Judge allows new court in Mississippi’s majority-Black capital, rejecting NAACP request to stop it

By EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS
Associated Press

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A federal judge will allow Mississippi officials to move forward with creating a state-run court in part of the majority-Black capital city of Jackson. Attorneys for NAACP say the new court undermines democracy because local voters or local elected officials won’t choose its judge or prosecutors. The Capitol Complex Improvement District Court will have a judge appointed by the state Supreme Court chief justice and prosecutors appointed by the state attorney general. U.S. District Judge Henry Wingate late Sunday dismissed requests to block the new court that was created by the majority-white and Republican-controlled Mississippi Legislature. Jackson is governed by Democrats.