or the Case of the Disappearing Footnote
Now you see it, now you don't. Special Chancellor Jess Dickinson was supposed to settle the trash tug of war between the City Council and Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba but a little harmless footnote in his Thursday opinion wasn't quite so harmless as it wrecked havoc in Jackson yesterday. Seeing the damage done by his thinking out loud, the not-so-Iron Chancellor vacated his order last night and erased the footnote in a new order.
The Chancellor ruled Thursday Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba must obtain City Council approval for all contracts whether they be of the emergency or non-emergency variety. However, the jurist ruminated into the penumbras and threw this little hand grenade in the third footnote of his order:
For clarity, there does exist a possible exception not presented in this case thus far, where the Council rejects an emergency contract presented by the Mayor, the Mayor exercises his veto of the rejection, and the Council overrides the veto. The Mayor then would have the option of engaging the judicial system, claiming the Council was arbitrary and capricious in overriding the veto.
The footnote provided everything but clarity. Ever the opportunist, the Mayor pulled that pin and threw the hand grenade at the City Council during a special meeting yesterday. City Council President Virgi Lindsay called a special meeting of the City Council yesterday to approve an emergency one-year no-bid contract with Richard's Disposal for garbage collection services. The City Council voted 4-3 twice to reject the contract.
Seizing upon the little footnote, Mayor Lumumba vetoed the City Council's rejection of the contract in accordance with Judge Dickinson's footnote as the Council members Ashby Foote, Vernon Hartley, Kenneth Stokes, and a belligerent Aaron Banks watched in disbelief. (Start at 15:00)
What took place yesterday was unprecedented not just in Jackson, but in Mississippi. Judge Dickinson's footnote shifted power in every municipality (in Hinds County since it is only a local opinion) to the Mayor as he can now rule with a minority of the City Council or Board of Aldermen supporting his actions. Appointments, budgets, ordinances, and other actions can be approved with a minority of votes since the Mayor can veto a rejection, thus turning representative government on its head.
The City Council and Waste Management ran to court yesterday seeking immediate relief. Judge Dickinson ruminated again and tried to put the pin back in the hand grenade as he vacated the order, erased the footnote, and issued a new judgment.
Judge Dickinson said "ordinance" includes "ordinances, resolutions, orders, and any other official actions of the council.." He backed up a little bit from including contract rejections as an action that could be vetoed by the Mayor:
While the court is persuaded that a council vote to reject a contract is “an official action of the council” and, therefore, an “ordinance” as defined in Section 21-8-47, the question remains whether a vote to reject a contract submitted by a mayor is an ordinance that has been “adopted” by the council.
The Chancellor realized no one asked him whether contract rejections were subject to a Mayor's veto and decreed "Upon review of the pleadings, the court recognizes that this precise question was not presented to the court and the court should not have addressed it in dicta."
Judge Dickinson vacated the March 31 order and issued a new one. He said the Mayor can hire a vendor on an emergency basis but must still present the contract to the City Council for approval. The City Council can not amend the emergency order but can only approve or reject the order. Only the Mayor can negotiate a garbage collection contract. Judge Dickinson concluded:
the contract is not a binding contract that is enforceable against the City of Jackson unless and until it has been properly approved by the City Council.
Note: Unlike regular Chancellors and Circuit Judges, Senior Status Judges such as Judge Dickinson do not have law clerks.
Kingfish note: Thanks to Judge Dickinson's ruminations, this well, garbage smells even more. The City Council notified Richard's Disposal Thursday it would not approve any payments to the company as the Mayor notified Waste Management it's contract expired at midnight. Richard's Disposal ran its trucks yesterday as the Mayor "vetoed" the City Council's rejection of the emergency contract.
Stung by the effect of his mindless ruminations in the penumbras, the "special" Chancellor was forced to issue a new order last night.
Advice to all concerned: Get this matter out of Judge Dickinson's hands and into the appeals courts. He is just making matters worse for both sides.
77 comments:
I thought Judge Dickinson was half-way competent. Great job and good reporting KF. Thanks for providing an easy to follow analysis.
What an absolute disaster.
I thought he was smarter than that too. Now we are stuck with this awful waste management company in addition to the monster mayor and his completely incompetent staff.
At one point during his recent interview with Kazikazi Mayor Gumflapper referred to the Council as "opponents".
Attorney colleague of mine was openly musing yesterday as to whether John Walter was actually advising his client to proceed considering the circumstances, Dickinson's fatally flawed original order and the latest Council rejection.
Or is he just really smart. It allowed trash to get picked up and insured the contractor would get paid. Now back it out let the appeals process run but trash will still get picked up. If the mayor is smart and realize he isn’t going to win this he is working with the counsel to make sure they find someone for win the appeal process is done.
Only in Jackistan, America's third world city, with a third world mayor and city council, sprinkled with a few third world judges.
Until the appeal process goes through, what’s stopping the mayor from throwing out a request to increase his pay $100k, the council voting against, and then the mayor simply vetoing it? Insanity
Wrong, Kingfish! You just suggested (I think, but it's hard to tell) the mayor can literally vote 'with a minority' if his vote would push the minority into the majority.
What the judge (albeit parenthetically, yet foolishly) suggested is that the mayor could veto and then take any future over-riding to court. While that's true, what place is it of a judge (thinking out loud following a brain fart) to actually suggest to a party how they might proceed beyond the scope of his authority? Is HE also expecting a new Bentley? Or perhaps a Harley? Old judges, and lawyers in these parts, are known to ride Harleys.
Walker isn't too bright.
Starting on April 1 on the Bravo Network - The Real Trash Wars of Jackistan, MS
SECOND Episode: "Talking Trash in Jackistan"
Starring Chowke "Greasy Palms" Lumbubbles
Co-starring Alvin "the million dollar man" Richard
Special Guest Star: Rocko "knee-capper" Bonanno
Director: Rukia Lumbubbles
Produced by: The Free The Land Foundation
Technical Advisor: Jess "The Mess" Dickinson
"Until the appeal process goes through, what’s stopping the mayor from throwing out a request to increase his pay $100k..."
Well, first of all, a mair doesn't have the authority to place items on the agenda. That's the purview of the Board. Of course, Virgie would do that if it pleased the mair.
"Or is he just really smart. It allowed trash to get picked up and insured the contractor would get paid."
Don't count on that second part.
Years ago my father served two terms on the city council in Greenville. Only the city council voted for contracts, the mayor didn't get a vote unless the council vote was a tie.
Is Jackson any different? If so Why?
Ah, Jess Dickinson strikes again. He really isn’t the brightest bulb in the State’s judiciary, just thinks he is. At least somebody somewhere got him straightened out about his “dicta’. But not so fast there, Jess. You may have to rule on the validity of the mayor’s veto of the council’s veto. Only in Mississippi could we have the clown show of our city government made even better by clownish judges.
Dickinson should have never made that footnote. Vetoing a veto isn't a thing. If something doesn't pass in the first place, there's nothing for the mayor to veto.
Now both contractors (RD and WM) are on notice that they have no contract and will not be paid for services starting today. My trash is usually picked up by 9 am each Saturday. Right now it's 10:45 and I have yet to see any garbage trucks running in my area.
The mayor has lost this battle. He needs to present a contract the council is willing to pass, FAST. For him to continue this standoff is criminal: morally if not legally.
Dickinson still didn’t fix it. With more dicta he left the main question unanswered, creating even more confusion. If the appeals court doesn’t fix this quickly this mess will snowball. Not just garbage, but everything.
Next is Richard’s submits a bill, council votes 4-3 not to pay the bill, Mair vetoes, council does not override veto, bill gets paid, council sues because veto was invalid, court rules for council, court orders Richard’s to return money, Richard refuses, city sues Richards, it never ends.
That question wasn't before him which is why the footnote was dicta.
@10:49am
If you are living in the shade of your garbage pile, thanks for being among the first sacrificed for freedom from this fake mayor.
9:28 What the hell are you talking about. I think someone got into your Dicta.
Rubbish Mainly UK informal
Something that you think is very low quality or not true:
"Their ideas are a load of rubbish."
This weekend, the esteemed People's Republic of New Africa Dictator, Antar, and BCBSMS executives need to go to church, think awhile, and swallow their pride.
This "my dog is bigger than your dog" and "you'll be hearing from my (incompetent) lawyer!" crap has gone past its shelf life.
Grow up, children, and play pretty.
So, who is picking up the trash on Monday?
Does Richard's Disposal collect the garbage for Harvard University?
Richard's has received a Cease and Dissest notice from the very people that will approve, or disapprove any payment for a non-existent contract.
The boy Mayor is believing what he wants to believe which of course is not true.
It doesn't seem to me Richard's will be able to hide behind "the mayor told us to" when they don't get paid.
Any company operating like this can't possibly deliver quality service.
Judge Dickinson job was to make it a bigger mess!!! He knew what he was doing, he also left Hinds County Board of Supervisors in a mess!!!
Judge Cannot overturn a failure to approve an action.
Twilight Zone Justice: the April 1st Fool is Richard's Disposal, pranked by a fake mayor, misdirected by the penumbratic musings of an unfocused judge, in a Zoom court setting, where the prize is 25 tons of garbage and no pay.
The City Council just needs to cut to the chase, by putting an order to hold a "vote of no confidence" in the Mayor on the agenda and just vote him out. Do it twice if they have to. Let's see Chowke veto that.
This is what happens when a judge doesn't have a law clerk to fix his numerous mistakes.
A few days ago I said the Judge had painted himself into a corner. He never should have allowed Waste Management, Richard's and even some subcontractor
to intervene in this matter. They had him considering issues which had nothing to do with the question before him. A tornado is now a hurricane.
@3:11pm - Winner.
Yo Chowke, veto this!
11:36 - You can just point your dicta in another direction. And don't come up in here pretending you understand the term. As soon as Dicta Dickinson realized his dicta was misplaced, he stuffed it back in his pocket and exited the room, whistling.
Now we have an open question of whether or not the Mayor can veto the Council’s rejection of his garbage contract with Richards. Here’s the deal: The Mayor DID veto it, so now it will wind it’s way back to Judge Dickinson for him to resolve the issue.
But for you WM groupies, here’s one thing you can be 100 percent sure of: WM will never again lift a garbage can in Jackson, MS as long as Mayor Lumumba is the Mayor. Only he can enter in to a garbage contract with a company.
My trash is still sitting beside the road in south Jackson. There are some packs of raw bacon in it that were going bad. Since it’s obviously not going to be picked up,I’d like to gift this trash to Chowke. That way he can enjoy the fruits of his scheme, I mean labor. Any ideas?
Judge Dickinson continues to not do his job and perpetuate this mess. If he does not know what adopted means and is not willing to decide if the council did or did not adopt the contract, dont mention it in your order! Is it really that hard to look at this situation and say “did the council adopt this contract”. Yes or no. If not adopted, then Mair can not veto according to the plain language of the statute that Dickinson cited, and well established law. Veto is only available to actions that were adopted.
Chancery Court is a court of equity. I assume (without looking at the Complaints) that someone asked for general relief(standard practice in Chancery Court). With that, Dickinson had the authority to clear up all these issues, decide if anybody had a contract, decide if the Mair could veto (which he had not done until Dickinson suggested it to him, probably because Mair knew he couldnt veto a NO vote), decide who could negotiate a contract, who has to approve a contract, all of it. But instead he enters an erroneous half-a@# Order, then revokes it and enters another half-a@# Order that clarifies nothing! Maybe, at age 75, he has been doing this too long.
Has anyone witnessed RD running routes and snatching bags in Jackson on Saturday?
Can not veto a dead (negative) action. It is over. Simple law applies.
@6:11 PM - here is the county's landroll query portal. https://www.co.hinds.ms.us/pgs/apps/landroll_query.asp
536, thanks for clarifying what has been clear from the start.
Mayor Lumumba is acting in an arbitrary and capricious manner.
BTW, that's a losing position to have in court in case you didn't know that.
6:48, what if the dirty little secret is the clerks do the research and writing and Judge had to do it all on his own in this case.
“the question remains whether a vote to reject a contract submitted by a mayor is an ordinance that has been “adopted” by the council.” If this one line didn’t make Hizzonor scratch his head and delete the footnote, then I don’t know what to say. When is a rejection really an adoption? SMH.
Why did you not approve my comment that read “the judge is an absolute moron and could not have screwed this up more if he tried to”. He was supposed to be the smart one.
If you go back and watch the special council meeting from Friday, Councilman Banks openly called Torri Martin, the City Attorney, incompetent. She deflected the criticism and responded that it was Judge Dickinson who penned the order. Well, Councilman Banks may be correct as to both Torri Martin and Judge Dickinson. The substance of footnote 3 was legally and politically asinine.
Anyone that has followed Dickenson's career knows that he isn't one of the brightest of legal minds in MS. His ego is far greater than his intelligence. He seems to have made this stinking pile of garbage much worse.
The issue that I would like to see addressed is what classifies as an "emergency." The mayor created the emergency by failing to approve the WM contract. It seems to me that he shouldn't be allowed to create an emergency and then unilaterally act to install the company of his choosing to collect the garbage.
The mayor is wrong in his handling of this trash issue. I live in south Jackson. I haven't noticed any problems with trash pick up until today. Trash usually picked up between 8:30a.m.-9:00a.m. It's now 10:40p.m. I'm blaming the mayor and city council person Brian Grizzel. I don't think anyone voted for Grizzel to amen every thing Lumumba put forth. This lack of trash service is Grizzel’s problem as Lumumba’s. Grizzel is the wrong representative for this ward.
Dickinson let so much happen at Child Protective Services. Our foster child returned by incompetent judge to horrible situation. Not surprised this kind of judgment would transfer outside his realm of expertise.
Commercial airline pilots have to retire at 65, but Jess is 75, Trump is 75, and President Biden is 79. Perhaps there is a need to consistently apply a "go home and stay home" factor here.
By his incompetent order Judge Dickinson has put the dicta the citizens of Jackustan, Richard’s, et al.
And to think they put that idiot Judge Dickinson in charge of Child Protective Services for many years. Is there anything right about Mississippi? Seriously.
It's nothing but good ol'boy and good ol'girl horseshite.
Is Alvin Richard (of Richard's Disposal) stupid OR criminal OR both in his choosing to attach himself to Lumumba in Lumumba's efforts to ride roughshod over the majority of the City Council of Jackson? Whichever it is, I DONT like the idea of Mr. Richard's company EVER getting the job.
@6:48 Clarence...well said.
The level of this conflict is likely to carry over into the future council meetings. With the Mayor willing to burn down the house over this garbage contract, is there anything/any contract that the Mayor can present to council that will get a majority vote in future council meetings?
I see claims dockets getting denied moving forward. I would anticipate that anything the mayor wants council to approve is going to be rejected by this council. If the mayor had accused me of taking a bribe in a press conference, not only would I sue him, I would never vote to approve another agenda item that he brought forward. And I would rally council votes to make sure others followed suit.
Not sure the Mayor realizes that this rift doesn’t disappear after the garbage issue is settled.
Right?
A twice per week trash pickup in Jackson for 56,000 +/- households requires 3 pairs of days (Mon&Thu; Tue&Fri; Wed&Sat) of collection, hence trash must be collected on some routes on Saturday.
We have evidence of RD snatching trash in neighborhoods on Friday, but...
Who here can attest they have picked up garbage anywhere in Jackson on Saturday?
They may have parked their trucks rather than work free and operate at risk of liability, following Judge Fickleson's recent ruling.
They are still going to approve items. They are tasked with running the city as the legislative branch. Employees need to be paid and many good and honest vendors completed their work and need to be paid as well. The City Council can separate items in the claims docket to be considered separately.
9:27: Don't see it. It didn't appear.
Jackistan checklist
-Garbage contract in jeopardy
-No safe and reliable water supply
-No shortage of potholes
-No safe neighborhoods
-Murder capital of the U.S.
-Unreliable and broken water treatment
-Ineffective and micromanaged police department
-Let 'em loose blessings judges
-Corrupt city government
-Car jackings are a city-wide sport
-Drag racing on city streets
-500+ abandoned homes
-Homelessness and pandhandling galore
-Trash dumped everywhere
Yep, fixin' to move to Jackistan - NOT!
Now I thought I read since the board members voted down the contract 2 times on the same day it was a dead issue for a year
Boy mayor is left playing 'Switch' with his thumbs (one thumb in a$$, one in mouth, then switch and repeat). The more he plays, the worse he smells.
Lil Choke and Council will play chicken next week while our trash piles cast longer shadows until one of the two blinks or until RD caravans their trucks back to Louisiana, leaving the courteous and dependable WM to fulfill their kind offer of a few more months of service at same rate while Jackson sorts this headache created by boy mayor.
I'm beyond sick and tired of the City Council playing politics and trying to flex their muscles rather than solving the problem.
I'm appalled they are willing to make the problem worse.
I want my garbage picked up. I don't give two hoots in hell about anything other than whether or not the contractor chosen can fulfilled his temporary contract.
I would like to have the kind of garbage collection I once enjoyed in Atlanta that included not just decent garbage cans (which meant I wasn't picking up neighbors garbage strewn like WM has done...not just a little of it because my neighbors containers are too small.
This isn't a ball game. This is an essential city service.
That the city council knee jerked their responsibility ( as did all the mayors political opposition) without ONCE actually even comparing containers or the savings of efficiency is beyond belief. That they don't know that if any contractor doesn't fulfilled his obligations under the contract, the contract is breached , more than alarms me. That they didn't know an RFP was initiated and stopped it then, is incompetence.
That they couldn't even imagine that tossing two cans takes less time and manpower than tossing one, two or three is inexplicable.
I suppose KF, there is value in letting us know how incompetent our " leaders" and judges are, but for the love of God, can we not focus on the facts that lead to solutions we can use those to hound the idiots who we elected into doing the right thing?
Both the Council and Mayor can sometimes be accurate and pick the right decision , even when my faith that they will try all that hard to do their job well by learning about what does and doesn't work and why, is no longer possible.
When it comes to government success or failure IS in the details. Get those first!
I hope to hell all of you don't select key services in your life based on their skin color or party affiliation or if they are at church. How many times are you going to continue let the politics of MS give you polticians than line their pockets and make their lives easier, not YOURS? Is feeling superior for a few minutes and being part of some group that important? Are you THAT needy and insecure and defensive?
The left love to create emergencies. They live for emergencies, and never let a crisis go to waste. Wake up America!!!!
@9:43 PM, Martin is only the 'Yes' counsel. Junior and Omari's are the only hands on the rudder. They're going to scorch the earth because they're egomaniacs.
10:00 am Try to keep up with reality.
First, you do not know how good your water is. You just imagine you do. You don't know what crimes happen in your small town, because your town isn't keeping accurate data. It has a lot to do with your existing power structure and that no one finds you important enough to criticize.
My Jackson neighborhood is safe and has been for decades save for some teen vandals who have invariably turned out to be white.
I have new water meters. I also have my own filtering system and can get bottled water if I need it. I know how to make sure I cook and drink safe water WHEREVER I AM! This is a national problem doofus as is crime.
Crime in Jackson, like everywhere else is still primarily in poor, rundown areas of town.
That this State government doesn't help it's urban areas is because they don't have to do so. People like you make sure of that. YOU keep us at the bottom.
Places like Richmond, Raleigh,Savannah,and Charleston had similar problems. What they didn't have is the Statewide corruption in MS or citizens who felt the need to compare themselves with their fellow citizens rather than unite in common goals. The Delta and Central Mississippi and the Coast or be it Ole Miss vs State, the competition is toxic not productive.
Get the chip off your shoulder, tend to your own business and if you have a solution or success story, share it. Otherwise, keep your unconstructive criticism to yourself. An old CITY with more people than oh...yours who probably didn't have indoor plumbing and relied on wells and dirt roads and a smaller percentage of poverty...is doing better now. NO SURPRISE to anyone with half a brain in the U.S.!
April 3, 2022 at 12:20 PM = Weak, ineffective, lacking an accurate basis of events
@12:38 PM Denial is not a river in Egypt. The common denominator for high crime, dysfunctional cities is...wait for it... they are run by Dems/progressives.
Bless your heart.
My Jackson neighborhood is safe and has been for decades save for some teen vandals who have invariably turned out to be white.
Name the neighborhood. Put up or BS.
@1:01 PM He probably lives behind a security gate and hires private security guards.
There IS no safe area in Jackson.
Where is this Utopia you speak of?
Jackson, WY
Some here ramble without coherence or purpose (or even satire), like a Joe Biden speech. Seems that they may dis competition in support of the status quo just to avoid controversy, that they measure succeess by others' failure and misery, a sort of hopeless relativism?
Adversarial competition, even confrontational reasoning is at the root of Liberty, Justice, religious belief and science, not just "ball games".
If we are to escape the tyranny and repeated fundamental catastrophes of our marxist brat of a mayor, it will require a fight all along the way.
The judge could not have made this situation worse if he was trying.
Who is picking up my trash tomorrow? Can I stop paying that portion of my bill?
LOL at 12:20. Rukia, is that you? How much do you and your brother stand to gain for directing this contract 'in a certain direction'? It must be astronomical.
If everyone is stupid..............
By the Special Chancellor's logic:
1. Legislature rejects a bill
2. Governor vetos legislature's rejection of a bill
3. Bill becomes law!
Brilliant!
12:38 wants us to shut up or put up, which I assume means provide solutions.
So here goes, GENTRIFY!!!!
Of course no sane person will ever return until you give all races/colors/creeds a seat at the table and a voice that decides how the money is spent, so ultimately there is no viable solution.
Your ilk silenced me when I lived in Jackson, so I left.
Maybe you should stop telling people to be quiet?
Officially no longer can be called a city. Jackson is a hellhole.
What’s the bottom line? Is my garbage going to be picked up today? Who’s on first as Abott and Costello asked?
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=kTcRRaXV-fg
It is pretty easy to see what is going on. The people living in Belhaven want to tax the “less fortunate” out of their neighborhood. Make this area “white “ again like it used to be. The people who can afford to live there can afford it (it’s called old money). Are the “powers that be”so blind that they let this travesty take place”? Vote the “less fortunate” out of the neighborhood.”
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