William N. Ethridge

William Nathaniel Ethridge Jr. (August 3, 1912 – July 29, 1971)[1] was a justice of the Supreme Court of Mississippi from 1952 to 1971, serving as chief justice from 1966 until his death in 1971.[2]

Born in Columbus, Mississippi,[1] Ethridge was a second cousin of George H. Ethridge, who served as a justice on the state supreme court.[2] Ethridge suffered from polio as a child, and required the use of a wheelchair.[2] He attended the public schools of West Point, Mississippi, and received degrees from the University of Mississippi and the University of Southern California.[1] He then engaged in private practice in Oxford, Mississippi, and Jackson, Mississippi, and taught at the University of Mississippi School of Law.[1] In 1950, he published Modernizing Mississippi's Constitution.

In October 1950, Governor Fielding L. Wright appointed Ethridge, then 40 years old, to one of three newly-established seats on the state supreme court,[1][2] likely making Ethridge the first judge appointed to the court with a physical handicap.[2] Ethridge was then re-elected to the seat without opposition in 1952,[1][2] and again in 1960.[2] He became Chief Justice in 1966, winning re-election to that office in 1968,[2] and serving in that capacity until his death.[1][3]