Senate passes its version of House Bill 1020, which adds appointed judges in Hinds County

An amended form of the Senate version of House Bill 1020, a bill to overhaul the court system within Jackson, passed the Mississippi Senate on Tuesday, one day before the deadline for it to move forward or die.

The bill, which differs drastically from its extremely controversial House counterpart, would create five temporary appointed judge positions within the Hinds County court system. It would also expand the jurisdiction of the state-run Capitol Police to include all of Jackson.

A number of changes were made compared to the version that passed the Senate Judiciary A Committee last month.

Language requiring Jackson Police and Capitol Police to enter a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on how they would work together within the same jurisdiction was changed to say that the two departments can do so, adding that the Hinds County Sheriff's Office may be included as well.

This change was important to Jackson lawmakers, as the previous version that required an MOU stipulated that if one could not be reached disputes would be decided by the state Department of Public Safety, which already oversees Capitol Police. Sen. Brice Wiggins, R-Pascagoula, said those changes were made after speaking to Jackson officials, including those on the city council. Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba had said he would not sign an MOU if the city was forced into it.

"Both the strike all and the amendment that's before you is the result of many conversations that have happened, many of those have been with the Jackson Senate delegation. I personally have had conversations … with a number of the Jackson City Council members, and so these reflect those discussions," Wiggins said.

Another important change removed funding for additional assistant district attorneys, funneling those funds instead to the state crime lab. Wiggins said that was in response to Hinds County District Attorney Jody Owens saying the day before that he would rather the money go to the overworked crime lab.

"Yesterday, there was a meeting here at the capitol and the district attorney of Hinds County said he didn't want the money for the DA's, that he would rather it go to the crime lab," Wiggins said.

Whether Owens really said that quickly became a matter of controversy. Wiggins pointed to a quote published in the Clarion Ledger where Owens called for more support for public defenders, Jackson Police and the crime lab.

"I met with my team last night and we discussed the bills, all of the bills, and I've got to tell you, representative, we’re not interested in a bill that advances our interests as an office but limits other systems that we depend on," Owens said Monday.

Members of the Jackson delegation quickly contacted Owens from the Senate floor, and he told them that he does need more assistant district attorneys, in addition to needing "a state crime lab that works."

"I just got off the phone with our DA, and what he told me is, quote, 'I desperately need those ADA's.' I don't know what was said that gave you or anyone else the impression," Sen. John Horhn, D-Jackson, said. "I just got off the phone with him and he said otherwise in that phone conversation."

According to Sen. David Blount, D-Jackson, Owens' comments on Monday, were an acknowledgement that only helping the district attorney's office would do little to solve backlogs, not a request to take needed resources from his office and move them to the crime lab. Blount read out directly from the newspaper story Wiggins had referenced.

"What he said in the paper is that he opposes the bill because 'the bill does not address many of the root causes of delays in the local legal system like the funding of the public defender's office, the state crime lab and the Jackson Police Department.' I want everybody to be very clear that our district attorney is grateful for the help that we gave him last year, he's doing a good job and he's asking for that funding and those prosecutors to be continued so he can work on the crime problem in Hinds County and do his job," Blount said.

A further change eliminated insurances that Hinds County would receive an additional elected judge in the near future. The previous Senate version of the bill would have created a new elected judge seat in 2026, the same year the five temporary appointed judges would be eliminated. The new version instead instructs the court to report data to the legislature so that it can better decide whether an additional elected judge is truly necessary.

Horhn thanked Wiggins for his work on changing the bill from the House version, but said it is still the wrong way to address crime and court backlogs.

"It is vastly improved from where it started, but it is still a snake," Horhn said.

Wiggins said he expects this bill to go to a conference committee, where the two versions will be debated and negotiated on by members of both chambers.

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: HB 1020 passes MS Senate, faces likely future of conference with House