Judge Duncan honored with retirement celebration

Family, friends, and colleagues gathered Friday to celebrate the retirement of Circuit Court Judge Mark Duncan, with many citing his integrity, humility, and dedication both on and off the bench.

Duncan’s career with the state began in 1988 when he was appointed Assistant District Attorney. After 16 years in that role, he was elected District Attorney in 2003. In 2017, then-Governor Phil Bryant appointed him Circuit Judge for Mississippi’s Eighth Judicial District, serving Neshoba, Leake, Newton, and Scott counties, a position he held until his retirement.

More than 150 people attended the reception inside the courthouse. Duncan was joined by his wife Joni, son Ben, brother Lance Duncan, and sister Daffy Wammack, along with other family members.

Court Administrator Nicole Bryan, who organized the event, opened the program by expressing her admiration for Judge Duncan.

“I will miss your calming influence, your brave decisions, your example of Christian faith, and most of all, our big brother talks,” she said.

The Rev. Davey Wilkinson prayed a special blessing over Duncan and his family while the Rev. Joey Ratcliff blessed the food.

Retired District Attorney Ken Turner, who worked alongside Duncan for 16 years, shared many stories, both personal and professional.

“The best decision I ever made as DA was bringing Mark on board,” Turner said. “As Dunc would say, we worked together like peas and carrots.”

Turner spoke about their collaboration in the courtroom.

“Most of the time, we didn’t even need to talk to each other. We just knew what the other was thinking,” Turner said.

He recalled one felony DUI trial where Duncan secured a guilty verdict against a defendant represented by two high-priced, out-of-town lawyers.

“The jury didn’t take long to come back with a guilty verdict,” Turner said.

Later, standing outside the courthouse, Turner joked with Duncan: “You just beat the stew out of those two attorneys — one’s leaving in a brand-new Mercedes, the other in a BMW, and you’re heading home in a used Toyota pickup!”

Turner said Duncan never pursued his career for personal gain.

“As any law enforcement officer will tell you, you don’t do this work for the money. Mark chose this career path not for how much money he could make, but for the good he could do.”

Turner said the two never had a falling out in all their 16 years together despite prosecuting many heated, high profile murder and drug cases.

He shared one memory of a small disagreement over whether to keep a familiar face on a jury.

While Turner favored leaving the lady on the panel because she knew them, Duncan objected, saying she had “too soft a heart” to convict.

“Well, to tell you how that case came out, I wish I had listened to Mark. That was a lesson learned,” he said.

Turner also spoke about Duncan’s unwavering loyalty as a friend. After Turner’s daughter was seriously injured in a car accident, Duncan stepped up during one of their busiest court terms.

“He told me, ‘Don’t worry about Scott County. I’ll take care of it.’ And he did,” Turner said.

A few weeks later, when Turner mentioned needing a wheelchair ramp built at his house for his daughter, Duncan again said, “Don’t worry about it.”

When the Turners returned from the hospital, the ramp was already built, a gesture that Turner never forgot.

“Mark Duncan is my kind of guy,” Turner said. “He served these counties with honor, integrity, and fairness. If anyone’s earned a great retirement, it’s Mark, Joni, and Ben. And as someone already retired, I’ll just say: Mark, jump on in, the water’s fine!”

A rewarding career

Duncan addressed the crowd with humility and gratitude, his voice occasionally breaking with emotion.

“This is too much,” he said. “I don’t feel like I deserve all of this, but I deeply appreciate it.”

He thanked Turner for his kind words, calling their years together some of the most rewarding of his career.

“It’s the truth,” he said. “Not only were we a good team here in the courtroom, we also built a tremendous friendship that still lasts today and I am happy for that.”

Duncan shared how he came to the decision to retire.

“People had been asking me for years when I was going to retire. Last year I started thinking about it seriously. This year, I finally made the decision to do it.

“Word got out, and people started asking, ‘Well, what are you going to do now?’ Truth is, I don’t know. Maybe my yard will get mowed more often. I hope my golf game will get better. I really don’t know.”

Quoting Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Duncan said: “Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.”

That’s kinda where we are going here, he said.

He shared that Joni will retire later this year and together they’ll see where their path leads.

“I believe with all my heart that God puts us where we’re meant to be and uses us to minister to others. I’m looking forward to that happening.”

While stepping through new doors can be exciting, Duncan said it also means leaving some things behind.

“I’m not leaving you behind,” he said. “But I won’t see many of you as often and that’s what I’ll miss most.  I’ll miss the camaraderie we have in the office and in the courthouse. Some of you I will probably see more often. I’m looking forward to seeing what is on the other side of his door.

He closed with three of his favorite quotes:

• Let all that you do be done in love.

• It is the small everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keep the darkness at bay. Small acts of kindness and love.

• Roll down the windows and let the wind blow back your hair.

“I hope my retirement reflects some of those ideas,” Duncan said. “And my prayer is that your lives will too.”

After earning his law degree, Duncan began his law practice in the fall of 1983, opening an office on Main Street across from city hall. He earned his first fee defending a juvenile in youth court and thought at first about having it framed.

“We needed the money, though,” Duncan said years later. “We had come home from Oxford with everything we owned in our car.”

During his over 30 years in the District Attorney’s office, Duncan prosecuted more than 800 jury trials. The most notable came in his first term as DA, when he successfully led the prosecution of former Ku Klux Klan leader Edgar Ray Killen in the killing of three civil rights workers in Neshoba County in 1964.