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NATCHEZ — Terrence Hunter will be interim municipal judge in Natchez, replacing Christina Daugherty, who leaves that position April 30.

Hunter, a Natchez native, has a law practice on Main Street in Natchez.

Aldermen on Tuesday interviewed three candidates in closed session — attorneys Timothy Blalock, Pierce Beach, and Hunter — and chose Hunter.

Hunter will serve until the city can hold a special election this summer to fill the remaining three years of the term Daugherty was elected to serve.

Daugherty left the judgeship to become an assistant district attorney in Sixth Circuit District Attorney Tim Cotton’s office, which she called her “dream job.”

Hunter graduated from Trinity Episcopal Day School in Natchez and earned his bachelor’s degree in English in 2017. He earned his law degree in 2020 from the University of Mississippi School of Law in 2020.

Hunter returned to Natchez and opened his law practice in August 2022.

“I have worked as a public defender since I moved back to Natchez and have been involved in all the courts. From that standpoint, I’ve gotten to see Judge Daugherty and Judge Dale work, and when this opportunity came up, it was a natural draw for me,” Hunter said.

Hunter and his wife, Leah, have been married for three years and are the parents of a baby girl, Harlowe, who is 17 months old.