Joseph Ruble Griffin (July 4, 1923 – December 29, 1988)Deborah Skipper, "Supreme Court Justice Ruble Griffin is the 4th State Judge to Die in a Month", ''Jackson Clarion-Ledger'' (December 30, 1988), p. Al. was a justice of the Supreme Court of Mississippi from 1986 to 1988. Leslie Southwick
Mississippi Supreme Court Elections: A Historical Perspective 1916-1996
18 Miss. C. L. Rev. 115 (1997-1998). Born in

Woodland, Mississippi Woodland is a village in Chickasaw County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 125 at the 2010 census. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of , all land. Demographics As of the census ...

, Griffin received a B.A. from the

University of Mississippi The University of Mississippi (byname Ole Miss) is a public research university that is located adjacent to Oxford, Mississippi, and has a medical center in Jackson. It is Mississippi's oldest public university and its largest by enrollment. ...

, followed by a J.D. from the University of Mississippi School of Law in 1936. He served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, from 1943 to 1946. In 1972, Griffin was appointed to a seat on the state circuit court vacated by the elevation of Justice Harry G. Walker to the state supreme court. In 1986, Griffin ran for a seat on the state supreme court, winning the primary race 39,586 votes to opponent Jon Swartzfager's 36,480. Shortly thereafter, on June 30, 1986, Chief Justice Neville Patterson resigned, and Governor William Allain elevated Griffin by appointment to the vacant seat. Griffin died two years into his term.

References

Justices of the Mississippi Supreme Court 1923 births 1988 deaths University of Mississippi alumni University of Mississippi School of Law alumni United States Army personnel of World War II {{Mississippi-state-judge-stub