Mississippi Legislature passes controversial HB 1020 Jackson courts bill

Table Of Content

• Gov. Reeves signs racially divisive HB 1020; Legal challenge could loom
• Mississippi Legislature 2024 Regular Session
• MS lawmakers revive bills to fund K-12 education, reform state retirement system
• ‘Only in Mississippi’: White representatives vote to create white-appointed court system for Blackest city in America
• Bill Text: MS HB1020 2023 Regular Session Enrolled
• Israeli officials concerned about possible ICC arrest …
• Republish this article

"This is probably the last time I'll be up here, but it's been a pleasure. It hasn't all been a pleasure, but most of it has been a pleasure. Have a good day." "Legal action takes place when there is a cause of action. Cause of action does not become effective until the law actually is enacted. As soon as this bill becomes law, there will be lawsuits filed," House Minority Leader Robert Johnson, D-Natchez, said.

Gov. Reeves signs racially divisive HB 1020; Legal challenge could loom

They asked why money could not be provided for additional Jackson city police officers and for another elected judge in the city of Jackson. HB 1020 would see Randolph appoint more judges to the court, in addition to appointing a single judge to a new Capitol Complex Improvement District court. The existence of unelected state-appointed judges within Hinds County is at the core of the NAACP challenge. During oral arguments, his attorney Mark Nelson said the chief justice’s only interest is to protect his office and the court as an institution. He noted that the Legislature can address an overcrowded docket without violating the constitution and taking away Hinds County residents’ ability to elect judges, such as by adding elected judges or having the county court help.

Mississippi Legislature 2024 Regular Session

It was sent to Lamar’s committee by Speaker Philip Gunn instead of a House Judiciary Committee, where similar legislation normally would be heard. Rep. Blackmon, a civil rights leader who has a decades-long history of championing voting issues, equated the current legislation to the Jim Crow-era 1890 Constitution that was written to strip voting rights from Black Mississippians. Lamar said that he was unfairly labeled as a racist when all he was trying to do is aid the citizens of Jackson — many of whom he said had asked for help with the crime problems besetting Mississippi’s capital and largest city. Nelson argued that Randolph would have to follow any order Wingate issued on constitutionality, regardless of whether he was specifically named in the lawsuit. Randolph told Wingate that the four appointments he has made to the Hinds County Court have yielded "marvelous results" in the face of rising crime and judicial backlogs, both of which have occurred throughout the state. JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) - We’re just two days away from the Mississippi Supreme Court hearing oral arguments in the appeal for a House Bill 1020 challenge.

MS lawmakers revive bills to fund K-12 education, reform state retirement system

US appeals court delays creation of Mississippi state court in majority-Black capital city - JURIST

US appeals court delays creation of Mississippi state court in majority-Black capital city.

Posted: Tue, 02 Jan 2024 08:00:00 GMT [source]

Constitution by shifting authority over the county’s criminal justice system away from democratically-elected judges and prosecutors elected by Black voters. The Departmentof Revenue shall require all distributors of gasoline and diesel fuel toreport to the department monthly the totalnumber of gallons of gasoline and diesel fuel sold by them to consumers and retailersin each municipality during the preceding month. The Department of Revenue shall have the authority to promulgate suchrules and regulations as is necessary to determine the number of gallons of gasolineand diesel fuel sold by distributors to consumers and retailers in each municipality. In determining the percentage allocation of funds under this subsection for thefiscal year beginning July 1, 1987, and ending June 30, 1988, the Department ofRevenue may consider gallons of gasoline and diesel fuel sold for a period of lessthan one (1) fiscal year. For the purposes of this subsection, the term "fiscalyear" means the fiscal year beginning July 1 of a year. The state's supreme court chief justice, the AG, the state public defender and the public safety commissioner currently in office are white.

The Senate’s version of the bill widens the jurisdiction to the entire City of Jackson, and it now gives the city the option to sign a MOU. Justice David Ishee, a former municipal judge, said the requirement is for the court to sentence those charged with misdemeanors to a county jail. Reeves said in February his office was working with legislative leaders “to get to the point” where the bill provides “safety and security to the citizens of Jackson while at the same time meet(ing) constitutional muster and otherwise.” He said there was still work to do on the legislation. Another concern with the expansion of Capitol Police comes with a string of at least five people shot by their officers in the span of three months.

Bill Text: MS HB1020 2023 Regular Session Enrolled

Federal H.B. 1020 Lawsuit Continues Without Chief Justice - Mississippi Free Press

Federal H.B. 1020 Lawsuit Continues Without Chief Justice.

Posted: Mon, 05 Jun 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]

The bill would expand the jurisdiction of a state police force both in the Capitol Complex Improvement District and the city overall. Jackson legislators conceded the city needed help with its spiraling crime problem, but said the proposal that passed the Legislature and was signed Friday by the governor created more problems than it solved. Register now for our free OneVote public service or GAITS Pro trial account and you can begin tracking this and other legislation, all driven by the real-time data of the LegiScan API. Providing tools allowing you to research pending legislation, stay informed with email alerts, content feeds, and share dynamic reports. Use our new PolitiCorps to join with friends and collegaues to monitor & discuss bills through the process.Monitor Legislation or view this same bill number from multiple sessions or take advantage of our national legislative search. When the bill first reached the House floor on Friday morning, House Democrats attempted to kill the bill by filing five points of order, four of which came from Johnson.

Israeli officials concerned about possible ICC arrest …

Johnson asked Thomas to issue a preliminary injunction, preventing the bill from becoming law until the legal challenges have been exhausted. Thomas already issued a restraining order last week putting a halt to the bill until a hearing, like the one Wednesday, could be held on the possible merits of the challenge. Thomas, who later said a formal opinion on the constitutionality of HB 1020 would likely not come until sometime between Friday and Monday, said any decision he makes is going to leave one side unhappy, invoking the Biblical story of the Judgement of Solomon. (24)  The remainder of the amountscollected under the provisions of this chapter shall be paid into the State Treasuryto the credit of the General Fund. (v)  For the tenthyear in which such payments are made to a developer from the Redevelopment ProjectIncentive Fund, fifty percent (50%) of the funds shall be deposited into the fund. �  Then east along the southcurb line of High Street and extending such line to the Pearl River and the pointof the beginning.

(3)  The Administrative Officeof Courts shall pay the salaries of the clerk and support staff of the CCID, subjectto available funds specifically appropriated by the Legislature for such purpose. Such salaries shall not be in amounts less than the salaries paid to the clerkand staff of the municipal courts in the City of Jackson. (3)  The AdministrativeOffice of Courts shall provide compensation for the CCID inferior court judge andthe support staff of the judge. Such compensation shall not be in an amount lessthan the compensation paid to municipal court judges and their support staff inthe City of Jackson.

MS HB1020 2023 Regular Session

Here is what lawmakers did Friday, and what they will likely continue working on through the next few days as the session comes to a close. Adam Ganucheau, as Mississippi Today's editor-in-chief, oversees the newsroom and works with the editorial team to fulfill our mission of producing high-quality journalism in the public interest. Adam has covered politics and state government for Mississippi Today since February 2016. A native of Hazlehurst, Adam has worked as a staff reporter for AL.com, The Birmingham News and The Clarion-Ledger and his work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post and Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The bill was authored by Rep. Trey Lamar, a Republican whose hometown of Senatobia is 172 miles north of Jackson.

�  Then east along the southcurb line of High Street and extending such line to the Pearl River and thepoint of the beginning. TheDepartment of Finance and Administration in conjunction with the AdministrativeOffice of Courts shall designate a suitable location or building for thepurpose of allowing the Capitol Complex Improvement District (CCID) inferior courtto hold court. (2)  The Administrative Officeof Courts shall provide support staff and any other staff necessary to carryout the functions and duties for the clerk of the CCID inferior court. (2)  The Hinds County DistrictAttorney shall be authorized to prosecute cases in the CCID inferior court.

District Court Judge Henry Wingate were correct to remove Randolph from the lawsuit being appealed and a separate federal one on the basis of judicial immunity, which is the idea that judges can’t be sued for doing their jobs. Stewart argued the CCID court resembles a municipal court and meets constitutional requirements, including the ability to appeal. Many Jackson elected officials say a major problem with the Senate proposal is that it gives the final say over police jurisdiction to the state and not the city. Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba, who oversees the Jackson Police Department, has said he will not sign a contract with the state if the current Senate proposal passes. Instead of expanding the district, the Senate proposal would provide the state police jurisdiction throughout the city and require city officials and Public Safety Commissioner Sean Tindell to reach agreement on how that jurisdiction would work.

This is the second time the NAACP has asked for a temporary restraining order on the law passed during the 2023 legislative session, according to court records. Attorneys for a lawsuit challenging HB 1020 say it violates the Mississippi Constitution by preventing county residents from electing circuit court judges, and that the Capitol Complex Improvement District court created by the law doesn’t meet constitutional requirements. HB 1020 was one of the most discussed, and argued over, bills of the 2023 legislative session. Those who wrote the bill, like Rep. Trey Lamar, R-Senatobia, and Sen. Brice Wiggins, R-Pascagoula, said it was intended to address judicial backlogs and high levels of violent crime in the capital city. Opponents, like Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba and many of the lawmakers who represent the city, criticized it as a majority-white legislature imposing undemocratic legislation on a majority-Black city.

The bill would expand the city's capitol complex improvement district, which "was created by the Mississippi Legislature to establish regular funding and administration of infrastructure projects within a defined area of the city of Jackson," according to city documents. In earlier sessions, the Legislature created the Capitol Complex Improvement District, which covers much of the downtown, including the state government office complex and other areas of Jackson. The bill would extend the existing district south to Highway 80, north to County Line Road, west to State Street and east to the Pearl River. A white supermajority of the Mississippi House voted after an intense, four-plus hour debate to create a separate court system and an expanded police force within the city of Jackson — the Blackest city in America — that would be appointed completely by white state officials. The Justice Department filed a complaint today challenging portions of Mississippi House Bill 1020 (H.B. 1020), which mandates the appointment of special judges and prosecutors by Mississippi state officials in majority-Black Hinds County, which includes the City of Jackson. The complaint alleges that these provisions discriminate on the basis of race in violation of the U.S.

Johnson particularly spoke against an aspect of the bill that would allow the CCID inferior court, which would only try misdemeanors and preliminary aspects of felony cases, to send convicted individuals to prisons run by the Mississippi Department of Corrections. Municipal courts, which the CCID court has been compared to in scope, send those convicted of misdemeanors to local jails. The bill was first authored by Rep. Trey Lamar, R-Senatobia, and later altered significantly by Sen. Brice Wiggins, R-Pascagoula. Lamar lives about two and a half hours from Jackson, while the Wiggins lives about three hours away.

The Senate voted to pass the revised bill Tuesday, with Republicans in favor and Democrats opposed. "The very real harm in enjoining these laws would far exceed any purported harm to the plaintiffs in this case," Shannon said. "The state submits, without question, any preliminary injunction would disserve the public interest."