People pushing the changes said they were trying to curb crime in Jackson. The majority-white and Republican-led Legislature voted this year to make the district larger, create the new court and give the state-run Capitol Police the power to patrol the entire city. Lawmakers created the Capitol Complex district several years ago to improve streets and other infrastructure and to provide state policing near state government buildings in and around downtown. Thomas said he expects to issue rulings within days. Mississippi Supreme Court Chief Justice Mike Randolph is asking to be dismissed as a defendant in the lawsuit, and Thomas said he is also considering that request. Hinds County Chancery Judge Dewayne Thomas conducted a hearing Wednesday to consider a request for an order to temporarily block the creation of the new court in a portion of Jackson designated as the Capitol Complex Improvement District. The laws will 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, which is home to Jackson. The lawsuit is one of two that challenge laws Republican Gov. She and the other two residents - Sabreen Sharrief and Dorothy Triplett - are the plaintiffs in a lawsuit filed by the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, the Mississippi Center for Justice, the ACLU of Mississippi and the MacArthur Justice Center. “It is an affront to democracy,” Ann Saunders said. (AP) - Three residents of Mississippi’s capital city testified Wednesday that their rights as citizens are undermined by a new state law that would create a court inside Jackson with judges who are appointed because the state constitution requires most judges to be elected.
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