Pictured above are Judge Carlos Moore and 17-year-old Chandler. Chandler initially appeared before Judge Carlos after being charged with reckless driving that could have landed him a smudged record at such an early age.
Judge Moore saw potential in Chandler and decided to give him a second chance, also referred to as alternative sentencing. Alternative sentencing (also referred to as community sentence) is a name in criminal justice for all the different ways in which courts can punish a defendant who are convicted of committing an offense, other than through jail or prison term. Judge Moore’s alternative sentencing program is called, Do Better ASAP (Alternative Sentencing Accountability Program).
Judge Moore instincts paid off and Chandler excelled! Chandler who was a high school senior pulled up a B to an A, a C to a B, a D to an A. He went from missing 10 days to 3.5 days of school. Chandler was also admitted to the University of Memphis and even registered to vote! He went over and beyond all Judge Moore asked of him within nine weeks!
As a result, Chandler’s success, he is Judge Moore’s top graduate, valedictorian, and will speak at the graduation ceremony and reception for all successful participants on May 18th in Clarksdale.
Way to go Chandler! Your future is bright! Judge Moore said he was more than happy to dismiss Chandler’s reckless driving charge. He earned it!
About Judge Carlos Moore
Judge Carlos E. Moore, a Moss Point, MS native graduated from Moss Point High School as Salutatorian in 1995, received his B.A. in Political Science in 1999 from the University of South Alabama, and his Juris Doctorate from The Florida State University College of Law in 2002. He is the Managing Partner of The Cochran Firm - Mississippi Delta located in Grenada, Mississippi. He is President-Elect of the National Bar Association.
Licensed to practice in Mississippi and Tennessee courts as well as before the United States Supreme Court, Moore is very active in several bar associations. He is also a certified member of The Million Dollar Advocates Forum and a former Mississippi Bar Commissioner. Most recently, Moore was selected to be featured in the second edition of Who's Who in Black Mississippi and named a Top 100 Trial Attorney by The National Trial Lawyers. He is also President of the National Trial Lawyers Civil Rights - Top 10.
Married to the former Natalie Herrington of Grenada, Attorney Moore currently serves as General Counsel of Abundant Life Assembly and was named a 2010 -2016 Super Lawyer-Rising Star in the Mid-South Super Lawyers magazine which features outstanding attorneys in Mississippi, Tennessee, and Arkansas. He is also the Founding Chairman of the Board of the Grenada Unit of the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Mississippi Delta, Inc. as well as the inaugural President of the 100 Black Men of Grenada.
Moore is also active in Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. and is a graduate of Leadership Grenada and Leadership Mississippi. Judge Moore also had the high honor of being named the Outstanding Young Lawyer of Mississippi by the Mississippi Bar in 2008, the first African-American to ever receive the prestigious award. In 2012, Moore was named a White House Fellows Regional Finalist as well as honored as the national Young Lawyer of the Year by the National Bar Association Young Lawyers Division. He most recently served as Vice President of the National Bar Association and on July 10, 2017 he was appointed the first African-American Municipal Court Judge Pro Tem for the City of Clarksdale. On May 21, 2020 he became the first African-American named a Municipal Judge in Grenada’s history.