(AP) — The Mississippi Supreme Court on Thursday struck down part of a state law that would have authorized some circuit court judges to be appointed rather than elected in the capital city of Jackson and the surrounding county, which are both majority-Black. Tate Reeves were usurping local autonomy in Jackson and Hinds County, which are governed by Democrats. Circuit judges hear criminal cases for felonies such as murder and aggravated assault. In May, Hinds County Chancery Judge Dewayne Thomas dismissed the Jackson residents’ lawsuit days after he removed Randolph as a defendant. U.S. District Judge Henry Wingate temporarily put the law on hold, which has blocked Randolph from appointing the four temporary circuit court judges.

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Persons: JACKSON, Critics, Jackson, Ann Saunders, Dorothy Triplett, Jackson aren’t, Triplett, Tate Reeves, Hinds, “, Mike Randolph, Dewayne Thomas, Randolph, Thomas, Henry Wingate, Wingate, “ Jackson, ” Organizations: Mississippi Supreme, Capitol Police, Republican, Republican Gov, Democrats, Jackson, NAACP, Mississippi ., District Locations: Miss, Mississippi, Jackson, Hinds, Hinds County, Mississippi . U.S