It may be the best of both worlds.

Circuit Judge Frank Vollor vacated his spacious third-floor office at the Warren County Courthouse Friday to return to the private practice of law, but said he’ll take his robe with him and continue to hear court cases around the state when asked.

Senior judges are appointed by the Mississippi Supreme Court to hear cases when a district’s sitting judge must recuse himself or is otherwise unable to preside, Vollor said. He’ll be able to hear cases for up to one-fourth of a normal schedule.

The rest of the time, Vollor will be in practice at his new Mission 66 office, in partnership with his nephew Austin Vollor of Starkville. The two will keep offices in both towns.

“I’m really looking forward to it,” he said. “It’s going to be fun.”

An announcement from Gov. Haley Barbour is expected any day naming Vollor’s replacement either for the 19 months remaining on his term or until a special election is held, probably in November. Barbour’s press secretary, Dan Turner, said Friday afternoon he did not expect an announcement by the end of the day, and could not confirm when the appointment would be made.

Vollor was elected to the bench by Warren County voters 20 years ago, taking office the same day with fellow judge Isadore Patrick. Vollor recalled how Patrick told him to take the larger office because Vollor was bringing in 130-year old bookcases and other furniture that had been passed down from his father and grandfather from their years as lawyers and judges.

“I’m going to miss this beautiful view,” he said, looking out across Cherry Street on the facade of the Old Court House Museum with the Yazoo Diversion Canal in the distance. “I do like to gaze out at this. Both my father and grandfather practiced across the street.”

Vollor was also thinking of the next generation as his daughter Sophia was preparing for graduation ceremonies Friday night at Warren Central High School, where she was named salutatorian for the Class of 2009.

His decision to retire 19 months before his term was due to end was made with Sophia and his other children in mind. “She’s done well and worked hard, and I want to give her the education she deserves,” he said March 31 when announcing he would leave the court. After putting his four other children through college and one through graduate school, Vollor said student loans for which he is responsible amount to more than his mortgage.

Mississippi Circuit Court judges are paid $104,170 annually, the lowest in the nation.

As he prepared to leave the bench Friday, Vollor voiced concern not for what judges are paid, but what’s paid to their partners in the rule of law — the jurors.

“They are woefully underpaid,” he said. “In Mississippi, a juror gets up to $40 a day. In some districts it’s only $25 a day. Most people can’t afford to serve. It puts them in an unbelievable bind if they have to serve a week or more.”

“They make important decisions, in some cases concerning millions of dollars or people’s lives,” he continued. “The pay ought to be raised to $100 to $150 a day. Nobody would get rich on that, but at least they could pay their notes and bills.”

Vollor also spoke with great appreciation for the work jurors have done in his courtroom over the years. “Thomas Jefferson said the right to serve as a juror is even more important than the right to vote,” he said. “My experience has been that people get in there and try to do their best, follow the law and read the law. They take their responsibility seriously.”

Vollor was also instrumental in establishing the Warren County Drug Court, stemming from his experience that thefts and many other felonies result from addiction. People charged with nonviolent crimes may avoid prison by enrolling in the court’s program, but people err, he said, if they think it’s easy. Monitoring and testing are intense and a negative report on a person in the program results in immediate arrest and incarceration.

After he leaves the court, Vollor said, he will work for continued support of the program, which receives few public dollars.

Vollor also expressed frustration with the Mississippi Department of Corrections releasing people before their court-imposed sentences are completed.

“We give them five years and that gets reported to the public,” he said. “Then they get out in three months. That’s very frustrating.”

Vollor said prison officials claim overcrowding requires early release. “If that’s the problem, then just cut the amount of time I can give them. It’s not right for people to believe they’re locked up and then see them out on the street,” he said.

Mississippi has 22 circuit court districts and 51 circuit court judges, elected to serve four-year terms. Most trials in circuit court concern felony criminal matters and civil lawsuits. They are heard with 12-member juries and usually two alternate jurors who hear evidence and then are dismissed when the panel begins deliberations. In certain cases, a judge may preside without a jury.

“This has been a wonderful job,” Vollor said. “The people of Warren County are very good people. They’ve always been supportive and good to me.”

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Contact Pamela Hitchins at phitchins@vicksburgpost.com