CNN
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Lawmakers in Mississippi are at odds over a bill that would create an unelected, state-appointed court system in a district within Jackson, a majority Black city, with some concerned that the move smacks of a modern-day Jim Crow regime.
The Republican-controlled Mississippi House of Representatives passed a bill (HB1020) last week to expand the Capital Complex Improvement District, a defined area within Jackson, and create a separate court system within the city – which is 83% Black, according to US Census data – that two state offices, both of which are currently held by White officials, would entirely appoint.
CNN has not been able to determine the ethnic makeup of the current CCID, but Rep. Trey Lamar, the bill’s sponsor, says that under legislation that passed the state House to expand the district, the makeup would be about 55% Black.
The bill passed the state House 76-38, primarily along party lines. It now heads to the state Senate, where the Republicans hold a 36-16 majority.
Some lawmakers, like Lamar, say the new measure is needed to address Jackson’s growing crime problem, but state Democratic leaders say efforts like this are about control, not about helping the people of Jackson.
If the bill becomes law, Mississippi Supreme Court Chief Justice Michael Randolph could appoint judges and state Attorney General Lynn Fitch would appoint prosecutors, unlike in other areas of the state where judges and prosecutors are elected. Both Randolph and Fitch are White.
The Mississippi House Democratic Caucus said in a statement on January 31, “HB1020 is a racist, unconstitutional power grab. It is control of a city masquerading as concern for its citizens.” They assert that this bill “follows a pattern we’ve become all too familiar with: starve a community of much-needed resources, blame Black leaders for incompetence, attempt to take over.”
But Rep. Lamar is pushing back against the Jim Crow characterization of this bill. Under current law, Lamar says, some judges can be appointed by the presiding judge of the Mississippi State Supreme Court to help with any backlog of cases.
“I hate that the other side used race as much as they did,” Lamar told CNN. “The bill is totally…
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