More than a year after a state-appointed court in Jackson became law and lawsuits were dismissed challenging its appointments and other powers, the Capitol Complex Improvement District Court is now in business. 

Newly appointed Judge Stanley Alexander held court Monday morning. His fellow judicial appointee, James Holland, was also present in the court and offered some remarks and answered questions. 

“As you can tell, we’re working on the bugs,” Holland said about the court’s start. 

The first day of business was initial hearings for two people whom Capitol Police arrested over the weekend. 

The first was a misdemeanor marijuana possession charge. Alexander ordered the man from Madison released on personal recognizance. 

The second appearance was a simple domestic violence charge for a woman from Jackson. The public defender representing the woman said she was involved in a dispute with her former partner. She has no previous criminal record and is not a flight risk, her attorney said. 

Alexander set a $500 bond and set a condition for the woman not to have contact with the alleged male victim. The judge also approved an escort by Capitol Police to help her retrieve her belongings from the address she shared with the man. 

People charged with felonies are brought to the court from the Hinds County Detention Center in Raymond, and those facing misdemeanors come from the Rankin County jail. 

Both defendants were brought from the Raymond jail, according to the jail docket. 

After court finished for the day, Holland answered questions from members of the public and courtwatchers. Danyelle Holmes, executive director of the Mississippi Poor People’s Campaign, asked whether there will be days or even a week’s wait for people before an initial appearance – something that has happened in Hinds County. 

“That’s not going to happen,” Alexander said.

Holland added that the CCID court is expected to take some of the case load off the county court system and prevent people from having to wait more than 48 hours for that hearing. The CCID court will conduct initial appearances for felonies each weekday morning. 

Once the CCID court sees someone for a first appearance for a felony or for revocation of bond, that is typically the end of its handling of the case. Later a case will be handled in county court, and conviction and sentencing would come from the circuit court. 

Like a municipal court, the CCID court can adjudicate misdemeanors, and it plans to hold trials for them on Thursdays. 

Although the law says someone convicted in the CCID court may be sent to the Central Mississippi Correctional Facility – a state prison, Holland said that is just an option available to the judges, and they want to do what’s appropriate for each defendant. 

The court will use Tuesdays for traffic offenses, but the judges aren’t expected to handle those cases until they are transitioned from being handled by the county court and once Capitol Police runs out of tickets with the previous court’s address printed on them, Holland said. 

Court fines will be forwarded to the city of Jackson.

All of the court’s cases are from Capitol Police, which patrols the district that encompasses downtown, areas around Jackson State University, Belhaven, Fondren and up to Northside Drive. Capitol Police also have concurrent jurisdiction throughout Jackson. 

Attorney General Lynn Fitch appointed Assistant Attorney General Donovan Mitchell and Canton lawyer Mike Ward as prosecutors for the CCID court. Ward handled a 2015 officer shooting case in Columbus that the AG’s office later declined to pursue. 

Monday was also the first day for volunteer court watchers trained by the MacArthur Justice Center. Director Cliff Johnson was there with Holmes. 

Johnson has spoken out publicly against the CCID and would have preferred support be given to the city of Jackson and its elected court system. But he was hopeful to see how willing officials who created the court were to consult a range of stakeholders and answer questions at the end of Monday’s court session. 

“There’s nothing to be gained by having a CCID court that’s anything other than excellent,” Johnson said. 

The court watchers, which include community organizations and law students, were trained across multiple sessions on criminal procedure, lingo, processes and how cases generally advance from arrest to indictment. 

The MacArthur Justice Center has monitored other courts across the state and seen misuse of cash bail, incarceration for unpaid court fines and fees and limited access to public defender services. Watchers want to ensure none of those practices take place in the CCID court, Johnson said. 

Volunteers are expected to be in court for the early days of the CCID court. They will keep count of information including numbers and share it online. 

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

What would normally have been a dull, boring budget subcommittee hearing in the Senate last week turned into a political donnybrook, and more 2027 Mississippi gubernatorial race posturing.

State Auditor Shad White appeared before the Senate Appropriations subcommittee, chaired by Sen. John Polk, R-Hattiesburg, that oversees the auditor’s budget. After some normal pleasantries, the hearing soon became a heated sparring match between White and Polk, with White calling Polk “a liar” and threatening to sue him for defamation.

Now, an agency head doesn’t often use such discourse with the folks who help set his budget, but White has been on a roll lately, taking shots at, apparently, anyone he views as a potential opponent or obstacle to his ambitions for higher office.

It would appear that White, once a mild-mannered, Ivy League-educated state auditor has become Shad the Irascible, drainer of swamps, bane of the woke, author of bizarre tell-all books about audit investigations.

White, as he eyes the governor’s office, has obviously drafted a strategy to channel the spirit of the late Gov. Kirk Fordice, a gruff, quick-to-anger, non-politician type, and to imitate President Donald Trump. White in his social media posts makes non-subtle comparisons between himself and Trump, even recently claiming those who question his boorish behavior or comments as having “Shad Derangement Syndrome.” He vows to drain the Mississippi political swamp (a swamp mostly comprised of pretty conservative fellow Republicans).

Problem is, White is himself a product of the Mississippi Republican establishment — be it swamp-like or not — and academia. He first became state auditor via political fiat from former Gov. Phil Bryant. It’s unclear whether White, who’s spent his adult life to date in politics and government, can pull off the role of a non-politician politician or whether he can raise enough money for a gubernatorial run after ticking off much of the state’s GOP leadership.

In the meantime, White promises to produce more entertaining political theater. When, in the past, has a statewide elected official’s social media had posts like this one?

“Crap. The four-letter word I used in that post was ‘crap.’ You guys in the media are such dorks. Got the Shad Derangement Syndrome,” White wrote in a response to a Greenwood Commonwealth editorial chastising him for an “undignified” social media post.

Laissez les bons temps rouler … in Jackson?

Efforts continue, in the Legislature and behind the scenes, to land a casino in the city of Jackson. But such efforts face some strong political and pragmatic headwinds.

Sen. John Horhn and Rep. Chris Bell, both of Jackson, each have a bill pending to try to clear the way for a casino development in the capital city. But such efforts last year fizzled quickly in the Legislature after backlash from existing casinos, some lawmakers and the Mississippi Gaming and Hospitality Association.

The bill last year caught gaming regulators and the industry by surprise after it was fast tracked into committee. That bill died without a vote after a sizable number of the House GOP caucus voiced opposition.

Bell, author of HB 1411, which would allow changes to the state Gaming Control Act to allow a casino on the Pearl River in Jackson, said he believes the city’s community and business leaders are supportive of the move, which would help the struggling city economically. Horhn has authored SB 2425, which would make the Pearl River eligible for a casino where it is within the city limits of a city with a population of 145,000 or more people. That would be Jackson, near downtown.

“This provides a stimulus of revenue from tourism and opportunity for development in and around Jackson,” Bell said.

Bell and other lawmakers on a special Capital Revitalization Committee held a hearing late last year in which business and community leaders again pitched the idea of a Jackson casino. Bell said he believes some developers who would have the wherewithal to build such a large development have shown interest and, “You don’t bring this up if you’re not sure there is some interest.”

Senate Gaming Committee Chairman David Blount, who also represents Jackson, sounded a little more circumspect of the Jackson casino movement.

“The only person who has talked with me about this is former Gov. Haley Barbour,” Blount said. “I don’t know if the proponents have talked with leaders of the city, and this effort needs to involve the city leadership.

“Last year’s bill would have created a legal monopoly for one casino,” Blount said. “Whether this is a good idea or not, more thought needs to be put into the process and make sure it is and open and transparent and competitive process, and that we are not giving one group a golden ticket.”

Since casino gambling was legalized in Mississippi 35 years ago, it has been limited by law to specific areas in the three southernmost counties or on the Mississippi River. Expansion of this has been a tough sell in the Legislature, with the exception of lawmakers after Hurricane Katrina’s devastation in 2005 allowing Coast casinos to move onshore instead of requiring them to float on barges. Traditionally, state religious leaders have opposed any expansion of gaming.

Last year’s measure would have provided the unnamed developer of a casino in Jackson unprecedented special treatment never shown another casino in Mississippi, including state financial backing and opening one specific site in a county that otherwise does not allow legalized gambling. Existing casino leaders said this would give one a monopoly in the most populated area of the state.

The measure would appear to have gone against three decades of state casino policies including a “level playing field” free-market system for potential developers.

Mississippi’s casino laws, regulations and policies have received praise nationwide since the state legalized casino gambling in the early 1990s for providing such a level playing field and free-market system. The Magnolia State’s evenhanded regulations have also been credited with keeping organized crime and political corruption out of the state’s gambling market.

Bill would create neighborhood spy, bounty hunter systems for immigration

Some people charitably call this early point of a Mississippi legislative session, when thousands of unvetted bills have yet to be weeded out by deadlines, the silly season. Others use harsher terms.

One early bill that has garnered some attention and consternation is HB 1484, authored by freshman Rep. Justin Keen, R-Byhalia. It would create the “Mississippi Illegal Alien Certified Bounty Hunter Program.” It would encourage Mississippians to anonymously rat out any neighbors they suspect are in the country illegally with a $1,000 reward if someone reported is found to be undocumented. It would create a force of “bounty hunter” bail bond and surety agents to help law enforcement round folks up, and if the feds don’t pick up such persons within 24 hours, they would face life in the crowded Mississippi prison system for a new trespassing crime it creates.

The measure would also create a hotline that “shall be staffed by sixty-five (65) off duty peace officers, retired peace officers, and any other peace officer deemed qualified by the department to staff the information system.”

The bill has been “double referred” to two committees for first consideration, a likely indication it’s not destined to move on to the full Politburo.

Quote of the Week

“You are a liar. You are making this up right now … if you assert that, I’m going to sue you for defamation.” — State Auditor Shad White, to Senate Appropriations subcommittee Chairman John Polk, R-Hattiesburg, after Polk in a budget hearing questioned White about his hiring a consulting firm.

In Brief

Gov. Reeves to deliver state-of-the-state Wednesday

Gov. Tate Reeves at 5 p.m. on Wednesday will deliver his annual state-of-the-state address.

The address will be given in the House chamber of the Capitol, before a joint session of the House and Senate, and will be aired by Mississippi Public Broadcasting. — Mississippi Today

Turkey stamp bill considered again

The House Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks Committee again passed legislation to create a wild turkey stamp, a measure projected to generate millions of dollars annually for turkey conservation and turkey hunting in Mississippi.

Similar to state and federal waterfowl stamps for duck hunting, the bill would require hunters to purchase a stamp for $10 for residents and $100 for out-of-state hunters, in addition to purchasing a hunting license.

A similar bill passed the House and Senate last year, but negotiations between the two chambers to agree on a final version stalled. — Taylor Vance

Panel would decide how to spend opioid settlement

A bill that would create a task force to decide how Mississippi will use the state’s hundreds of millions of opioid settlement dollars passed the House Public Health and Human Services committee Tuesday.

Mississippi has received over $34 million in payments from companies accused of fueling the opioid epidemic, but most of the funds have not been touched. The vast majority of the payout – which is expected to surpass $203 million – is under the discretion of the Legislature. “There is money available right now,” said Rep. Sam Creekmore IV, a Republican from New Albany who authored the bill and chairs the Public Health and Human Services committee. 

If the bill passes, the Attorney General would oversee a 15-member committee, which must convene within six months and provide annual updates on decisions to the Legislature. Counties and cities, which are allotted 15% of the funds, have already received some of their share, but it is unclear how much has been spent because Mississippi does not mandate reporting. 

The AG has indicated some of state-allocated money should be used to establish a Center for Addiction Medicine at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, even though the system already operates a center that focuses on addiction research and treatment.

In order to progress to the House Floor, the bill must also be approved by the House Appropriations Committee. — Gwen Dilworth

Contraception bill filed in protest

In apparent protest of other bills filed that would criminalize medication abortion or traveling out of state for abortions, Sen. Bradford Blackmon, D-Canton, has filed SB 2319, the “Contraception Begins at Erection Act.”

The bill would make it illegal “for a person to discharge genetic material without the intent to fertilize an embryo,” and would provide penalties starting with a $1,000 fine for a first offense up to $10,000 for a third offense. — Geoff Pender

Bill would create state office of inspector general

State Rep. Becky Currie, R-Brookhaven, has filed HB 49, a bill that would create the office, and position, of state inspector general to investigate and prosecute “fraud, waste, misconduct, inefficiencies, mismanagement, abuse and corruption in the executive branch of state government.”

The bill would have the governor appoint a state inspector general, with advice and consent from the state Senate. Several other states have such an inspector general’s office, and it has been proposed in Mississippi before. The late former Gov. Kirk Fordice attempted to create an OIG, but the Legislature did not ratify his effort. — Geoff Pender

‘Whistleblower Reward Act’ proposed

Rep. Kevin Ford, R-Vicksburg, has filed HB 208, the “Mississippi Whistleblower Reward Act,” which would have any whistleblower who provides info and evidence that results in the recovery of stolen or misspent government funds receive 15% of the recovered money.

Such a payment would be capped at $250,000. The whistleblower’s identity would remain confidential under the measure. — Geoff Pender

Will third time be charm for ballot initiative restoration?

For the third year in a row, legislation has been introduced to restore the ballot initiative process, a way for citizens to place issues directly on a statewide ballot.

Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann said in early January that he hadn’t detected much enthusiasm in the Senate — where the bill died each of the last two sessions — for restoring the initiative process.

But one bill in the chamber would put initiatives supported via petition on the legislative calendar and require a two-thirds vote to become law. If no action is taken within four months of the initiative being filed with the Legislature, the secretary of state would place the initiative on the ballot for the next statewide general election.

There are also House resolutions proposed to address a technicality over the number of the state’s congressional districts, which led the Mississippi Supreme Court to invalidate the initiative process in 2021. — Michael Goldberg

By the Numbers

2,372

The number of general bills and resolutions that had been filed and posted by last week’s deadline, according to the Mississippi Statewatch legislative tracking service. Of these, Republicans filed 1,464, Democrats 889, and independents 19. Hundreds more appropriations, tax and other bills that face later deadlines will be filed this session. Last year, according to Mississippi Statewatch, 11% of the measures filed were passed into law.

Full Legislative Coverage

Mississippi Legislature poised to debate early voting bills this session 

Mississippi could soon join the vast majority of states that offer some form of early voting or no-excuse absentee voting. Read the story.

Auditor Shad White calls Senate chairman ‘liar,’ threatens to sue during budget hearing

A Wednesday budget hearing for the State Auditor’s Office devolved into shouting and a tense back and forth that culminated in Auditor Shad White calling Sen. John Polk of Hattiesburg a liar and threatening to sue the legislator for defamation. Read the story.

Aye, the pirates of the Mississippi Legislature are making their usual motion: Jargon explained

Scores of lawyers have worked for decades to make legislative rules and jargon confusing. If it weren’t, we might not need scores of lawyers. Read the story.

Longtime Mississippi radio talk show host Paul Gallo dies at 77

Gallo was the longtime host of the popular “The Gallo Radio Show” mornings on the statewide SuperTalk network. Read the story.

Mississippi still officially celebrates Robert E. Lee on MLK Day. It’s beyond time to stop

Today, Mississippi commemorates Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert E. Lee, together. For this son of a Mississippian, whose grandparents and great grandparents are buried in Biloxi, commemorating a Confederate is just wrong. Read the Ideas column.

Bill to revise law for low-income pregnant women passes first legislative hurdle

Low-income women would be able to access free prenatal care faster under a bill that passed the House Medicaid committee Wednesday. The same law passed the full Legislature last year, but never went into effect due to a discrepancy between what was written into state law and federal regulations. Read the story.

Mississippi doesn’t have to provide protective gear to working inmates. Bill aims to change that

The legislation follows an ongoing federal lawsuit alleging inmates at a Mississippi prison were exposed to dangerous chemicals, with some later contracting late-stage cancer. Read the story.

House passes pharmacy benefit manager transparency bill

A bill that aims to increase pharmacy benefit managers’ transparency by requiring them to report data to the agency that oversees pharmacy practice in Mississippi passed in the House of Representatives Thursday. Read the story.

How Jim Barksdale’s $100 million gift 25 years ago changed the course of Mississippi public education

This week marks the 25th anniversary of the landmark contribution of $100 million by Jim Barksdale to improve reading skills in Mississippi. Read the story.

Podcast: House Education Chairman Roberson talks ‘school choice,’ K-12 funding, consolidation and finding ‘things that work’

House Education Chairman Rob Roberson, a Republican from Starkville, outlines for Mississippi Today’s Geoff Pender and Michael Goldberg some of the top issues his committee will tackle this legislative session. Listen to the podcast.

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

by Mark Sherman, Associated Press

The Supreme Court on Monday left in place Mississippi’s Jim Crow-era practice of removing voting rights from people convicted of certain felonies, including nonviolent crimes such as forgery and timber theft.

The justices, without comment, turned away an appeal from Mississippi residents who have completed their sentences, but who have been unable to regain their right to vote.

The court’s action let stand a ruling by the full 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that rejected the claim that permanent loss of voting rights amounted to cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the Constitution. Mississippi legislators, not the courts, must decide whether to change the laws, the 5th circuit said.

Using different legal arguments, lawyers failed to get the Supreme Court to take up the felon disenfranchisement issue in 2023, over a dissent from Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson that was joined by Justice Sonia Sotomayor. Mississippi’s list of disqualifying crimes was “adopted for an illicit discriminatory purpose,” Jackson wrote.

No justice noted a dissent from Monday’s order.

Most of the people affected are disenfranchised for life because the state provides few options for restoring ballot access. Lawyers who brought the case to the court argued that the state is an outlier and its bar on voting is a vestige of segregation.

Authors of the state’s 1890 constitution based disenfranchisement on a list of crimes they thought Black people were more likely to commit, the lawyers argued. But the state responded that the Supreme Court has previously made clear that states may refuse to deny the right to vote to people convicted of felonies.

About 38% of Mississippi residents are Black. Nearly 50,000 people were disenfranchised under the state’s felony voting ban between 1994 and 2017. More than 29,000 of them have completed their sentences, and about 58% of that group are Black, according to an expert who analyzed data for plaintiffs challenging the voting ban.

To regain voting rights in Mississippi, a person convicted of a disenfranchising crime must receive a governor’s pardon or win permission from two-thirds of the state House and Senate. In recent years, legislators have restored voting rights for only a few people.

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.