State Representatives pass House Bill 1020 which creates special judges for CCID; bill now heads to the senate

JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) - House Representatives passed House Bill 1020. This vote came after lawmakers spent nearly five hours debating the bill.

City, county, and state leaders in Hinds County have been vocal in expressing that they oppose this legislation.

Under this bill, the Mississippi Supreme Court would appoint judges to hear civil and criminal cases in the Capital Complex Improvement District.

The Attorney General’s Office would be responsible for appointing prosecutors to take on these cases, and public defenders would work underneath the Mississippi Public Defenders.

The legislation would also expand CCID to County Line Road.

Those in favor of the bill believe this legislation will help with the city’s crime problems and help with the backlog of cases judges are facing.

“I like to come to Jackson because it’s the Capital City, and so do my constituents back home,” said State Representative Trey Lamar, who represents Lafayette and Tate Counties. “Whether they be black, white, yellow, brown, it doesn’t matter. When they come to the Capital City of Jackson, they want and expect to fill safe and avoid carjackings and other types of crime. All I’m interested in is helping the Capital City of the state of Mississippi safer, that’s it.”

However, those against the bill call it racist, saying the state is simply trying to takeover Capitol City.

“This is probably the most oppressive legislation that I have seen in my history here in the state of Mississippi,” said Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba. “Legislation that takes away people’s right to elect people who oversee such important roles within their county. Legislation which puts a military force which has no accountability over them. Legislation that can allow judges to oversee the residents of Jackson but have not been elected or accountable to them. I do want to commend those of the Hinds County Delegation, those in the Black Caucus who have held the fight all day and stayed here for hours, making certain that they made clear what was going on here. For the other legislators, I was surprised they came half-dressed because they forgot to wear their hoods.”

The ACLU of Mississippi Executive Director Jarvis Dortch released the following statement about HB 1020:

“Here is the issue – lawmakers from majority white districts are proposing legislation that would significantly impact the majority Black population of Jackson, without consulting their representatives. This is a direct threat to the freedom of the Capital City and a parallel to Jim Crow era political schemes.
Citizens should be able to hold judges and prosecutors accountable for their actions, but HB 1020 does not allow that right. It creates a new judicial district, filled with judges and prosecutors who are appointed by the white Chief Justice of the Mississippi Supreme Court.
HB 1020 creates a city within a city, and that is not crime prevention. Instead of using more Jackson tax dollars to fund the expansion of the CCID and the creation of a new judicial district, lawmakers could fund mental health and re-entry programs, which are proven to decrease incarceration.
HB 1020 is an undemocratic plan, that further aids voter disenfranchisement and police state practices.”
ACLU of Mississippi Executive Director, Jarvis Dortch

When it comes to the total vote count, 76 lawmakers voted in favor of this bill, and 38 voted against it.

The bill now heads over to the Senate for lawmakers in that chamber to vote on.

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