The NAACP has filed a lawsuit (pdf) against Mississippi over two bills signed into law to combat the capital city’s high crime rate by giving state officials more control over law enforcement.
Last week, Gov. Tate Reeves signed House Bill 1020, establishing an independent, state-controlled judicial system for the 17.5 square mile Capitol Complex Improvement District (CCID) surrounding the Capitol building in Jackson, Mississippi.
He also signed Senate Bill 2343, which expands the Capitol Police’s jurisdiction into the city.
The bill gives the Capitol police—a state police agency managed by the Department of Public Safety—jurisdiction over the CCID, while the Jackson Police Department would have secondary jurisdiction….