Jackson Free Press

A report in the Olivia Y case, filed on Jan. 6, found that an infant died within five days after entering the state's foster care system. The report found that the state had not inspected the home where the baby died before the baby was placed there. Judith Meltzer, from the Center for Study of Social Policy, found that the baby's death was a result of poor documentation and failure to "properly collect and document information significant to the licensing process" and "record information in the case record."

Mississippi's foster care system has actually gotten worst, the report found. Only 2 percent of children entering the foster care system received a health exam within 30 days, and 2 percent of foster parents received all the relevant medical information on a foster child within 15 days of placement.

The Olivia Y case has been ongoing since 2004, since the state was sued by A Better Childhood, a national nonprofit advocacy organization, on the state's foster care children's behalf. On Dec. 22, 2015 the federal court issued an order requiring that the state create the Division of Family and Children's Services--separate from the Department of Human Services. Gov. Phil Bryant selected former Mississippi Supreme Court Judge David Chandler to be the executive director of the new division on Dec. 29, 2015.

The court order also requires increased compensation and technology for caseworkers as well as an increase in foster homes in the state. Executive director of A Better Childhood, Marcia Robinson Lowry said there are far too few foster homes and workers in the state, in a press release. "The facts could not be more clear," she said in the release. "The foster care system in Mississippi is well beyond crisis."

The following is a statement from Justice Kitchens' campaign:

Justice Jim Kitchens of Crystal Springs was the first candidate to file papers at the Secretary of State’s Office for the 2016 election when he qualified to seek election to a second term on the Mississippi Supreme Court this morning. Four seats on the nine-member court will be on ballots throughout the state for the November 8, 2016, election.

Although state judicial candidates run in nonpartisan elections, the Supreme Court contests will be on the same ballots as the presidential and congressional races.

Kitchens, a Copiah County resident, runs in the state’s Central District, which is comprised of twenty-two counties. This year two of the high court’s seats will be in play in the Northern District, and one in the southern District.

“Although there was no doubt in my mind that I would run again, it’s official now,” Kitchens said. “Today I filed my qualifying papers with the Secretary of State and paid the required fee. This was the earliest possible date on which I could sign up to run in the 2016 election. I am grateful for the encouragement I’ve received from everyday people and from attorneys in all segments of the Bar. I plan to continue devoting myself to making sound legal decisions on our state’s highest court because I am keenly aware that those decisions affect the lives of every man, woman, and child in Mississippi.”

A graduate of the University of Southern Mississippi and the University of Mississippi School of Law, Kitchens is a lifelong resident of Crystal Springs. Before seeking election to the Supreme Court, he practiced law for forty-one years, nine of which were spent as District Attorney for the 14th Circuit Court District. He and his wife, Mary T. Kitchens, have five adult children and eleven grandchildren, all of whom live in Crystal Springs. Mrs. Kitchens, a retired public school teacher, is the executive director of Mississippi’s Toughest Kids Foundation.

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Gov. Phil Bryant has filled both Mississippi Supreme Court vacancies, following the departure of Justices Randy Pierce and David Chandler. Former District 1 Court of Appeals Judge James Maxwell and tenth district chancellor Dawn Beam will join the state's highest court in the new year.

Chief Justice Bill Waller Jr. said in statement that Judge Maxwell's "energy and experience will serve the court and the citizens of the state well.” Waller expressed enthusiasm at Beam's arrival to the court. In a statement, he said Judge Beam has continued to go above standards in helping her court's district convert to an all electronic filing system. Beyond clerical duties, Waller said Beam "has tirelessly worked to resolve issues regarding placement and supervision of abused and neglected children.”

Judge Beam has been involved with her district's work to guarantee safe homes for all children and recently spoke at a community meeting in December praising the local Department of Human Services workers in Marion County for the changes they've made in their office--including upping personnel numbers. The increased personnel led to 160 children being removed from their homes due to court orders that cited deplorable living conditions or drug abuse at home.

Judge Maxwell was appointed to the district court by former Gov. Haley Barbour in 2009 and re-elected in 2014. He practiced civil law in Jackson and worked as an assistant U.S. attorney in the northern district of Mississippi.

The Mississippi Public Service Commission's Northern District Commissioner Brandon Presley issued the following statement about the approval of the state's first net-metering rule:

JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI - (December 3, 2015) – Today, the Public Service Commission unanimously passed a groundbreaking rule allowing net metering in the state. Net metering is the process by which individual utility customers who use solar panels or other renewable energy generators can sell back their excess power to the power companies. The electricity the customers produce can be placed back on the electric grid to offset what they otherwise would pay on their power bill.

In early January of 2011, the PSC initiated a study of the costs and benefits of net metering. Today’s decision is the culmination of nearly 5 years of work by the Commission.

“Mississippians are self-sufficient. They like to fix their own cars and grow their own food. They should be able to make their own power, too,” Presley said.

The rule requires that customers who produce excess electricity be compensated at the cost the utility will not have to spend each month, plus 2.5 cents for unquantifiable benefits. To assist low income customers, the Commission orders that each utility file a report on the feasibility of community solar by summer, 2016. Further, the first 1,000 low income customers will receive an additional 2 cents/kWh as a way of offsetting some initial costs. The order further protects consumers by establishing a joint working group to address all concerns raised in the docket. The effectiveness of the rule will be evaluated in 5 years.

“Passing this rule is a big step toward creating a solar market in our state; a step that could one day benefit all ratepayers. No one can predict what the cost of electricity or gas will be tomorrow but I can tell you that the sunshine will be free,” Presley concluded.

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The Mississippi Supreme Court has ruled Lauren Czekala-Chatham's divorce legal in concurrence with the ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges, the U.S. Supreme Court case that legalized same-sex marriage in June. Czekala-Chatham filed for divorce from her estranged wife in 2013 in Mississippi, and has been waiting for an order from the Mississippi Supreme Court since July when both the state and Czekala-Chatham's lawyer filed entry motions for judgment in the case following the Obergefell decision.

After a four-month silence, the Mississippi Supreme Court has finally ruled, but not without pontificating. Five of the Mississippi Supreme Court justices signed the order in support of granting Czekala-Chatham a divorce. Chief Justice William Waller and Justices Michael Randolph, Ann Lamar, Randy Pierce and David Chandler ordered a short entry of judgment in Czekala-Chatham's favor, reversing the previous DeSoto County Court ruling that said Czekala-Chatham could not get a divorce. Justice Pierce wrote a separate statement in support of the court's order.

Four justices objected to the order, however. Justices Jess Dickinson, Josiah Coleman and Leslie King, however, in three separate written statements, objected to the order, and Justice James Kitchens joined Justice King's statement. The 36-page order and statements are available here.

Czekala-Chatham released the following statement after the court's ruling:

"I'm happy this battle has been won. But the war on discrimination is still on going. I continue to struggle with the negative consequences that being in the public's eye has caused. I will soon be divorce (sic) from my former spouse. And realize there are still road blocks when testing discrimination laws. So much still needs to be addressed. This fight has damaged my life in ways I can't recovered (sic) from. Searching for employment for 18 months has put a mental and a financial strain on me. Any potential employer can google my name and I'm dropped as a potential candidate. You can win the battle but the war on discrimination is very much real."

Candidates running for state office filed their final pre-election campaign finance reports on Oct. 27. Click a candidate's name to view the full report.

Governor

Phil Bryant (Republican)

Amount spent this election: $2.74 million

Amount still on-hand: $1.38 million

Robert Gray (Democrat)

Amount spent on this election: $3,100

Amount still on-hand: $1,700

Lieutenant Governor

Tate Reeves (Republican)

Amount spent on this election: $640,000

Amount still on-hand: $3.6 million

Tim Johnson (Democrat)

Amount spent this election: $213,000

Amount still on-hand: $15,900

Secretary of State

Delbert Hosemann (Republican)

Amount spent this election: $321,000

Amount still on-hand: $1.2 million

Charles Graham (Democrat)

Amount spent this election: $8,500

Amount still on-hand: $150

Attorney General

Jim Hood (Democrat)

Amount spent this election: $1.26 million

Amount still on-hand: $350,000

Mike Hurst (Republican)

Amount spent this election: $861,000

Amount still on-hand: $86,000

State Auditor

Stacey Pickering (Republican)

Amount spent this election: $302,000

Amount still on-hand: $49,000

Jocelyn “Joce” Pritchett (Democrat)

Amount spent this election: $158,000

Amount still on-hand: $4,000

Treasurer

Lynn Fitch (Republican)

Amount spent this election: $395,000

Amount still on-hand: $5,700

Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce

Cindy Hyde-Smith (Republican)

Amount spent this election: $111,000

Amount still on-hand: $162,000

Addie Lee Green (Democrat)

Amount spent this election: $765

Amount still on-hand: $5,700

*Numbers rounded for clarity, incumbents listed first; numbers taken from October 27, 2015 Campaign Finance Report Filings with the Secretary of State's office.

The Rankin County School District is under fire for one teacher's disparaging comments against atheism. The American Humanist Association's legal center sent the district a letter on Tuesday detailing a complaint from a student and her parent that said the student's history teacher, who is also a pastor at a Baptist Church, has made several jabs at atheism in comments made in class throughout the year.

Northwest Rankin High School, where this history teacher teaches, has had trouble with the First Amendment before. A few months ago, the district came to a settlement with a former student who sued and won after she was forced to attend a blatantly Christian assembly during school hours.

The letter is not a lawsuit, but it asks the district to comply with the Establishment Clause and provide written notices to all faculty reminding them to not make remarks "promoting religion and disparaging atheism." The American Humanist Association has asked for a response from the district within a week. The seven-page letter details parts of the Constitution and legal history that could be argued to prove the teacher's comments unconstitutional.

Monica Miller, an attorney at the association's legal center wrote, "Good faith is not a defense to contempt and you are court-ordered to ensure that your employees are complying with the Consent Decree and Establishment Clause."

The American Humanist Association provided counsel to Magdalene Bedi, the Northwest Rankin High School student who sued and won after being forced to attend a Christian assembly in 2013. The district must pay damages to Bedi for additional violations since they violated two consent decrees after she filed her original lawsuit.

On Sept. 24, Republican nominee for Mississippi state attorney general alleged that incumbent Democrat Jim Hood interfered with an investigation into a Mendenhall police chief. Hood's campaign characterized Hurst's allegations as desperate and "a complete lie." Today, Hood's camp slammed Hurst again, releasing the following statement, published here verbatim:

JACKSON, Miss (Friday, Sept. 25, 2015) – The Mississippi State Auditor’s retired supervising investigator over the case of former Mendenhall Police Chief Bruce Barlow today refuted the lies told by candidate Mike Hurst in his failed effort to save his campaign for attorney general.

Denver Smith, retired Mississippi State Audit, Senior Special Agent with Investigations from 1992 to 2015, issued the following statement through the Jim Hood for Attorney General Campaign:

"In all the time that I worked on the Barlow case, we never heard anything about the Attorney General's office doing anything illegal or improper. I've never heard anything like this until today (Thursday). I knew that the AG's office had closed the case because we were already involved in it with the FBI.”

Smith, who served as the state auditor’s supervising investigator in the Barlow case, continued:

“I checked with other agents who worked the case and asked them if anyone ever said that the AG's office did anything illegal or checked to see if they (the Attorney’s General’s Office) might have tipped Barlow off. These other agents all said they'd never heard of this and knew nothing about it."

Smith’s statement confirms Attorney General Jim Hood’s earlier statement that his office had been investigating the Barlow case in 2010 and then coordinated with the FBI after learning they were conducting their own investigation. The FBI stated they planned to bring federal charges and, based on that information, the Attorney General’s Office transferred its case file to the FBI and closed its state case. Barlow was ultimately convicted,

“First, Mr. Hurst owes an apology to the dedicated investigators and staff in the Attorney General’s Office who he shamefully and falsely accused of wrongdoing,” said Jonathan Compretta, campaign manager for the Jim Hood for Attorney General Campaign. “Second, we call on him to cease airing his fabricated television ads and stop the lies.”

The true testament to Hood’s integrity and character is reflected in the 41 Mississippi sheriff’s and district attorneys who endorsed him on Thursday, the most of any candidate in this year’s statewide elections. Hurst, who used an outgoing sheriff defeated in a primary campaign to concoct the Barlow story, has prosecuted and convicted three times fewer public officials for corruption than Jim Hood, yet touts his undersized record as a reason voters should elect him.

"Jim Hood’s record and his support from law enforcement officers speak volumes about why Mississippians trust him to protect their families,” Compretta said. “Hurst has a record of untruths and ambitious lies that Mississippians from Houston to Hickory can spot in a minute. We hope he will do the right thing and take down his ads.”

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Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood defended his decision to defend Mississippi in a lawsuit against the state's same-sex adoption ban today, calling it a procedural issue.

The Campaign for Southern Equality recently sued the Mississippi Department of Human Services to challenge the constitutionality of the ban, the last law in the nation that still has an absolute ban preventing same-sex couples from adopting regardless of the couples' qualifications.

In a motion filed Sept. 11, Hood stated that Mississippi is not required to allow same-sex couples to adopt, maintaining that the state should continue to encourage adoption by opposite sex couples.

In an interview with the Jackson Free Press this afternoon, Hood said the plaintiffs should have gone through a chancery court and initiated an adoption proceeding. He added that it's his responsibility to defend the state in the case.

"That's who applies that law, not the attorney general not the Department of Human Services," Hood said, referring to chancery court. "There's a difference between gay marriage and gay adoption and they need to be in the proper forum, in state court."

Hood's motion states: “While the Supreme Court’s decisions in Obergefell v. Hodges and United States v. Windsor recently established that the federal and state governments must recognize valid same sex marriages, and states must license them, over-extending those decisions to purportedly invalidate Section 93-17-3(5) through a preliminary injunction would be entirely inappropriate."

Hood leans on a decade-old decision from the 11th U.S. Circuit Court, Lofton v. Secretary of the Department of Children and Family Services, in which the court upheld a Florida ban on adoption by same-sex couples because LGBT couldn't marry at the time.

“Governor Bryant and Attorney General Hood continue to demonstrate that they’d rather continue legal discrimination against LGBT families than give children in need the best chance of finding a loving home,” said Rob Hill, state director of the Human Rights Campaign Mississippi in a statement. “Despite this discriminatory ban, Mississippi has one of the highest numbers of LGBT people raising children than anywhere in the country. Every major child welfare organization agrees that same-sex couples are just as capable of raising loved and well-adjusted children and their hetereosexual counterparts. Shame on the governor and attorney general for asserting otherwise, shame on them for not working in the best interests of children, and shame on them for continuing to keep the Magnolia State tethered to a discriminatory past.”

Jonathan Compretta and Michael Rejebian, co-campaign managers for 42 For Better Schools, filed an 11-page lawsuit today asking a judge to order that the Initiative 42 ballot measure's full text be printed on the Nov. 3 ballot. Currently the ballot states the initiative title, the section of the Constitution being amended and the Legislative Budget Office Fiscal Analysis.

After a denied records request and the Legislative Budget Office analysis changing (since the March version) on the sample ballot released last week, 42 For Better Schools is hoping to bring clarity to the November election ballot by putting the full text of their proposed change to Mississippi's Constitution in writing.

The plaintiffs cite Section 273 of the Mississippi Constitution as the basis for their legal action. In this section, the Constitution states that:

"The sponsor of an initiative shall identify in the text of the initiative the amount and source of revenue required to implement the initiative. If the initiative requires a reduction in any source of government revenue, or a reallocation of funding from currently funded programs, the sponsor shall identify in the text of the initiative the program or programs whose funding must be reduced or eliminated to implement the initiative. Compliance with this requirement shall not be a violation of the subject matter requirements of this section of the Constitution. "

42 For Better Schools argue that the approved ballot does not contain the original initiative language proposing a multi-year phase-in to fully fund K-12 schools, which have been fully funded only twice since the 1997 passage of the MAEP, the funding formula. Initiative 42 proponents have previously stated that their intention is not that the Legislature fully fund public education immediately, and they understand that if excess funds are used, it might take almost seven years to fully fund MAEP. The House Appropriations Committee still met to discuss budget cuts, however, and have maintained that if the initiative passes, they will have to cut almost every state agency's budget.

Dan Aykroyd, best known for his work as a ghostbuster, Canadian vodka mogul, and supporter of outgoing Sheriff Tyrone Lewis, still wants to help end gun violence in Hinds County.

Aykroyd, whom Lewis deputized into the reserves last year and hit the campaign trail for Lewis earlier this year, made a plea on his Facebook page yesterday:

"Congratulations to the new Sheriff Elect for Hinds County Mississippi. When he persuades enough Supervisors to alter the by-laws so that 'Gas for Guns' can proceed then I'll free up my $10,000 but not until it's perfectly legal as per stipulations pointed out by state Representative Gibson (sic). I believe this initiative and more like it are essential in a state where gun violence exceeds most of that in the entire Western world. I believe in the future of Hinds County."

As a point of clarification, Victor Mason, who defeated Lewis in August still has to get by Les Tannehill to be the sheriff for real for real.

But the stipulations Aykroyd is referring to came a few months ago when Rep. Andy Gipson, R-Braxton, and chairman of a House judiciary committee, put the kibosh on a plan for Aykroyd to provide $10,000 in gasoline gift cards in exchange for guns. Gipson intervened, issuing a statement saying that gun buyback programs are illegal. In 2014, after a few years of trying, the Legislature passed a bill outlawing gun buyback programs.

"I think it's a dangerous thing," Gipson, who sponsored the 2014 bill, told WLBT last year. "As we have seen in other states, it has the potential for corruption, the potential to increase crimes with stolen guns to be brought in. That's the reason we have the law."

It was a bill that legislators like Gipson and Rep. Gary Chism, R-Columbus, chairman on the House Insurance Committee, filed that the National Rifle Association has pushed for years. The JFP reported when the bill was going through the legislative process:

Doug Bowser, president of the Mississippi chapter of the NRA, told the JFP in 2012 that such programs are a "swindle" and "a feel-good thing" that do little to deter violent crime.

"I think the worst part is that people bring in unserviceable guns, and they get money for them," Bowser said. Bowser said he believes local governments should put more resources on imposing harsher penalties on criminals.

The 2010 report "Trace the Guns: The Link Between Gun Laws and Interstate Trafficking" determined that Mississippi supplied 50 out-of-state "crime guns" per 100,000 residents--triple the national average of 14.1.

In 2011, the NRA has also weighed in against a proposal for a pilot gun buyback program in Delaware in a statement at the time: "This legislation is nothing more then an expensive solution in search of a problem.

"While proponents of this bill claim it will reduce crime in Delaware, it will only serve as another drain on taxpayer money that could be better used by police to …

The Jackson City Council outlined more than $7 million in savings in order to avoid Mayor Tony Yarber's proposal to furlough city workers and raise local property taxes to fill a budget hole.

Yarber proposed a one-day-per-month furlough for full-time employees and a property tax increase of 8 percent to shore up a projected $15 million deficit.

Council President Melvin Priester Jr. presented an alternative, a 10-point plan consisting mostly of freezing job vacancies that are budgeted for but currently unfilled in addition to making other staffing cuts.

Council members say they're double-checking the numbers, and will provide final totals later. The plan, the details of which were outlined in a public meeting this afternoon at city hall, includes:

• Reducing the Jackson Zoo's requested allocation in half, from $1.2 million to $600,000

• Reducing certain reserve expenses, including $1.5 million for an expense related to the Jackson Redevelopment Authority that Priester said would not require assistance from the city.

• Freeze more than $2 million slotted for the police, fire, and public works departments.

• Cutting about $494,000 from city hall salaries, including: $200,000 from the city clerk's office, which the council oversees; $200,000 in constituent services, which the mayor's office oversees, $86,000 from the chief-administrative officer's office; and 5 percent from the salaries of city council members. (City council members earn $25,000 per year; the council president receives an extra $2,000.)

• Freeze $120,000 in unfilled positions at municipal court.

• Reducing expenditures on outside consultants by at least $115,000

• Reducing expenses on software and equipment

• Reducing travel, dues and memberships by $95,000

• Reducing expenditures on emergency contracts

• Reducing the Department of Parks and Recreation budget, including for maintenance at the city's golf courses.

In addition, the council plans to introduce plans to increase revenue, including for $20 million in outstanding water and sewer bills.

Ward 1 Councilman Ashby Foote has proposed using JPD to collect delinquent water bills and splitting the revenue with the department. Foote also suggested turning over management of the golf courses to the Jackson State golf program and letting an organization take over running the Russell C. Davis Planetarium.

Budget Committee Chairman and Ward 4 Councilman De'Keither Stamps said he wants the city to get into the asphalt manufacturing and water bottling businesses. He added that the city should charge the state for providing JPD security to the state fair in October. The city has unsuccessfully made the same request of the state over the years.

Yarber's office released a statement this evening: “The Administration will review the City Council’s budget recommendations and consider the proposals going forward. Council members have verbally proposed measures that will ultimately result in mass layoffs, which the Administration had hoped to avoid. I am deeply concerned about the impact on public safety, mainly because council members have proposed significant reductions in the Police Department and the Fire Department. The council has also proposed drastic cuts to the Department of …

A lawsuit to challenge Mississippi's same-sex couple adoption ban was filed in federal court by the Campaign for Southern Equality today. Mississippi is the only state in the nation that still bans gay couples from adopting children. The case, Campaign for Southern Equality v. Mississippi Department of Human Services, was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi on behalf of four same-sex couples. Mississippi has the highest proportion of same-sex couples raising biological, adopted or step children according to a Williams Institute study from 2013.

Roberta Kaplan is the lead counsel in the case. Kaplan also represented the plaintiffs in the Campaign for Southern Equality v. Bryant case that began the push to legalize same-sex marriage in Mississippi. The Campaign for Southern Equality and Family Equality Council are representing the plaintiffs. According to a New York Times article, the offices of the attorney general and the governor did not return calls for comment by Tuesday afternoon.

The state admitted that it has not met court-order requirements in a 7-year-old lawsuit, Olivia Y v. Bryant, intended to change the state's foster care system. Gov. Bryant has agreed to hire an Executive Director of the Department of Family and Children's Services, which will soon become a cabinet-level position. Additionally, a group will be hired to consult with the state over the next four months and recommend changes necessary to protect Mississippi children going forward. Bryant has also agreed to call a special session of the legislature if the recommendations require legislative changes.

The press release from A Better Childhood, an advocacy organization that works on behalf of abused and neglected children, has been re-printed below in full:

Facing an evidentiary hearing for contempt scheduled to begin in federal court on August 10, the state has conceded that it has not met court-ordered requirements in the 7-year-old lawsuit, Olivia Y v. Bryant, intended to reform the state’s foster care system.

In an Agreed Order submitted to Judge Tom Lee on July 21, the state agreed with factual charges made against it in reports submitted by the court-appointed monitor. In the Order, the parties also agreed on steps that will determine whether the plaintiffs will continue to seek a receivership, this time based on specific recommendations from a neutral consulting group, or whether the state can and will make the changes necessary to finally reform the Mississippi foster care system.

The plaintiffs in the lawsuit, who are all of the children in foster care in the state, had asked the court to find the state in contempt of the court orders for reform, and to appoint a receiver to take over the administration of the state’s foster care system. The state’s admission of non-compliance resolves the first part of the contempt motion. The order submitted to the court today directs the employment of an expert group to make recommendations to achieve compliance, and leaves open the question whether a receiver will be required to administer the state’s foster care system.

The lawsuit was filed in 2004, asserting widespread violations of children’s constitutional rights in the foster care system. Although the case was settled in 2008, the state has never been in compliance with the terms of the settlement.

This is the second contempt motion filed in the case. After the first motion, a new settlement agreement was approved by the Court, but failed to produce necessary results.

“It was clear to us, given the state’s history in implementing these court orders, that the state simply lacks the capacity or the will to run a child welfare system that protects the children of Mississippi,” said Marcia Robinson Lowry, executive director of A Better Childhood, a national advocacy organization that works on behalf of abused and neglected children. “We have asked the federal court to appoint a receiver to take over the system. However, we think the appointment of a well-qualified expert group to make specific recommendations is an important step …

The Grenada County circuit clerk resigned today because she did not want to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. According to an AP report, Linda Barnette has served as the circuit clerk in Grenada County for 24 years, and was scheduled to retire after the November elections. She decided she couldn’t wait, however, because legalizing a same-sex marriage goes against her religious beliefs.

According to Campaign for Southern Equality’s Lindsey Simerly, as of Monday 49 counties in the state are issuing same-sex marriage licenses. Technically the Supreme Court’s ruling that legalized same-sex marriage in the U.S. on Friday should overrule the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, that is expected to lift its stay on the Campaign for Southern Equality v. Bryant case soon. However, following a statement by Attorney General Jim Hood issued on Monday, some county clerks have decided to wait until the stay is lifted to begin issuing licenses. Regardless, Simerly also said that no one should have to drive more than an hour in Mississippi to get a marriage license now.

The Mississippi case will likely move forward after both sides have filed briefs requested by July 1.

Lawmakers cautioned the audience at the Mississippi Association of Educators event Friday about the state’s attack against the public school system.

“And it’s not an assault without significant resources. They’re sincere in their efforts to do what they can to undermine the efforts of public educators,” said Rep. Kevin Horan, D-Grenada.

MAE awarded Horan the “Humanized Education” award alongside Pastor Marcus Dudley for both men’s work supporting public education and setting an example to others in their communities.

The group of educators also gave Rep. Cecil Brown, D-Jackson, the “Friend of Education” award for the years he’s spent fighting for public education in the Legislature. Brown served as the House Education Committee chairman for seven years.

Brown urged educators and advocates to become more active in supporting candidates who believe in the public school system.

“I’m sorry you don’t like (politics), but that’s just the way it is,” Brown said. He added that turning the state around in regards to education must happen through state government and through elected officials. “Elections matter,” he said. “We don’t govern you. You govern us.”

Brown is running for Public Service Commission this year. Horan said he hopes to live up to Brown’s legacy by continuing to advocate for public education during his service in the Legislature.

“Being in favor of quality public education just comes second nature, because that’s the way I was raised, and unfortunately people who are policy makers in this state just don’t feel that way,” Horan said.

MAE also recognized achievement in educator associations across the state in several categories. The group honored Jackson Association of Educators for its instructional and professional development, its system for filing grievances, and its support of political candidates.

Two education students who have the intent to teach in Mississippi, Miranda Williams and Trenton Miller, received $1,000 scholarships.

Ahead of the Friday deadline to qualify for state and county offices, several Jacksonians have qualified as Democrats in several races. That includes some old faces from local politics trying their hands at new, higher seats.

Bruce Burton of Jackson has qualified to run for the Central District seat on the Public Service Commission; Democratic state Rep. Cecil Brown has been actively campaigning for the seat for months.

Robert Amos, who has run for Jackson City Council and mayor, will compete for the Mississippi Department of Transportation's Central District post.

Democratic Party records show that Stan Alexander, a former Hinds County prosecutor now with the attorney general's office, has qualified to seek the Hinds County district attorney's seat. DA Robert Smith as of this morning has not qualified for reelection, party information shows.

Plavise Patterson, a businesswoman and community activist who ran for Jackson city council's Ward 5 in 2013, has qualified to run in Mississippi House District 69 along with incumbent Alyce Clarke. Corinthian Sanders, another perennial name on local ballots, will run for House District 72 against incumbent Kimberly Campbell.

And Charles E. Graham of Jackson qualified to contend for state auditor in the Democratic primary as well. Republicans in that race include incumbent Stacey Pickering and Madison Mary Hawkins Butler.

The following is a verbatim press release from the American Civil Liberties Union.

ATLANTA – The American Civil Liberties Union today filed a federal lawsuit challenging debt collection practices that have resulted in the jailing of people simply because they are poor. The case was brought on behalf of Kevin Thompson, a black teenager in DeKalb County, Georgia, who was jailed because he could not afford to pay court fines and probation company fees stemming from a traffic ticket.

"Being poor is not a crime. Yet across the county, the freedom of too many people unfairly rests on their ability to pay traffic fines and fees they cannot afford," said Nusrat Choudhury, an attorney with the ACLU's Racial Justice Program. "We seek to dismantle this two-tiered system of justice that punishes the poorest among us, disproportionately people of color, more harshly than those with means."

The ACLU charges that DeKalb County and for-profit Judicial Correction Services Inc. (JCS) teamed up to engage in a coercive debt collection scheme that focuses on revenue generation at the expense of protecting poor people's rights.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled more than 30 years ago that locking people up merely because they cannot afford to pay court fines is contrary to American values of fairness and equality embedded in the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The court made clear that judges cannot jail someone for failure to pay without first considering their ability to pay, efforts to acquire money, and alternatives to incarceration.

No such consideration was given to Thompson, who was locked up for five days because he could not afford to pay $838 in fines and fees to the county and JCS – despite the fact that he tried his best to make payments. The lawsuit charges that Thompson's constitutional rights to an indigency hearing and to counsel were violated by DeKalb County, JCS, and the chief judge of the local court that sentenced him to jail.

"What happened to me, and others like me who try their best to pay fines and fees but fall short, is unfair and wrong," said Thompson. "I hope this lawsuit will help prevent other people from being jailed just because they are poor."

These debt collection practices have had a devastating impact on people of color in the Atlanta metropolitan area. While blacks make up 54 percent of the DeKalb County population, nearly all probationers jailed by the DeKalb County Recorders Court for failure to pay are black – a pattern replicated by other Georgia courts.

"In a country where the racial wealth gap remains stark, the link between driving while black and jailed for being poor has a devastating impact on communities of color," said Choudhury.

The case, Thompson v. DeKalb County, was filed in U.S. District Court in Atlanta. It names DeKalb County, Chief Judge Nelly Withers of the DeKalb County Recorders Court, and Judicial Correction Services Inc. as defendants. Rogers & Hardin LLP, the ACLU of Georgia, and Southern Center for …

The Secretary of State posted a new initiative to its website that reads:

Initiative #46 would amend the Constitution to restrict or define Mississippi’s heritage in the following areas: religion, official language, state flag, nickname, song, motto and state university mascots. Further, the initiative would prevent the consolidation of Alcorn State University, Delta State University, Jackson State University, Mississippi University for Women, and Mississippi Valley State University, designate the month of April “Confederate Heritage Month,” and reinstate Mississippi’s Constitutional boundaries.

The initiative was filed by Arthur Randallson, Magnolia State Heritage Campaign Director and former Tea Party of Mississippi Chairman. Randallson also previously proposed an initiative to amend the constitution to designate Colonel Reb the official mascot of the University of Mississippi.

Some say his current initiative is a way to declare Christianity the official religion of Mississippi. This pretty clearly violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, so it doesn't seem that the initiative would pass tests of constitutionality. Either way, the amendment proposal won't appear on the ballot in 2015 unless the group gets 107,216 certified signatures.

Jackson, MS – Five Mississippi school districts have joined the fight to recover their share of almost $134 million owed to them by the State of Mississippi under the Mississippi Adequate Education Program (“MAEP”).

Greene County, Humphreys County, Leland, North Bolivar and West Bolivar, join Clarksdale, Clay County, Greenville, Hattiesburg, Leake County, Okolona, Prentiss County, Richton, Simpson County, Smith County, Tate County, Wayne County, West Tallahatchie and Wilkinson County in seeking declaratory judgment to restore funding owed to them by the State. Previous release reported Forest Municipal would join legal action. School Board representatives have confirmed they will not.

The new districts will be joined into the same legal action with the original fourteen districts that filed legal claims in Hinds County Chancery Court in August. The districts allege the State of Mississippi has violated its own laws requiring full funding of the MAEP formula as amended in 2006. The law allowed the State a three-year period – 2007 through 2009 – to phase in full funding to the amounts called for by the formula.

The legal action also seeks to require the State to fully fund MAEP at the current formula levels the law requires. The State of Mississippi has failed to fully fund MAEP in every fiscal year since 2010.

As noted previously, under Miss. Code Ann. § 37-151-6, the law clearly reads:

Effective with fiscal year 2007, the Legislature shall fully fund the Mississippi Adequate Education Program.

Under Mississippi law, use of the word “shall” imposes a legal and binding agreement with the people of Mississippi. It is compulsory and provides no room for interpretation by the State. If the court rules that use of the word “shall” is open to interpretation, the State would be unable to make people pay their taxes, prosecute hundreds of crimes, or truly function as a government.

During the most recent legislative session, the State placed over $400 million in its “Rainy Day Fund” while underfunding education by more than $250 million. Filing for declaratory and injunctive relief is the only way for school districts to recover the money that has been kept from them over the past 6 years. These districts are also seeking injunctive relief to require the State resume full funding of MAEP for all districts going forward – not just those that have joined in the lawsuit.

Now that the suit has been filed, school districts that have not already joined the legal action may do so without court permission until the State’s answer is due. The Attorney General must answer on behalf of the State on or before September 29. After filing of the answer, remaining districts may only join after court permission is granted. School districts that fail to file for legal action may lose the right to recover any of the lost revenue.

For additional information, contact George Shelton at (601) 927-3044 or [email protected]. You may also find more information at www.maeppromisecampaign.com or go to www.facebook.com/mississippiadequateeducationpromise.