Mississippi justices hear arguments over appointed vs. elected judges in majority-Black capital

By EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS
Associated Press

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — The Mississippi Supreme Court is weighing arguments about a state law that has sparked a monthslong dispute over whether white state officials are stomping on local self-governance in the state’s majority-Black capital city, Jackson. Cliff Johnson, an attorney for a group of Jackson residents, argued Thursday that justices should block the law, which authorizes the appointment of some judges in a state where most judges are elected. But, Solicitor General Scott Stewart argued that legislators acted properly in approving some appointed judges in Jackson and its surrounding county. The majority-white and Republican-led Legislature voted this year to expand state policing and to authorize appointed judges in Jackson and Hinds County, which are majority-Black and governed by Democrats.