Jenifer Branning

Jenifer Ann Burrage Branning (born March 13, 1979) is an American lawyer and politician who has served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of Mississippi since January 2025. She had been a Republican member of the Mississippi State Senate from January 2016 to January 2025, representing the 18th district.

Early life and education Branning was born on March 13, 1979, in Neshoba County, Mississippi. Her family has deep roots in Neshoba County, with a history spanning five generations. Her grandfather — Olen Lovell Burrage — owned the farm where the bodies of murdered civil rights activists James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner were found buried in a dam in 1964. Burrage, a member of the Ku Klux Klan, was implicated in the cover-up of the murders but was acquitted in 1967 by an all-white jury, using the defence that he was not present at the farm on the night of the murders.

Branning attended Leake Academy in Madden, Mississippi. Branning graduated from Mississippi State University, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree. She went on to pursue legal studies and obtained a Juris Doctor degree from the Mississippi College School of Law in 2004. She advanced to a runoff against incumbent Justice Jim Kitchens. On December 6, 2024, it was announced that Branning won the runoff to unseat Kitchens. Branning was sworn into office on January 6, 2025.

Personal life Branning is married to Chancy Branning, and they reside in Philadelphia, Mississippi. They are Christian.