James H. Herring, a native of Canton, served as an elected District Attorney and a County Prosecuting Attorney, for about ten (10) years. After being appointed by Governor Fordice to the Mississippi State Personnel Board in 1996, Governor Fordice then appointed James to the Mississippi Court of Appeals in 1997. While serving as a member of the Court of Appeals, he participated in over 1,000 decisions on the merits and personally authored numerous majority opinions, a number of which were published. He also served as a Special Judge on the Mississippi Supreme Court.

In the political arena, he served as Chairman of the Mississippi Republican Party for over seven years; as a member of the Executive and Rules Committees of the Republican National Committee (“RNC”); and, through an appointment by the Chairman of the RNC, served as “Chairman of the Chairmen” of all State Republican Parties throughout the United States and its territories. During the 2008 Republican National Convention, he served as Chairman of the Convention’s Credentials Committee, which dealt with delegate challenges from three states. He was also appointed by President George W. Bush to the Board of Trustees of the Christopher Columbus Fellowship Foundation in 2002, and now serves as Vice Chairman of the Board.