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A federal judge has ruled in favor of establishing a state-run court in Jackson, Mississippi, despite the NAACP’s objections and concerns about representation in the predominantly Black city.

The lawsuit, filed by NAACP attorneys against Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves and other state officials, argued that the new court system unfairly targets Jackson residents and would infringe on democracy, as judges and prosecutors are to be appointed by the state. Critics say this arrangement fails to reflect the city’s majority-Black population.

US District Judge Henry Wingate dismissed the motion to block the new court, stating in a filing that the court was “not persuaded” by the plaintiff’s arguments. “None of the Plaintiffs has alleged that he or she is in actual or imminent danger of experiencing any concrete and particularized injury resulting from the establishment of the [Capitol Complex Improvement District] Court or the challenged appointment of a judge or prosecutors for that court,” Wingate wrote.

This decision came despite the NAACP’s contention that the laws creating the court violated the 14th Amendment by discriminating against Jackson’s Black residents, aiming to impose a “separate and unequal policing structure and criminal justice system.”

The NAACP has expressed its determination to challenge this ruling, with a spokesperson confirming an appeal has been filed in the 5th Circuit