MS selects 1st ever military judge

JACKSON, Miss. – The Mississippi National Guard appointed Col. Lee Thaggard as its first ever permanent military judge on Oct. 15. Thaggard has a private practice with a Meridian law firm. “I’m honored and humbled to be selected to represent the National Guard in this capacity as a military trial judge,” Thaggard said. Mississippi has had military judges appointed for brief periods or to preside over a specific case, but Thaggard is the first appointed to the position permanently. A military judge presides over the courtroom and determines sentences for service members accused of a crime under the Uniformed Code of Military Justice. They cannot preside over civilian proceedings. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant in 1987 through the AROTC at Mississippi State University, and was assigned to 1st Battalion, 185th Aviation Regiment, in Tupelo upon graduation. He earned a Juris Doctor cum laude from the University of Mississippi School of Law in 1992 and was appointed as a major in the JAG Corps in 2003. (Source: 102nd Public Affairs Det Q 10/15/16)