pickering as Pickering was nominated to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. Starrett was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on November 20, 2004, and received commission on December 13, 2004. [1]
Notable cases
Medicare fraud
Judge Starrett is presiding in a high profile medicare fraud case of seven people from Texas and Mississippi. The seven individuals are charged in engaging in medicare fraud as an FBI complaint alleges that Statewide Physical Medicine Group Inc. billed Medicare over $39 million dollars, but federal prosecutors allege that some of what was billed was fraudulent. The trial was postponed until March of 2010 because of growing complexities in the case[2].
Hattiesburg ward lawsuit
Starrett's 2008 ruling in a case regarding the drawing of voting district lines is being appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
Arguments will be heard on August 3, 2009 on whether the counting of university students in Hattiesburg's population diluted minority participation on the city council. Starrett ruled that the "plaintiffs did not show that Hattiesburg's new wards violate the one-person, one-vote principle. Starrett said it would be impossible to draw three majority-Black city wards without excluding the students."
Plaintiffs contend that the city violated the Voting Rights Act of 1965 by including dormitory students in population calculations used to draw the city's wards. [3]
See also
External links
References
| Federal judicial offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by: Charles Pickering | Southern District of Mississippi 2004–Current Seat #3 | Succeeded by: NA |
| |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Active judges |
Chief Judge: Louis Guirola • Henry Wingate • Keith Starrett • Daniel Jordan • Halil Ozerden • Carlton W. Reeves | ||
| Senior judges | |||
| Magistrate judges | Linda Anderson • Michael Parker • Robert Walker • John Roper • Keith Ball • | ||
| Former Article III judges |
George Adams • Samuel Jameson Gholson • Robert Andrews Hill • Charles Pickering • Henry Clay Niles • Edwin Ruthven Holmes • Dan Russell • Sidney Mize • James Summer • William Cox • Walter Nixon • | ||
| Former Chief judges |
Henry Wingate • William Barbour • Tom Lee • Dan Russell • Sidney Mize • William Cox • Walter Nixon • | ||
