# Jody Owens Permanently Disbarred by Mississippi Supreme Court, Effective Immediately

> The former Hinds County district attorney cannot practice law in Mississippi again. The court's order was both immediate and permanent, an unusual departure from the state's normal 30-day grace period.

*General News · By Jackson Wire Staff · August 2, 2026*

The Mississippi Supreme Court permanently disbarred Jody Owens on July 29, stripping the former Hinds County district attorney of his law license weeks after he pleaded guilty to a federal conspiracy charge in the Jackson bribery case, according to the court's order and multiple outlets covering it.

The disbarment was immediate and permanent. That matters because Mississippi Rule of Discipline 12 normally lets a disbarred attorney keep a license for 30 days to wind down a practice. Presiding Justice Leslie D. King wrote an order that skipped that grace period entirely, according to the Mississippi Free Press.

Owens did not contest the matter. The court quoted his filing directly: 'Owens averred that this disciplinary matter was the only disciplinary matter pending against him. Further, Owens stated that he did not desire to defend this matter and requested permission to irrevocably resign with prejudice from the Mississippi Bar.'

The order treated that request as an admission. Owens' decision to resign was 'tantamount to proof of guilt,' the court wrote, per the Mississippi Free Press. Owens filed his irrevocable resignation with the bar on July 6, and the Mississippi Bar asked the high court to revoke his license the same day.

The order runs three pages. It requires Owens to notify all clients and affected courts of his disbarment and disperse any trust funds within 30 days. Within 45 days he must file an affidavit confirming every client has been told he can no longer practice, according to WLBT.

The disbarment closes the professional chapter of a man who once held the power to prosecute. Owens, a Terry native and Jackson State graduate who also worked in real estate, resigned as district attorney effective July 1, days after changing his plea on June 29, two weeks before his trial was set to begin.

His federal sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 15 before Judge Daniel P. Jordan III in the Southern District of Mississippi, according to the Clarion Ledger and Mississippi Today. The conspiracy charge carries up to five years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release.

Owens was the first of the three elected officials to plead guilty. Chokwe Antar Lumumba and Aaron Banks followed within a week, ending the case before a single juror was sworn in. Former councilwoman Angelique Lee and insurance specialist Sherik Marve Smith had already pleaded guilty in the same FBI sting.

The collapse of the case leaves a question the court's order does not answer: what happens to the district attorney's office Owens vacated. Gov. Tate Reeves appointed Brad McCullouch to serve temporarily, and a special election to fill the seat is set for Nov. 3, according to the Mississippi Free Press.

Owens has signaled he is not finished. Asked what comes next, he told Mississippi Today he has been drawing inspiration from the 1996 film 'The Preacher's Wife,' quoting the Whitney Houston song: 'I believe in miracles.'

The state bar has separately asked the Supreme Court to suspend Lumumba from the practice of law, according to WJTV. That request now moves forward without the man who once led the office that would have prosecuted such matters.

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[The Jackson Wire](https://www.thejacksonwire.com/) · [Read on the web](https://www.thejacksonwire.com/article/jody-owens-permanently-disbarred-mississippi-supreme-court)