Vicki R. Barnes

Vicki Roach Barnes, known professionally as Judge Vicki R. Barnes, was the senior chancellor of Mississippi's Ninth Judicial District and, by the time of her death, the longest serving chancery court judge in the state. She died on Sunday, 27 September 2026, aged 71, after a long illness, while campaigning for another term on the seat she had held since the mid-1990s.

A native of the Vicksburg area, Barnes graduated from Tougaloo College and earned her law degree from the University of Mississippi School of Law. She ran a solo practice in Vicksburg, spent four years as the city's prosecutor, and served nine years as a municipal court judge before winning election as a chancery court judge in 1994. She took the chancery bench in 1995 and remained there continuously thereafter, becoming a familiar figure to generations of west Mississippi lawyers and families.

As senior chancellor for the Ninth Judicial District she heard cases across Warren, Sharkey, Issaquena, Humphreys, Sunflower and Washington counties. Mississippi chancery courts handle divorces, child custody and support, wills and estates, guardianships and other non-criminal domestic and property matters, so her rulings touched thousands of families over more than three decades. Lawyers who practised before her, including Vicksburg attorney Mack Varner, praised her detailed written opinions, fairness, and willingness to be available by phone when other judges were not. She was still scheduled to hear cases in the week after her death was announced.

Beyond the courtroom she became the first woman to serve as president of the Junius Ward Johnson Memorial YMCA Board of Directors and remained on that board. She was a communicant and lector at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Vicksburg. Her husband John, a local contractor active with Habitat for Humanity and their parish, died in August 2015. She was survived by their daughter Bonita and granddaughter Scarlett.

At her death she was on the November 2026 ballot seeking re-election. Opponent Penny Lawson set politics aside to call her a lovely lady who served her county. Warren County Sheriff Martin Pace said she was the ultimate professional who had dedicated her adult life to public service. Lakeview Memorial Funeral Home was entrusted with arrangements as funeral plans were finalised.