Vicki Barnes announces bid for reelection as Chancery Court Judge

VICKSBURG, Miss. (VDN) — 

Senior Chancellor Vicki Roach Barnes has announced her candidacy for reelection to the Chancery Court bench, seeking another term after serving more than three decades as a judge in Mississippi’s Ninth Judicial District.

Barnes, who was first elected in 1994, serves as senior chancellor for a district that includes Warren, Sharkey, Issaquena, Humphreys, Sunflower and Washington counties.

A graduate of Tougaloo College, Barnes earned a Bachelor of Science degree before attending the University of Mississippi School of Law, where she received her Juris Doctor degree. During law school, she was nominated by the University of Mississippi as the Outstanding Female Law Student for the national competition of the 10th Annual Judge Constance Baker Motley Award. Presented by the Herbert Lehman Education Fund of New York City, the honor recognized her academic and professional achievements, and she became the first recipient to receive a unanimous vote.

Before taking the bench, Barnes worked as a solo practitioner. She also served four years as city prosecutor for the City of Vicksburg and spent nine years as a municipal court judge.

Her legal career has included numerous leadership roles. Barnes is a past president of the Mississippi Municipal Court Judges Association and previously served as president of the Warren County Bar Association. She has also been a member of the board of directors for the Vicksburg Warren County Chamber of Commerce.

In addition, Barnes has served on the Vicksburg Planning Commission, the Vicksburg Zoning Board of Appeals, the Vicksburg Medical Center Board, the Mississippi Service Delivery Area Private Industry Council and the Central Mississippi Planning and Development Private Industry Council.

Her service and professional accomplishments have earned statewide and local recognition. Barnes was named Woman of the Year and Lawyer of the Year in the Vicksburg Evening Post Readers Poll and was selected as Lawyer of the Year again the following year. She has also been recognized as an Outstanding Woman in America and an Outstanding Professional-Prominent Woman of Mississippi.

Barnes previously served as a trustee of the Mississippi Bar Foundation and as a member of the Mississippi Commission on Judicial Performance. She is a fellow of the Mississippi Bar Foundation and remains active in several professional organizations, including the Mississippi Conference of Judges, Magnolia Bar Association, Mississippi Bar Association and American Bar Association.

Beyond her legal work, Barnes has maintained a longstanding commitment to community service. She made history as the first woman to serve as president of the Junius Ward Johnson Memorial YMCA Board of Directors and currently remains a member of that board.

As she seeks another term, Barnes said she remains committed to ensuring fairness and impartiality in the courtroom.

“Everyone who enters the courtroom comes in on an even playing field,” Barnes said, pledging to continue rendering fair and impartial decisions.

Barnes is a communicant and lector at St. Mary’s Catholic Church. She and her late husband, John, have one daughter, Bonita, and one granddaughter, Scarlett.

The election is scheduled for Nov. 3, 2026.