Defer Elected President Of Municipal Judges Association
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Newly elected Mississippi Municipal Court Judges Association President Tommy W. Defer participates in a panel discussion during the organization’s annual summer seminar and training conference in Biloxi.
WATER VALLEY — Water Valley attorney Tommy W. Defer has been elected president of the Mississippi Municipal Court Judges Association, a statewide organization that supports and educates municipal judges across Mississippi.
The election took place during the group’s annual summer seminar and training conference in Biloxi.
Defer has served as Coffeeville’s municipal court judge since October 2015 and also serves as a pro tempore judge for the Batesville Municipal Court, filling in when the regular judge is unavailable or when conflicts arise. Before being elected president, he served as secretary and vice president of the association.
“It was an honor to be elected by my colleagues,” Defer said. “I appreciate their confidence.”
For Defer, the election represents another milestone in a legal career spanning 25 years. After graduating from the University of Mississippi School of Law in 2001, he began practicing with Batesville attorney David Walker before opening his own Water Valley law practice in December 2003. Before taking the bench in Coffeeville, he also served eight years as a prosecutor.
Although municipal courts often handle misdemeanor offenses, traffic violations and ordinance cases, Defer said the responsibilities of a municipal judge extend well beyond scheduled court sessions.
Judges remain on call to review search warrants, authorize blood draws in serious traffic crashes and conduct initial appearances for defendants — responsibilities that can come at any hour of the day or night.
“I have to be accessible and ready to go,” Defer said. “It’s part of the job.”
Those duties have followed him far from Yalobusha County. Defer recalled conducting an initial appearance by telephone while visiting family in Texas and approving search warrants while vacationing on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.
“There really isn’t such a thing as being off duty,” he said.
Defer said the association’s annual conference provides municipal judges with required continuing legal education while keeping them informed about changes in state law, legislation and judicial procedures.
“We get updates on new laws and legislation every year,” he said. “That continuing education is important to making sure we’re doing the job correctly.”
In addition to his legal practice and judicial responsibilities, Defer has taught American Government as an adjunct instructor at Northwest Mississippi Community College since 2021.
Looking back, Defer credits an upbringing around the courthouse for sparking his interest in the law.
“I grew up around the courthouse,” he said. “My dad was sheriff, so I spent a lot of time in justice court, circuit court and around the legal system. That’s what got me interested.”
