The Hon. Dawn H. Beam is an associate justice for the Mississippi Supreme Court. She was appointed to the seat by former Governor Phil Bryant on February 16, 2016, filling the vacancy created by the resignation of the Hon. Randy Pierce. Beam is the fourth woman to serve on the state’s Supreme Court and the first woman from the Southern District.
Prior to her appointment, she was a judge for the 10th Chancery Court District of Mississippi since 2010, which includes Forrest, Lamar, Marion, Pear River, and Perry Counties.
Beam joined the bench after serving for three years as the Prosecutor for Lamar County (2007 to 2010), where she worked alongside social workers and youth service officers to help abused and neglected children. Before becoming a prosecutor, she was in private practice in Hattiesburg for sixteen years and spent time as the child support attorney for the Mississippi Department of Human Services (1989 to 1994).
Beam received a B.A. in business from the University of Mississippi. She then completed a J.D. at the University of Mississippi School of Law. Beam was admitted to practice in Mississippi in 1989.
She has served as co-chair of the Commission on Children’s Justice and the Commission on Guardianships and Conservatorships.
Beam was born in Marks in the Mississippi Delta, the daughter of a minister. She attended Caldwell High School in Columbus, Mississippi. She and her husband, Dr. Stephen Beam, have five children. She is a member of Sumrall United Methodist Church in Lamar County.