Federal Judge Denies Request to Block Majority-Black Judicial Subdistricts in Mississippi

A federal judge, at least for now, has denied a request to prevent a majority-Black section of voters from electing new county judges months before the election begins.

The ruling comes in a lawsuit filed by Robert Foster, a former Republican gubernatorial candidate and current DeSoto County supervisor, and others who claim the Legislature’s creation of majority-Black subdistricts for the state judiciary violates the Voting Rights Act. The lawsuit came after the U.S. Supreme Court’s May Louisiana v. Callais decision rolled back protections for minority voters during redistricting.

U.S. District Judge Sharion Aycock ruled on Thursday that a court order changing the district lines for an upcoming state judicial race would fall too close to the November election date, something the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled lower courts should not do.

“The Plaintiffs have not provided sufficient evidence to justify this Court’s involvement,” Aycock wrote.

Foster and other DeSoto County residents filed a lawsuit last month, arguing that when the Legislature redrew the state’s court districts, it gave DeSoto County an additional circuit judge and an additional chancery judge. But those judges had to be elected from a majority-Black subdistrict.

A subdistrict is used to elect a judge from a smaller area within the main district, but the judge can still hear cases from anywhere in the district.

The lawsuit was filed against the three-member State Board of Election Commissioners, which is composed of Gov. Tate Reeves, Secretary of State Michael Watson and Attorney General Lynn Fitch, all Republican statewide officials.

Attorneys for the DeSoto County residents did not respond to a request for comment. MaryAsa Lee, a spokesperson for Fitch’s office, declined to comment.

Even though Aycock denied the plaintiff’s request to prevent the subdistricts from going into effect, the litigation can still proceed. Aycock can order the parties to submit new briefs and evidence, after which she can issue a ruling on the full case.