NATCHEZ, Miss. – The Mississippi Senate has a committee-passed bill opposed by Adams County officials that would enlarge the circuit and chancery court districts that cover the county.
The Adams County Board of Supervisors has come out in opposition to the legislation at the behest of District Attorney Tim Cotton, who said Monday he wants to keep the 6th Circuit Court District as is: Adams, Franklin, Wilkinson and Amite counties.
A Senate committee voted Tuesday to send a bill to the Senate floor for passage that would add Pike, Jefferson, Claiborne and Wathall counties to the circuit court district and move Franklin to another.
House Bill 722 also calls for adding more counties to the chancery court district that currently has Adams County with Wilkinson, Jefferson and Claiborne counties. A redrawn 17th Chancery Court District would be stretched to also include Pike, Wathall and Amite counties.
The legislation – which calls for redrawing court districts throughout Mississippi – is needed to ensure “an efficient and and good-working judicial system,” said Sen. Brice Wiggins, R-Pascagoula, who chairs the Senate Judiciary A Committee that approved the bill Tuesday.
However, Cotton said no valid reasons have been shown for “completely redrawing district lines” that he maintained would be unfair to his judicial district.
The southwest Mississippi circuit and chancery court districts each have two judges: Debra Blackwell and Carmen Brooks Drake for the circuit court and George Ward and Vincent Davis for the chancery court. They were elected by district voters in the four counties.The circuit court deals mainly with criminal cases while the chancery court deals with civil cases.
With Adams County (population 28,000) the most populous of the current districts’ counties, the four judges and the district attorney are based in Natchez. The addition of Pike County (population 39,000) enhances the possibilities of judges and the DA being elected who live in the McComb area.
In getting the Senate judiciary committee to pass the bill Tuesday, Wiggins noted the legislation is subject to changes as it comes up for a Senate vote. If passed, it goes back to the House of Representatives, where the bill originated, to be considered.
The state Legislature has a self-imposed April 10 deadline for the Senate to vote on the bill. Cotton said Adams County’s legislative delegation opposes the bill. It passed the House last month with no opposition before it got revamped by senators to its current form with more substantive changes made to the state’s judicial districts.
For more information about the state Senate’s judicial redistricting plan, go to this legislative website: maris.mississippi.edu/HTML/Redistricting/SenJudAChanCirc040224.pdf
That is so confusing and interesting. What does the Black/white demographics have to do with the judicial system? I am glad I don’t have the job to figure all of that out. Thanks John Mott for breaking it down for us.