{
 "id": "eps2rdzb73",
 "slug": "carlton-w-reeves",
 "title": "Carlton W. Reeves",
 "updated": "2026-10-15",
 "topic_path": [
  {
   "id": "society",
   "label": "Society and history",
   "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/society"
  },
  {
   "id": "society.law",
   "label": "Law and justice",
   "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/society.law"
  },
  {
   "id": "society.law.practice",
   "label": "Courts and legal practice",
   "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/society.law.practice"
  },
  {
   "id": "society.law.practice.people",
   "label": "Legal biographies",
   "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/society.law.practice.people"
  },
  {
   "id": "society.law.practice.people.people.judges.us",
   "label": "United States judges",
   "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/society.law.practice.people.people.judges.us"
  },
  {
   "id": "society.law.practice.people.people.judges.us.federal",
   "label": "US federal judges",
   "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/society.law.practice.people.people.judges.us.federal"
  },
  {
   "id": "society.law.practice.people.people.judges.us.federal.article3",
   "label": "Article III judges (district and appellate)",
   "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/society.law.practice.people.people.judges.us.federal.article3"
  },
  {
   "id": "society.law.practice.people.people.judges.us.federal.article3.district-judges",
   "label": "United States district court judges",
   "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/society.law.practice.people.people.judges.us.federal.article3.district-judges"
  },
  {
   "id": "society.law.practice.people.people.judges.us.federal.article3.district-judges.alpha-q-to-sc",
   "label": "Surnames Q to Sc",
   "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/society.law.practice.people.people.judges.us.federal.article3.district-judges.alpha-q-to-sc"
  }
 ],
 "geo": [
  {
   "id": "geo.us.t2021.society.law.practice.people.people.judges.us.federal.article3.district-judges.alpha-q-to-sc",
   "label": "United States · 2021 and later: Surnames Q to Sc",
   "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2021.society.law.practice.people.people.judges.us.federal.article3.district-judges.alpha-q-to-sc",
   "path": [
    {
     "id": "geo.us",
     "label": "United States",
     "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us"
    },
    {
     "id": "geo.us.t2021",
     "label": "United States · 2021 and later",
     "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2021"
    },
    {
     "id": "geo.us.t2021.society",
     "label": "Society and history",
     "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2021.society"
    },
    {
     "id": "geo.us.t2021.society.law",
     "label": "Law and justice",
     "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2021.society.law"
    },
    {
     "id": "geo.us.t2021.society.law.practice",
     "label": "Courts and legal practice",
     "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2021.society.law.practice"
    },
    {
     "id": "geo.us.t2021.society.law.practice.people",
     "label": "Legal biographies",
     "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2021.society.law.practice.people"
    },
    {
     "id": "geo.us.t2021.society.law.practice.people.people.judges.us",
     "label": "United States judges",
     "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2021.society.law.practice.people.people.judges.us"
    },
    {
     "id": "geo.us.t2021.society.law.practice.people.people.judges.us.federal",
     "label": "US federal judges",
     "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2021.society.law.practice.people.people.judges.us.federal"
    },
    {
     "id": "geo.us.t2021.society.law.practice.people.people.judges.us.federal.article3.district-judges",
     "label": "United States district court judges",
     "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2021.society.law.practice.people.people.judges.us.federal.article3.district-judges"
    },
    {
     "id": "geo.us.t2021.society.law.practice.people.people.judges.us.federal.article3.district-judges.alpha-q-to-sc",
     "label": "Surnames Q to Sc",
     "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2021.society.law.practice.people.people.judges.us.federal.article3.district-judges.alpha-q-to-sc"
    }
   ]
  }
 ],
 "excerpt": "Carlton Wayne Reeves, born 1964, is a United States district judge for the Southern District of Mississippi, appointed by Barack Obama in 2010 and chair of the United States Sentencing Commission since 2022.",
 "snippet": "Carlton Wayne Reeves, born 1964, is a United States district judge for the Southern District of Mississippi, appointed by Barack Obama in 2010 and chair of the United States Sentencing Commission since 2022.",
 "node": "society.law.practice.people.people.judges.us.federal.article3.district-judges.alpha-q-to-sc",
 "markdown": "# Carlton W. Reeves\n\nCarlton Wayne Reeves (born 1964) is an American jurist serving as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi since 2010.<sup>[1](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1393566)</sup> He was appointed to the court by President Barack Obama, receiving his commission on December 20, 2010.<sup>[1](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1393566)</sup> In 2022, he became chair of the United States Sentencing Commission.<sup>[1](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1393566)</sup>\n\n| Fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Court | U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi<sup>[1](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1393566)</sup> |\n| Appointed by | Barack Obama<sup>[1](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1393566)</sup> |\n| Confirmed | December 19, 2010, by voice vote<sup>[1](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1393566)</sup> |\n| Born | 1964 in Fort Hood, Texas<sup>[1](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1393566)</sup> |\n| Education | B.A., Jackson State University, 1986; J.D., University of Virginia School of Law, 1989<sup>[1](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1393566)</sup> |\n\n## Early life and education\n\nReeves was born in 1964 in Fort Hood, Texas.<sup>[1](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1393566)</sup> A native of Yazoo City, Mississippi, he earned a B.A. from [Jackson State University](https://www.edgepedia.org/jackson-state-university) in 1986 and a J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1989.<sup>[2](https://docs.house.gov/meetings/JU/JU03/20210325/111405/HHRG-117-JU03-Bio-ReevesC-20210325-U1.pdf)</sup>\n\n## Legal career\n\nAfter law school, Reeves served as a law clerk to Judge Reuben V. Anderson of the Mississippi Supreme Court from 1989 to 1990, and then as a staff attorney for the Mississippi Supreme Court from 1990 to 1991.<sup>[1](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1393566)</sup> From 1991 to 1995, he was an associate at Phelps Dunbar LLP.<sup>[3](https://www.ussc.gov/about/who-we-are/commisioners/judge-carlton-w-reeves)</sup> In 1995, he joined the [United States Attorney](https://www.edgepedia.org/united-states-attorney)'s Office for the Southern District of Mississippi, where he served as Chief of the Civil Division until 2001.<sup>[3](https://www.ussc.gov/about/who-we-are/commisioners/judge-carlton-w-reeves)</sup> He then co-founded the Jackson firm Pigott Reeves Johnson & Minor, P.A., where he was a partner from 2001 to 2010, focusing on state and federal litigation.<sup>[2](https://docs.house.gov/meetings/JU/JU03/20210325/111405/HHRG-117-JU03-Bio-ReevesC-20210325-U1.pdf)</sup> He is a former president of the Magnolia Bar Association.<sup>[2](https://docs.house.gov/meetings/JU/JU03/20210325/111405/HHRG-117-JU03-Bio-ReevesC-20210325-U1.pdf)</sup>\n\n## Federal judicial service\n\nPresident [Barack Obama](https://www.edgepedia.org/barack-obama) nominated Reeves to the United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi on April 28, 2010.<sup>[1](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1393566)</sup> The Senate confirmed him by voice vote on December 19, 2010, and he received his commission on December 20, 2010.<sup>[1](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1393566)</sup> He assumed office on December 30, 2010.<sup>[2](https://docs.house.gov/meetings/JU/JU03/20210325/111405/HHRG-117-JU03-Bio-ReevesC-20210325-U1.pdf)</sup> In 2022, Reeves began serving as chair of the United States Sentencing Commission.<sup>[1](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1393566)</sup>\n\n## Notable cases\n\nIn a 2021 ruling, Reeves held that Halliburton Energy Services likely breached an agreement it had entered with the federal government settling a job bias charge, by failing to rehire the worker who had filed the charge.<sup>[4](https://news.bloomberglaw.com/employee-benefits/know-your-judge-carlton-w-reeves)</sup>\n\nIn a 2021 opinion concerning Reliance Standard Life Insurance Co., Reeves reviewed more than 100 court opinions criticizing the company's disability decisions, including more than 60 opinions reversing a decision as an abuse of discretion or as arbitrary and capricious. He wrote that Reliance engaged in a \"decades-long pattern\" of arbitrary denials of disability benefit claims and other \"misdeeds.\"<sup>[4](https://news.bloomberglaw.com/employee-benefits/know-your-judge-carlton-w-reeves)</sup>\n\n## References\n\n1. [Biographical Directory of Article III Federal Judges: Carlton Wayne Reeves](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1393566)\n2. [House Judiciary Committee Hearing Bio: Carlton W. Reeves](https://docs.house.gov/meetings/JU/JU03/20210325/111405/HHRG-117-JU03-Bio-ReevesC-20210325-U1.pdf)\n3. [Judge Carlton W. Reeves, United States Sentencing Commission](https://www.ussc.gov/about/who-we-are/commisioners/judge-carlton-w-reeves)\n4. [Know Your Judge: Carlton W. Reeves, Bloomberg Law](https://news.bloomberglaw.com/employee-benefits/know-your-judge-carlton-w-reeves)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Society and history › Law and justice › Courts and legal practice › Legal biographies › United States judges › US federal judges › Article III judges (district and appellate) › United States district court judges › Surnames Q to Sc*\n\n*Initially written Sep 27, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 29, 2026; Sep 30, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026 · Last review: Sep 30, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n",
 "same_as": [],
 "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/carlton-w-reeves",
 "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/carlton-w-reeves.md",
 "license": {
  "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0",
  "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license",
  "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.",
  "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0"
 },
 "credit": "\"Carlton W. Reeves\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/carlton-w-reeves. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.",
 "credit_md": "\"[Carlton W. Reeves](https://www.edgepedia.org/carlton-w-reeves)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/carlton-w-reeves](https://www.edgepedia.org/carlton-w-reeves). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).",
 "credit_html": "\"<a href=\"https://www.edgepedia.org/carlton-w-reeves\">Carlton W. Reeves</a>\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), <a href=\"https://www.edgepedia.org/carlton-w-reeves\">https://www.edgepedia.org/carlton-w-reeves</a>. <a href=\"https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\">Edgepedia Community License 1.0</a>.",
 "speakable": "Carlton Wayne Reeves, born 1964, is a United States district judge for the Southern District of Mississippi, appointed by Barack Obama in 2010 and chair of the United States Sentencing Commission since 2022."
}