Judge Gay Polk-Payton has been a practicing attorney for 26 years, a Forrest County Justice Court Judge for 11 years and a City of Hattiesburg Municipal Court Judge for 4 years. She has served this community as an advocate in the Forrest County Public Defender’s Office, the Perry County Public Defender’s Office, the 12th Judicial District Drug Court, the City of Hattiesburg Public Defender’s Office and at Polk-Payton Law Office as a general practice private attorney. She has served as a Commissioner for the Mississippi Bar Association, current Mississippi Bar Resolutions Committee Member and as President of the South Central Mississippi Bar Association. She is licensed to practice law in all courts in the State of Mississippi, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals and in the United States Supreme Court.
She has also served as adjunct faculty at the University of Southern Mississippi and Assistant Dean for Student Affairs at the University of Mississippi School of Law. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Business from the University of Southern Mississippi, a Master’s Degree in Business from the University of New Orleans and a Juris Doctor from the University of Mississippi School of Law. She is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority and West Point Baptist Church.
She is very active in the community and has received countless recognitions. She has also received many community awards, including the Martin Luther King, Jr. Drum Major of Justice Award, the Social Justice Award from Zeta Phi Beta, Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Service Award from Alpha Phi Alpha and the Alumni Spotlight for Hattiesburg Public Schools. She has been inducted into the UM Constance Slaughter Harvey Black Law Students’ Association Hall of Fame and the Council on Legal Education Opportunity’s (CLEO) Judges’ Hall of Fame. She is also a public speaker, singer, songwriter, published author, former radio show host and blogger.
