Senator Brice Wiggins has represented District 52 (south Jackson County, including the cities of Pascagoula, Gautier, and Ocean Springs) since 2012. During this time, Brice has established himself as a leader in the Mississippi Senate currently serving as Chairman of Judiciary A, one of the legislature’s leading committees with jurisdiction over many different areas of the law. Brice served the 2020 year as Chairman of Judiciary B (criminal and criminal justice reform legislation) having been appointed by then new-Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann at the start of his third term in 2020. Brice previously served in his second term as Chairman of the first-ever Senate Medicaid Committee and Chairman of Ports and Marine Resources in his first term, a rare occurrence for a freshman legislator, both under Lt. Governor, now Governor, Tate Reeves.

Rachel L. Wilson is the new executive director of the Mississippi Commission on Judicial Performance. Her appointment became effective July 1 (2020).

A 2000 Mississippi College Law School graduate, Wilson served as the commission’s senior staff attorney. A major in the Mississippi Air National Guard, the Mississippian also serves as the assistant staff judge advocate for its 172^nd Air Wing in Jackson.

Rachel “brings the rare blend of institutional knowledge and fresh energy and ideas to the position,” says commission chair Kent McDaniel, a Rankin County Court Judge.

She’s transitioning from the senior prosecutor position and brings two decades of litigation experience to the commission office in Jackson this summer.

The commission prosecutes instances of judicial misconduct. The agency serves as a resource for judges by teaching continuing judicial education courses and speaking at seminars.

“I have been given the extraordinary opportunity to lead an agency whose mission is an incredibly laudable one,” Wilson said. “I do not take that opportunity or responsibility lightly and look forward to serving the Commission in its endeavor to protect the integrity of the judiciary.”

MC Law Dean Patricia Bennett is proud of Rachel and salutes her appointment.

“She will lead and manage with compassion to protect the judiciary and the public,” Bennett said Wednesday. “She knows how to balance the interests of both sides to ensure a just outcome.”

Her appointment, the MC Law dean added, will “ensure a well-trained and fair judiciary. The purpose of the Commission is to be rehabilitative and educational as well as disciplinary. Rachel is well qualified and deserving of this appointment.”

Rachel Wilson received a bachelor’s of arts and a master’s of English at William Carey University in Hattiesburg.

The Mississippi attorney is licensed to practice before all state and federal courts, the Choctaw Trial Court, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the United States Supreme Court.

In addition, Wilson served as an adjunct instructor at Mississippi University for Women in Columbus and as a volunteer teacher at law enforcement academies.

MC Law alumni offered their congratulations to Rachel Wilson on her new post at a key state agency.