After years of controversy, the new CCID Court opens. See who the appointed judges are

After years of controversy, the new CCID Court opens. See who the appointed judges are

Three judges and a clerk were officially sworn in Friday during the grand opening of the controversial Capitol Complex Improvement District Court.

The new court covers the area of Jackson known as the CCID, which includes Downtown Jackson and — after an expansion last year — parts of Northeast Jackson, which some critics point out are the areas with the least amount of crime and hold much of the majority-Black city’s white population. While a ceremony was held on Friday, the official opening of the court, which was initially set for January 2024, will be 8 a.m. Monday, Jan. 27.

The CCID court was created by the disputed House Bill 1020, which was signed into law by Republican Gov. Tate Reeves in 2023. Reeves also attended the opening ceremony, heralding the opening of the court as “another critical step to the long-term success of our great capital city.”

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“The work they (the judges) do will be instrumental in helping to remove criminals from our streets and continue to make our capital city safe for residents, for visitors and for every law-abiding citizen,” Reeves said. “Make no mistake, Jackson’s best days are ahead of us.”

Mississippi Supreme Court Chief Justice Mike Randolph, from left, introduces judicial appointments to the Capitol Complex Improvement District Court Stanley Alexander, James Holland and Christoper Collins during a swearing-in ceremony at the new CCID Court in Jackson, Miss., Friday, Jan. 24, 2025. Judges Stanley Alexander and James Holland are fill-time judges and Christopher Collins will serve as a part-time judge.

Mississippi Supreme Court Chief Justice Mike Randolph, from left, introduces judicial appointments to the Capitol Complex Improvement District Court Stanley Alexander, James Holland and Christoper Collins during a swearing-in ceremony at the new CCID Court in Jackson, Miss., Friday, Jan. 24, 2025. Judges Stanley Alexander and James Holland are fill-time judges and Christopher Collins will serve as a part-time judge.

Mississippi Supreme Court Chief Justice Mike Randolph appointed the three judges, introduced and swore them in during the ceremony, which was attended by over 100 people. The three judges include Stanley Alexander, who is Black, James Holland and Christopher Collins, who are both white.

Who are the new CCID judges?

  • Holland, a lawyer at both the state and federal level, has practiced law for more than 40 years. Holland is a former president of the Mississippi Defense Lawyers Association and was national president of the Association of Defense Trial Attorney, among other roles. A graduate of Millsaps College, Holland received his juris doctor degree from the University of Mississippi School of Law. He has lived in the Fondren-area for more than 50 years.

  • Alexander, a prosecutor in different parts of the state for more than 20 years, has served as an assistant district attorney in the Fourth, Sixth and Seventh Judicial Districts. Most recently, he served as the senior assistant district attorney for the fourth judicial district, as well as the director of the division of public integrity for the attorney general’s office from 2009-2020. Alexander earned a degree from Mississippi College in 1989, as well as his juris doctor from the University of Mississippi School of Law in 1994. He is a Jackson-native, who attended Jackson Public Schools.

  • Collins, a judge since 1999, has been a circuit judge for the Eight Judicial District, which comprises of Leake, Neshoba, Newton and Scott counties. Collins also served as civil judge, domestic violence judge and Supreme Court Justice pro tem for the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians. Collins has 21 years of experience as a municipal prosecutor, as well as serving as a public defender for the Eighth Circuit Court District until 2016. He returned to private practice in 2020. Collins earned degrees from East Central Community College, located in Decatur, and Mississippi College and earned his juris doctor degree from the Mississippi College School of Law. He recently moved to Jackson.

Additionally, Randolph swore in the CCID court’s new clerk, Bryana McDougal, who served as a judicial assistant to former Supreme Court Justice Jim Kitchens for more than three years. Kitchens was defeated by Jenifer Branning in the 2024 elections. Before that, McDougal served as an assistant deputy clerk in the Office of the Supreme Court Clerk, as a Rankin County Justice Court deputy clerk and as an information security analyst. She grew up in Jackson and lives in Madison, earning three degrees from Belhaven University, including a doctorate.

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After Reeves gave his remarks, Republican lawmaker Trey Lamar, R-Senatobia, who is the current chairman of the Mississippi House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee, also celebrated the court’s opening. Lamar was one of the main authors of HB 1020.

“This CCID court is for the regular people of Jackson. The ones who want their children and their grandchildren to be able to play outside in the yard without fearing for their safety,” Lamar said.

The ceremony was held at the court’s temporary home at the old Continental Trailways Bus Station, located at 201 S. Jefferson St. in Jackson, but will eventually relocate to the Wright and Ferguson building once renovations are complete.

What will the CCID court adjudicate?

The CCID Court will adjudicate misdemeanor offenses and traffic citations investigated by the State Capitol Police, according to a press release. The court will also conduct initial appearances for felony offenses investigated by Capitol Police. All fines collected by the CCID Court will be forwarded to the City of Jackson.

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Traffic court will be held each Tuesday, misdemeanor trials will be conducted on Thursdays and initial felony appearances will be conducted each weekday morning.

Funding for two CCID judges, a part-time judge and support staff is allocated in section 24 of House Bill 1820, the judicial branch appropriation bill, which was adopted in 2024.

Last year, the Mississippi Attorney General’s Office told the Clarion Ledger that attorneys within its Public Integrity Division will be the ones to prosecute cases brought before the court.

How long will the judges serve?

Holland, Alexander and Collins are appointed for terms starting Jan. 1 2025 and continuing through July 1, 2027, which is the date of the legislatively enacted repealer on the CCID statute.

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But the repealer statute could be extended by the Mississippi Legislature, though Republican Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann, in April 2023, characterized the court as a temporary action that he hopes will not be necessary when 2027 comes.

HB 1020 passed: Mississippi House passes controversial House Bill 1020, sends to Gov. as session nears end

“We’re trying to get the system back on its feet. As soon as it gets there, then we need to be working on other matters,” Hosemann said at the time.

Whether or not the new CCID court will actually be temporary remains unclear. Hosemann did not respond to a request for comment.

Background on CCID and the new court

The CCID was initially created in 2017 as a way to help fund infrastructure projects in an area with a high number of state government properties that don’t pay property taxes. It was expanded in 2024, with the new boundaries including a large proportion of the majority-Black city’s white population.

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But in 2023, Republican lawmakers, pointing to the city’s high crime and murder rates, expanded the scope of the CCID — through HB 1020 — creating a new unelected court system and appointing judges within the existing Hinds County court system. A flurry of lawsuits were filed, including by both the NAACP and the ACLU, in an attempt to block the opening of the court. Attorneys challenged the court’s establishment, arguing that the fact that HB 1020 allows state-appointed judges to work alongside elected ones, as well as the new court not having an appeals process, was unconstitutional.

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But those lawsuits have since been dismissed, with the court being upheld as constitutional. Additionally, the state’s highest court ruled in 2023 that the CCID court will have an appeals process.

While Reeves, Lamar, Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch and other Republican lawmakers celebrated the opening of the court, in part, as a way to lighten the burden of caseloads on the city’s municipal courts, Democratic members of the Jackson delegation have previously shared criticisms.

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The Jackson delegation, as well as Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba, have characterized HB 1020 and the efforts of the majority-white Republican legislature as an attempt to control the majority-Black capital city. They contend the new court has frayed relationships not just between the city and the state’s elected officials, but the court also continued a trend of a damaging relationship between the city and state themselves.

Shortly before the Mississippi Senate passed the final version of HB 1020 in 2023, Jackson Sen. John Horhn, who is currently running to become mayor, called the bill “toxic legislation.”

“I will not be long, because I am tired. This has been the most tiring legislative session I’ve had in the 31 years I’ve been down here,” Horhn said. “It’s been also one of the most disappointing sessions that I’ve had when I look at the kind of toxic legislation that’s being directed towards me, and when I say me, I mean the people that I represent.”

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Jackson MS CCID court open

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