(FixThisNation.com) – A federal judge has allowed Mississippi to establish in Jackson a state-run court despite a previous lawsuit from the NAACP. Jackson, which is the state’s capital, has a majority Black population.
Last year, the NAACP brought forward a lawsuit against state officials, including Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves (R) claiming that the new state-run court would be targeting residents in Jackson unfairly. They further argued that Jackson was going to undermine democracy as the state would get to appoint new judges.
The Capital Complex Improvement District Court judge was going to be appointed by the state Supreme Court chief justice, while the state attorney general would be appointed by prosecutors. Critics have further argued that the system was not going to be representative of the Black majority in the city’s community.
U.S. District Judge Henry Wingate however allowed the creation of the new court to go through in a filing on Sunday night. The decision was made only one day before the new law that would create the court was set to go into effect.
Wingate in his ruling argued that the plaintiff’s motion had not “persuaded” the court to block the setup of the new court. He added that none of the plaintiffs have pointed out that they would be in either actual or imminent danger by the Court establishment, nor have they challenged the appointment of prosecutors and judges to the Court.
Last year, Reeves signed bills that were being targeted by the NAACP lawsuit. House Bill 1020 would allow the Capital Complex Improvement District to operate under a separate legal system, while Senate Bill 2343 would require all those who were protesting at the state Capitol to first receive a permit from the Capitol Police.
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