The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is no longer pursuing legal action against legislation passed by Mississippi lawmakers creating a state-run court with appointed judges in Jackson.
For more than a year now, the civil rights group and Jackson residents have been challenging the decision by the Republican-led legislature to expand the state’s authoritative footprint in the capital city through House Bill 1020. But things took a turn last week when the NAACP had a change of heart and ultimately decided to drop its lawsuit.
“Plaintiffs are heartened by reports that the CCID Court will be established with appropriate safeguards for Jackson’s residents, and have decided to drop their challenge to the manner of appointing officials to serve that court,” attorneys representing the NAACP wrote in their motion for voluntary dismissal of the case.
NAACP officials did not elaborate on what sparked its unexpected change in tune. No new developments regarding the state-run court in Jackson’s Capital Complex Improvement District have been announced, but plaintiffs claim to be assured that their primary qualms have been laid to rest.
Defendants in the lawsuit did not oppose the plaintiff’s motion to dismiss the case. U.S. District Judge Henry Wingate dismissed the case without prejudice, meaning the lawsuit could be refiled at a later date.
In 2023, a wildfire of controversy was ignited over the state’s passing of the legislation that served to create the new court while simultaneously expanding state-run Capitol Police’s jurisdiction in Jackson. Both local and federal dissenters saw this as an attempt by white lawmakers to take control of a majority Black city. Roughly 82% of Jackson residents are Black.
The allegations stemmed from the court comprising of appointed judges, rather than elected ones. Not allowing Jacksonians to determine who would be heading the bench in the newly created judicial facility spurred contentions of racism against lawmakers, as the perception was that they did not trust Black residents to adequately choose their leaders.
“This thinly-veiled state takeover is intended to strip power, voice, and resources away from Hinds County’s predominantly-Black electorate, singling out the majority Black Hinds County for adverse treatment imposed on no other voters in the State of Mississippi,” Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division said shortly after the legislation was enacted.
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Republican lawmakers, on the other hand, argued that crime had run rampant in Jackson and that the city’s police force and court system lacked sufficient manpower to handle the high volume of criminal cases. House Bill 1020, according to proponents, was intended to be a means of curbing crime and reducing criminal case backlogs.
“Jackson is experiencing an unprecedented epidemic of crime. The capital city is approximately 6% of Mississippi’s population yet, in 2020, accounted for more than 50% of the homicides in our state,” Gov. Tate Reeves said after signing the bill into law. “We have a crippling problem with violent crime in our capital city. We’re working to address it. And when we do, we’re met with overwhelming false cries of racism and mainstream media who falsely call our actions ‘Jim Crow.'”
Reeves and Mississippi Supreme Court Chief Justice Michael Randolph were initially listed as defendants in the lawsuit but were later dropped from the litigation. Wingate ruled that state officials could begin creating the court last year, despite the legal challenges. A spokesperson from the state’s Department of Public Safety confirmed last week that the court was still in the process of being established.
Once the court comes to fruition, Randolph will be tasked with appointing one judge. Attorney General Lynn Fitch will appoint the prosecutors. The judicial center will handle misdemeanors and some criminal cases. When the court is officially up and running, individuals apprehended by Capitol Police will be locked up at the Central Mississippi Correctional Facility in Pearl
A judge and prosecutors for the court have not yet been announced. A starting date for operations to begin has not yet been released.
