Charles W. Pickering, Sr., is senior counsel at the Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz law firm and is also a Gideon, a member of the Mission Mississippi Board of Directors, and the former president of Mississippi Baptists. He began his private law practice in 1961, and in October 1990, former President George H.W. Bush appointed him U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of Mississippi, where he served 13 years. Eleven months after his recess appointment from President George W. Bush in January 2004, Pickering retired as an appellate judge from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
Prior to becoming a member of the Alliance Defense Fund Board of Directors in 2008, Pickering served on the faculty for the ADF Blackstone Legal Fellowship in 2007 and 2008. His passion as a former judge to see our Constitution restored to its original intent piqued his interest in ADF, which he sees as leading the way toward reaching this goal.
Pickering was the county prosecuting attorney for Jones County, Mississippi, for four years, served in the Mississippi State Senate for eight years, was chairman of the Republican Party in Mississippi, and emerged as the Republican nominee for attorney general of the state. He also became the first chairman of the Jones County Economic Development Authority and co-chaired the governor's commission to establish a civil rights museum in Mississippi. Pickering served as vice-chairman of the Southern Baptist Peace Committee, which he was instrumental in creating. He authored
Supreme Chaos: The Politics of Judicial Confirmation and the Culture War and
A Price Too High: The Judiciary in Jeopardy. Pickering appeared on CBS's
60 Minutes; Fox News'
The O'Reilly Factor and
Hannity & Colmes; MSNBC's
Scarborough Country; Court TV's
Catherine Crier Live; PBS's
The News Hour with Jim Lehrer; CSPAN's
Washington Journal;
Focus on the Family Radio with Dr. James Dobson and;
Janet Parshall's America.
Pickering and his family reside in Laurel, Mississippi, where he has taught Sunday school at First Baptist Church for nearly 45 years. He has served his church in many capacities, including chairman of the deacons. He is a graduate of the University of Mississippi and helped create the Institute for Racial Reconciliation there in 1999. Pickering graduated from the University of Mississippi School of Law and received an honorary doctorate from William Carey University, where he serves on the board of trustees.