1932
Judge Payne is born in Gulfport, Mississippi to Reece O. and Emily Augusta Bickerstaff.
1950
Judge Payne studies courses at Mississippi University for Women.
1954
Judge Payne receives a Bachelor of Arts with distinction from the University of Mississippi.
1955
Judge Payne receives a Doctor of Jurisprudence from the University of Mississippi and is admitted to practice in the state of Mississippi.
1955
Judge Payne becomes a partner at Bickerstaff and Bickerstaff in Gulfport, Mississippi.
1958
Judge Payne becomes an associate at Henley, Jones, & Henley.
1963
Judge Payne becomes a solo practitioner in Brandon, Mississippi.
1968
Judge Payne is appointed executive director of the Mississippi Judiciary Commission.
1970
Judge Payne is appointed chief of drafting and research for the Mississippi House of Representatives.
1972
Judge Payne becomes assistant attorney general in the Mississippi State Attorney General Office.
1975
Judge Payne becomes founding dean of the School of Law at Mississippi College in Clinton, Mississippi.
1978
Judge Payne is promoted to full professor at Mississippi College.
1988
Judge Payne joins the Board of Distinguished Alumnae at the Mississippi University for Women.
1994
Judge Payne is elected to the Mississippi Court of Appeals. She is re-elected in 1998.
2001
Judge Payne retires as a judge in the Mississippi Court of Appeals.
2003
Judge Payne becomes a scholar-in-resident and Professor Emerita at the Mississippi College School of Law.
2005
Judge Payne receives the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Mississippi Bar.
2011
Judge Payne authors “A Goodly Heritage: A Memoir of Mississippi College, School of Law.”
2011
Judge Payne receives the Governor’s Mississippi Medal of Service.
2013
Judge Payne is presented with an honorary Doctor of Jurisprudence from Mississippi College.