Friday, May 12, 2023

Wingate Bars Chief Justice from Appointing Judges

The HB1020 drama continues as U.S. District Judge Henry Wingate issued a temporary restraining order prohibiting Chief Justice Mike Randolph from appointing any special judges under the bill.  

Hinds County Chancellor Dewayne Thomas dismissed the Chief Justice from a similar lawsuit yesterday.   The NAACP filed a similar challenge in U.S. District Court last month but Judge Wingate parked the case, stating he would allow the Chancellor to have first dibs.  However, the NAACP filed a motion for a TRO yesterday afternoon after the Chancellor dismissed the Chief Justice.  

A hearing will be held on whether to disqualify the Chief Justice on May 22.  The order is posted below. 



 

42 comments:

Anonymous said...

The bill was an attempt to correct an inherent political problem, namely electing people (or just a mayor?) who don’t care. The legislation runs afoul of the Constitution.
Let’s not give up, legislators.
RMQ

Anonymous said...

Motion to fix, your honor.

Anonymous said...

These people do not want law and order. Please leave them alone and just walk away from it all. This is a no win situation.

Anonymous said...

Henry never moved so fast in his life-

Anonymous said...

Bad strategy by the plaintiffs, as the four appointees could have been dragged across the coals. Not that any of this is in the least germane to the issues, but the plaintiffs would have scoured their background for any hint of racial attitudes, especially if they were white. The four of them would have become a spectacle, and an image to figuratively stick on a warrior's pole to be paraded around the court and through the streets. As it is, it's merely a number. If I were the chief justice, I would be laughing out loud at this blunder.

Anonymous said...

3:22 - the Germans don’t have anything to do with the situation!!!!!

Anonymous said...

I really don't care about the judges so much, Just let the Capitol Police expand thei jurisdiction. Their presence alone will deter a lot of this crime.

Anonymous said...

It’s be easier to just move the Capitol to Rankin or Madison. Let Jackson be the hell hole they want it to be

Anonymous said...

Still waiting for someone to explain how this violates the constitution. Lots of claims, no supporting arguments.

Buford T Justice said...

@3:50. You beat me to it!!!!!

Anonymous said...

4:22,

Have you read the plaintiffs' complaint? Don't lie.

Anonymous said...

As the old saying goes, you want justice go to the cat house, you want a good screwing go to the courthouse.

Anonymous said...

4:22pm, with all due respect, you should do some research of your own, including reading KF's prior posts and attachments.

Let me be clear that I am in favor of additional temporary judges being appointed in Hinds County to help clear the tremendous and ridiculous backlog of criminal cases that has built up. And in those regards, I would note that temporary judges have previously been appointed in Hinds County to assist with this came problem, and no one ever raised the unconstitutionality of doing so or argued that it was improper, so it's suspect why they do so now when the same help is still needed.

But that said, it appears that the Chief Justice appointing temporary judges in this situation may in fact be contrary to the MS Constitution.

Here are the relevant parts of the MS Constitution:

SECTION 153. Election and terms of circuit and chancery
court judges.
The judges of the circuit and chancery courts shall be elected by the
people in a manner and at a time to be provided by the legislature and the
judges shall hold their office for a term of four years.
SOURCES: 1869 art VI § 11; Laws, 1912, ch. 415.

Under this Section, Circuit Court judges must be "elected", not appointed.

Then look at:

SECTION 165. Disqualification of judges.
No judge of any court shall preside on the trial of any cause, where
the parties or either of them, shall be connected with him by affinity
or consanguinity, or where he may be interested in the same, except by
the consent of the judge and of the parties. Whenever any judge of the
Supreme Court or the judge or chancellor of any district in this State shall, for any reason, be unable or disqualified to preside at any term of court,or in any case where the attorneys engaged therein shall not agree upon a member of the bar to preside in his place, the Governor may commission another, or others, of law knowledge, to preside at such term or during such disability or disqualification in the place of the judge or judges so disqualified.
SOURCES: 1832 art IV § 9; Laws, 1916, ch. 155

In this scenario, if the present judges are disqualified or are unable to rule on a case, such as by recusing themselves, then the Governor (not the legislature or the Chief Justice) may appoint a temporary judge.

All that said, I have admittedly not done any research to look for any Supreme Court cases interpreting these provisions. You can do that yourself or hire a lawyer to do it for you.

But, despite the above,the MS Constitution does provide for creating the CCID court the legislature has created:

SECTION 172. Establishment and abolishment of inferior
courts.
The Legislature shall, from time to time, establish such other inferior
courts as may be necessary, and abolish the same whenever deemed
expedient.
SOURCES: 1832 art IV § 24; 1869 art VI § 24.

.




Anonymous said...

Correct interim ruling by Wingate. The positions aren’t even funded until after July 1. The concern, though, is that appointments are stayed until Wingate rules. Plenty of lawyers on this board will likely note that . . . could. . . Take. . . A . . .


While.

I suspect Wingate is buying time to see how much of this the Mississippi Supreme Court addresses (one way or the other), and then see if any remains need addressing. Not too many question that the guy is smart.

Anonymous said...

sh@@ sh@@
Your tax dollars at work..

Anonymous said...

3:52, wrong. It’s still catch and release, even if there are more catches.

Anonymous said...

4:22 here, yes I’ve read it, still waiting to hear an argument with merit

Anonymous said...

I live in Madison (city). Is there any way to divert the road to the airport so I don’t have to drive in the city limits of Jackson?

Anonymous said...

It feels like we have been watching a bad reality show. Sigh.

Anonymous said...

444, I have. And i don't see any way this violates the constitution. Or how it even survives being filed in federal court.

Now to you - if you have read it - and don't lie - please address the question asked earlier since you have such a clear understanding

Anonymous said...

@3:52. I agree

Anonymous said...

4:22, MS judiciary is elected per the state constitution. The bill allows new judges to be appointed. This is not a situation applicable to appointed special judges such as a crowded docket or other judges recusing themselves. This is a new judicial district (which is constitutional) but like all judges must be elected.
RMQ

Anonymous said...

How many decisions by Wingate have been overturned on appeal?

Anonymous said...

4:22 and others conflate two different things: (1) arguments in support of the plaintiffs' claims and (2) arguments that they agree with. Don't keep asking what the arguments are and then, after people tell you, shift over to saying "I meant arguments that I think should win."

If you have read the complaint, then you know the essence of the claims. Maybe those claims will fail, maybe not. But stop all the pretending that these lawsuits are a big performance without any serious legal justification at all. Equal protection, 42 U.S.C. 1983 -- look them up if you have to. These are colorable claims, and legislation like this guarantees legal challenge. You take away people's right to elect their judges, you're gonna get sued in federal court. You might prevail in the end, but you're going to be in court over it for a while, and it is childish to stomp and moan because you don't get everything you want as soon as you want it. All this disbelief and whining that you don't even see the arguments is fake fake fake.

Anonymous said...

5:22,

Excellent research, but it is for naught. If the U.S. Constitution had a section that said "The Mississippi Legislature shall not create a new judicial district or court without allowing the people of that district to elect their own judges," 4:22 et al would still be demanding to know how HB 1020 is unconstitutional. They've already decided that anybody who challenges what they desperately need to believe must be making everything up. For them "unconstitutional" is defined as "everything I don't like."

Anonymous said...

It’s time to seriously discuss moving our capital. Jackson is an embarrassment to our state.

Anonymous said...

Attn. 1:17 AM. It is my understanding that capitol and the Capitol property are independent entities separate from the city of Jackson. Is that correct?

Anonymous said...

@6:50 All day every day, you just have to know which roads cross the Reservoir & go into Flowood.

Anonymous said...

3:52 if the capitol police watch judges allow criminals to skate, then they either leave or stop doing their jobs. In other words, they become another JPD. The courts are the ones who can either make things better or allow crime to flourish.

Anonymous said...

"It’s be easier to just move the Capitol to Rankin or Madison."
Not just no but HELL NO to Madison. We gladly support Rankin county for this great honor.

Anonymous said...

I concur.

Anonymous said...

525 and others - you are making a state court argument, not a federal case. To get in Wingates court, they are arguing that this has a racial bias. The issue of complying with the MS Constitution will eventually be resolved by MSSC. The NAACP etal have a long way to go to prove the racial bias - but that's OK, they want it to take a long, long time. The longer it takes, the more dollars they can raise - and that's what it all about in both courts.

Anonymous said...

I don't care where we move the State Capitol and State employees. Just move them to a functioning city. Plenty of cities would welcome the economic benefit and we could stop wasting tax dollars on a City that doesn't want the help. Laurel, Oxford, Biloxi, Vicksburg, Meridian, Tupelo.....just pick one not named Jackson please

Anonymous said...

6:50 Once you arrive at the airport you are IN the city limits of Jackson. Just start flying out of the airport in Madison.

Unknown said...

6:50 - Yes. If you know the area, you can cross the reservoir, proceed into Flowood, take a right behind Academy, head over to Airport Road and hang a left.

When you get to McDonald's, after crossing the dam, just set your GPS to Jackson Airport and proceed as instructed. If you wind up at Miskelly's, turn around and head north.

Anonymous said...

We aren’t moving the Capitol. Give it a rest you redneck simpletons. If you don’t like the fact that your legislators are passing laws that might not pass judicial scrutiny, then that’s your legislature’s fault, not Jackson’s.

Anonymous said...

Go ahead and move it, I will wait to see who follows.

Anonymous said...

10:19 - That's rather beside the point. How many Jackson thugs, miscreants, drive-by shooters, midnight tokers and tagless dopers head to the airport as soon as they see blue lights in the rear-view?

Anonymous said...

Man we need codependency treatment. Its so hard to quit Jackson, we think we work we try to help Jackson and they refuse to be helped. As for my neighborhood the early results from Capitol Police have cut crime significantly.

Anonymous said...

Stop trying to change Jackson.
Leave them alone. They are happy.
Who are we to demand they live in a safe area where crime is prosecuted?
It is not my business or concern what they do in that city.

Anonymous said...

Judge Wingate has cases stacked up and been the laziest judge around. He had to have extra help for his backlog. Now, he is fast acting for the NAACP. Interesting! The state should just walk away from all of Jackson's problems and begin moving agencies away from Jackson. Let it become more of a graft riddled third world city. The people that vote these idiots in deserve what they vote for. Stop spending state tax money on a dump that doesn't want help!

Anonymous said...

10:33 - You know, all of you stupid bastards that say "relocate the capitol and move state agencies away from Jackson" have no idea what the absolute astronomical costs would be. Then you idiots would be griping about your tax dollars paying for that too. Do everyone a favor and shut the hell up.



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