Judge Leslie D. King: Former Third 8th Episcopal District Lay President

​Judge Leslie D. King Former Third 8th Episcopal District Lay President Leslie D. King, Esq. served well as the third President of the Eighth Episcopal District Lay Organization from 1990-1998. His native Greenville, MS and […]

​Judge Leslie D. King
Former Third 8th Episcopal District Lay President

​Leslie D. King, Esq. served well as the third President of the Eighth Episcopal District Lay Organization from 1990-1998. His native Greenville, MS and home church – St. Matthew AME Church helped to shape his education, character and Christian beliefs for leadership in the Lay Organization and in the judicial system of Mississippi. As Lay President, Attorney King continued the tradition of working for an involved, informed, and unified laity. He is known for working to increase the number of active lay organizations and to expand the membership base of the 8th District Annual Conferences and local Lay Organizations.

Attorney King began practicing law in Greenville, MS in 1973, following his graduation from the University of Mississippi in 1970, and Texas Southern University School of Law in 1973.

While serving in leadership roles at St. Matthew African Methodist Episcopal Church and the community of Greenville, MS, Attorney King served in the Mississippi House of Representatives from 1980 through 1994. In 1992, he began serving as vice-chairman of the Conservation and Water Resources Committee. He served on other committees: Judiciary, Insurance, Environmental Protection Council, Housing Finance Oversight, and Universities and Colleges. He chaired the Mississippi Black Legislative Caucus in 1988. In Greenville (Washington County), he served as Youth Court Counselor, Public Defender, Youth Court Prosecutor, and Municipal Court Judge for the Town of Metcalfe.

Mid-way Attorney King’s 8-year term as Episcopal District Lay President, he was elected to the Court of Appeals in 1994. He served as Chief Judge from April 20, 2004, through March 2011. On March 1, 2011, Judge Leslie King took the oath of office to serve for District 1- Position 2 of the Mississippi Supreme Court. Governor Haley Barbour appointed him to a vacancy on the Mississippi Supreme Court. On February 1, 2019, Judge King was re-elected Presiding Justice of the Supreme Court. His current term ends on December 31, 2028.

In June 2014, Judge King received the Chief Justice Award, which honors an individual whose work has improved the judicial system. This award honored Justice King for “his tireless service, devotion to duty and unflinching leadership which helped shape the highly respected and effective Court of Appeals of the State of Mississippi.”

Judge King and his wife, the former Patricia Smith of Greenville, have two daughters and a granddaughter. All are members of St. Matthew African Methodist Episcopal Church, Greenville, MS.
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Shirley Hopkins Davis, PhD, Episcopal District Lay Historiographer Ms. Patricia W. Campbell, Episcopal District Lay President
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Bishop Stafford J. N. Wicker, Eighth Episcopal District Presiding Prelate/Chair, Lay Commission