By EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS, Associated Press
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) – A federal judge Friday temporarily blocked the appointment
of four state court judges in the majority-Black county that is home to
Mississippi’s capital city – appointments that drew protests from local
residents who said white state officials were stomping on civil rights.
U.S. District Judge Henry Wingate issued the temporary restraining order at the
request of the NAACP, and he set a May 22 hearing to consider extending the
order.
The national civil rights organization, its Mississippi chapter and its local
chapter in Jackson filed a federal lawsuit April 21, hours after Gov. Tate
Reeves signed laws to expand state policing in the capital city of Jackson,
establish a court with an appointed judge and authorize four appointed judges to
work alongside the four elected circuit court judges in Hinds County.
Members of the majority-white and Republican-led Legislature who pushed for the
changes said they were trying to curb crime in Jackson. Local residents
protested that state officials were usurping power in Jackson and Hinds County,
which are majority-Black and governed by Democrats.
Under one of the laws, Mississippi Supreme Court Chief Justice Mike Randolph was
supposed to appoint four circuit judges by this week to serve until the end of
2026 – most of the current four-year term.
“Thanks to an emergency motion we filed last last night, Chief Justice Randolph
cannot begin any undemocratic court packing in Jackson until NAACP v. Reeves
moves forward,” the national NAACP posted Friday on Twitter. “We are prepared to
fight for our freedom.”
Hinds County Chancery Judge Dewayne Thomas was considering a request for a
temporary restraining order similar to the one Wingate issued in federal court.
