WALTHALL — In Monday’s Chancery Court an attorney apologized to Judge Rodney Faver: “I’m sorry I’m late, but my GPS couldn’t find Walthall.”
That will probably change soon as the new Webster County Courthouse ramps up its operations.
“The people of Webster County have provided everything we could possibly need here,” Faver said as he looked around the chancery courtroom. “We have a state-of-the-art sound system and projection system — it’s top of the line.”
Sworn into office in January, Faver said the biggest surprise has been the actual number of cases that chancery court has to deal with.
“I knew we were hearing a lot of cases but you don’t really how many until you’re actually doing it,” he says.
‘Stay grounded’
There are two sides to every story, and after 10 years serving as a city judge in Starkville and practicing law since the late ’80s, Faver knows that the credibility of the people who come before him is a major factor in decision making. He has learned to read body language and types of speech, and look for consistency in statements.
Faver became interested in law while he was in high school. As he considered career paths, things kept pointing him back to the legal field.
Before he started his term, Faver was required to attend an orientation for new judges. “They told us that everyone would be nice and that everyone would want to be a friend of the judge, but you have to stay grounded,” something he remembers daily.
Another daily reminder is Romans 8:28, a Bible verse by which he lives his life: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”
Jurisdiction
Mississippi has 20 chancery court districts; Webster County falls into the 14th Chancery District. Most of the trials are heard without a jury, but in some cases a jury is used when the law allows.
Faver works in six Mississippi counties: Chickasaw, Clay, Lowndes, Noxubee, Oktibbeha and Webster. Chancery court has jurisdiction over disputes regarding equity, domestic matters (including adoptions, custody disputes and divorces), guardianships, juvenile cases, sanity hearings, wills, land disputes and challenges to the constitutionality of state laws.
Chancery districts in Mississippi have one to four judges (chancellors), and this district has three: Faver, Senior Chancellor Paula Drungole-Ellis of Starkville and Chancellor Joe Studdard of Columbus. They all go to every county; cases in each county are randomly assigned to them.
“I also try to spend time with the people on an informal basis,” Faver explained. “I’ve gotten to know a lot of good people through my campaign and election.”
“One of the things that I talked about when I was running was that I wanted to get into a position where I could make the decisions, rather than watching someone else make them,” the judge says. He’s doing just that now.
