[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 138 (Friday, August 15, 2025)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E767]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   HONORING JUDGE CARMEN BROOKS DRAKE

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. BENNIE G. THOMPSON

                             of mississippi

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, August 15, 2025

  Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor a 
remarkable servant, Judge Carmen Brooks Drake.
  Carmen is a proud native of Adams County and a member of the last 
historic graduating class of South Natchez High School in 1989. She is 
married to Reginald Drake, and together they have a beautiful daughter, 
Shelby.
  Carmen earned her undergraduate degree from Jackson State University 
in 1993, before obtaining her Juris Doctor from The George Washington 
University Law School in Washington, D.C., in 1996.
  After law school, Carmen returned to Mississippi to begin her legal 
career. She served as a law clerk for Justice Leslie D. King at the 
Mississippi Court of Appeals. She later had the honor of working as a 
Special Assistant Attorney General under Mike Moore.
  When General Moore retired in 2004, Carmen embraced the opportunity 
to enter private practice in her hometown of Natchez. She credits her 
mentors--the late, great Judge Patricia Dunmore and Judge Deborah 
McDonald--for instilling in her the confidence to be fearless in any 
courtroom, boardroom, or room she enters.
  Over the years, Carmen built a dynamic legal career, serving as a 
Municipal Court Judge, City Attorney, General Counsel for both private 
and governmental entities, and a dedicated Public Defender. On November 
5, 2019, she made history as the first Black person and the first woman 
elected to serve as Adams County Prosecutor. Three years later, she was 
elected Circuit Court Judge representing Adams, Amite, Franklin, and 
Wilkinson Counties--a position she proudly holds today.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing Judge 
Carmen Brooks Drake for her distinguished service and outstanding 
contributions to the Natchez, Mississippi community.

                          ____________________