![]() ![]() HB 1020 is just one of many laws passed in the 2023 legislative session in states across the country that seek to restrict the electoral and judicial power of communities of color, including multiple bills in Mississippi. We in turn highlight alternative, evidence-based reforms to court backlogs that would be a better solution than HB 1020. Additionally, we argue that HB 1020, which was allegedly passed in order to respond to concerns about judicial backlogs, addresses these concerns in an unconstitutional manner. Our brief reinforces that the plaintiffs have standing to seek the injunction as taxpayers, voters, and direct participants in local democracy in Hinds County. Under the state constitution, judges are elected by the local community-HB 1020’s appointment of judges by the judicial branch therefore arguably violates the state constitution. They are seeking an injunction to stop the appointment of these four judges by the Chief Justice of the Mississippi Supreme Court. The plaintiffs in the case are residents of Hinds County, where Jackson is located. ![]() Public Rights Project filed an amicus brief as counsel for the City of Jackson in a case before the Supreme Court of Mississippi challenging HB 1020, a new law that creates four unelected judicial positions in the Hinds County Circuit Court. Mississippi - Challenge to Mississippi’s HB 1020 The case is set for oral argument on July 18, 2023.ħ/13/23 - Fitz-James v. This brief asks the Supreme Court to uphold that decision. The brief builds on PRP’s engagement on this issue in the Cole County Circuit Court, where that court issued a writ of mandamus to compel the AG’s action and prevent further delay. The brief explains how the Attorney General acted outside of his authority, caused a loss of over seventy days for signature collection, and stripped Missouri citizens of their sovereignty and constitutional right to initiative. The brief argues that the Attorney General’s refusal to approve and forward the papers necessary to move the ballot initiative forward is based on misstatements of Missouri law and a flawed understanding of the effects of abortion access. ![]() ![]() Missourians seek to enshrine reproductive rights in the state constitution by putting the issue to voters in 2024 but their effort has been blocked by the Missouri Attorney General. The Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas and Public Rights Project filed a brief in the Missouri Supreme Court in a reproductive rights/ballot initiative case. Attorney General Bailey (Missouri Supreme Court) Led by District Attorney Sherry Boston of Stone Mountain (DeKalb County) Judicial Circuit and joined by Towaliga District Attorney Jonathan Adams, Augusta District Attorney Jared Williams, and Cobb District Attorney Flynn Broady, our complaint asserts that SB 92 unconstitutionally infringes on their prosecutorial discretion, chills protected speech, and disenfranchises their constituents.Ĩ/1/23 - Boston v. Brown Law as local counsel, four district attorneys filed a preliminary injunction against the State of Georgia and members of the PAQC. With PRP as counsel, and Washington, Dreyer, and Associates and Bruce P. Georgia’s law is part of a trend of states adopting laws that infringe on the discretion of local prosecutors pursuing criminal justice reform. The PAQC sets its own standards for investigation and discipline, targeting progressive prosecutors who adopt alternative policies to incarceration. Members of the PAQC are appointed by partisan executive and legislative officials, including Governor Brian Kemp. SB 92 creates the Prosecuting Attorneys Qualifications Commission (“PAQC”), which has the authority to investigate and remove prosecutors from office. Public Rights Project filed a complaint on behalf of four District Attorneys in Georgia challenging the anti-democratic SB 92 law, which creates an unconstitutional oversight commission that threatens prosecutorial independence and overrides the will of voters. State of Georgia - Challenge to Georgia's SB 92 ![]()
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