Global Courant 2023-05-15 23:08:09
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JACKSON, Ms. (AP) — A Mississippi judge has dismissed a lawsuit challenging a new law governing the appointment of judges in the predominantly black capital of Jackson and the surrounding county, but a separate lawsuit is still pending in federal court.
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In Monday’s ruling, Hinds County Chancellery Judge Dewayne Thomas wrote that appointing judges does not violate the Mississippi Constitution.
Three Jackson residents testified to Thomas last week that the new law violates their rights because most of Mississippi’s judges have been elected.
Thomas wrote that a 1989 state law allows the appointment of judges in some circumstances and that “disappointment and frustration with the legislative process does not create a judicial right to exemption.”
“While sympathetic to the plaintiffs’ sentiments, the Court cannot find that this constitutes irreparable harm,” Thomas wrote.
Republican Gov. Tate Reeves signed into law last month to expand the state’s police force in the state capital of Jackson, establish a court with an appointed judge in part of Jackson, and authorize four appointed judges to work with the four elected judges in Hinds County Circuit Court.
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Members of the predominantly white and Republican-led legislature pushing for the changes said they were trying to curb crime in the capital. Local residents protested that state officials took power in Jackson and Hinds County, which are predominantly black and run by Democrats.
The NAACP national, Mississippi chapter and local chapter filed a federal lawsuit hours after Reeves signed the new laws. On Friday, U.S. District Judge Henry Wingate temporarily blocked the appointment of four judges to the Hinds County Circuit Court. Wingate scheduled a May 22 hearing to consider extending his warrant.
