He graduated cum laude from the University of Mississippi with a Bachelor of Arts degree in history and philosophy.
His practice concentrated on defense litigation and appellate advocacy in the areas of insurance, product liability and professional malpractice.
Coleman is the grandson of James P. Coleman, who served as Governor of Mississippi, as a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, and briefly as a justice of the Mississippi Supreme Court, resigning to accept appointment as state attorney general.
[citation needed] Coleman, who was endorsed by the Republican Party, won his election to the Mississippi Supreme Court comfortably in 2012.
In 2021, Coleman wrote the majority decision that struck down a voter-approved medical marijuana ballot initiative.