The Hon. Margaret Alfonso is a chancellor for the 8th Chancery Court District of Mississippi. She was elected to the bench in 2018.
The 8th Chancery District encompasses Harrison, Hancock, and Stone Counties.
Prior to her election, Alfonso was a judge for the Harrison County Court, a position to which she was elected in 2010. Before that, she spent twelve years as a chancellor for the 8th Chancery Court District (1999 to 2010).
Alfonso earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Southern Mississippi in 1971. She then completed a J.D. at the University of Mississippi School of Law in 1976.
She is licensed to practice in Illinois (1976), Mississippi (1976), the United States District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi (1976), the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois (1976), and the United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi (1988).
After graduating from law school, Alfonso spent time as an assistant state’s attorney for the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office in Illinois. Then, in Mississippi, she served as a prosecuting attorney for the 8th Chancery Court District (1980 to 1983), an assistant district attorney for the 2nd Circuit District Attorney’s Office (1984 to 1987), and an assistant county attorney for the Harrison County Attorney’s Office (1988 to 1992).
Her memberships have included Professionals Advocating for Children Together (PACT), the Mississippi Access to Justice Commission, and the Commission for Study of Domestic Abuse Proceedings.
She is a recipient of the Judicial Excellence Award from the Mississippi Bar (2010), the Public Citizen of the Year Award from the National Association of Social Workers (2012), the Award of Excellence from the National Association of Legal Professionals, and the John Mason Award from the Gulf Coast Victims’ Rights Coalition.