Background
Paxton was born and reared in Madison Parish, one of four sons and two daughters of Albert Henry Paxton, Senior (1922-2015), and the former Valeria Logue, also deceased.
Paxton was born and reared in Madison Parish, one of four sons and two daughters of Albert Henry Paxton, Senior (1922-2015), and the former Valeria Logue, also deceased.
Mississippi State University (Bachelor of Business Administration, 1985). Louisiana State University (Juris Doctor, 1988).
The senior Paxton, a native of Warren County, Mississippi, served in the United States Army during World World War World War II He owned and operated Paxton Quarter Horses and LaClede Plantation in Tallulah, the seat of government of Madison Parish. He was also a nationally known breeder of quarter horses, having served as the first president of the Mississippi Quarter Horse Association. Like his father, Paxton graduated from Mississippi State University in Starkville, Mississippi.
While the senior Paxton studied engineering, Jim Paxton received a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in 1985.
In 1988, he obtained his law degree from Louisiana State University Law Center in Baton Rouge. He is a deacon and Sunday school teacher at the Saint Joseph Baptist Church.
After law school, Paxton joined the firm of Christovich & Kearney in New Orleans, where he practiced until 1993. From 1993 to 2002, he was the assistant district attorney in the 6th District.
From 2002 to 2008, the first assistant district attorney.
In November 2007, District Attorney Buddy Caldwell of Tallulah was elected Attorney General of Louisiana. In January 2008, Caldwell elevated Paxton, a Democrat, to the position of district attorney. Thereafter, Paxton was elected as District Attorney in the nonpartisan blanket primary held on October 4, 2008.
He describes his goals as District Attorney as making "sure that we seek justice swifly, but fairly.. that we honor our primary obligation to protect the public, but do so in a manner that is just, ethical, and proper.".
A lifetime member of the American Quarter Horse Association, he was inducted in 2002 into the National Cutting Horse Hall of Fame. Paxton is a member of the Louisiana State Bar Association and the Louisiana District Attorneys Association.