The Hon. W. Hunter Nowell is a judge for the 11th Circuit Court District of Mississippi. He was elected to the bench in 2022, filling a vacancy created by the retirement of the Hon. Albert B. Smith, III.
The 11th Circuit District encompasses Bolivar, Coahoma, Quitman, and Tunica Counties.
Prior to his election, Nowell was a judge for the Bolivar County Court, a position to which he was named by former Governor Phil Bryant on May 1, 2014. Before that, he spent time as an attorney at Povall & Jeffreys in Cleveland, specializing in real estate, family law, criminal defense, social security, and collections matters. He supplemented his practice by representing indigent criminal defendants as a public defender in the Bolivar County Justice Court and the municipal courts in Cleveland, Rosedale, and Ruleville.
Nowell earned a bachelor’s degree in managerial finance from the University of Mississippi in 2002. He then completed a J.D. at the University of Mississippi School of Law in 2006.
He is licensed to practice in Mississippi (2006), the United States District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi, the United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi, and the United States Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit.
His memberships have included the Mississippi Bar Association and the Bolivar County Bar Association. He has also been involved with the Cleveland Rotary Club.
Born in Winona, Mississippi, Nowell graduated from Cleveland High School. He attends First United Methodist Church in Cleveland.