Mississippi Today
Will Supreme Court rely on ‘plain reading’ of law in two highly partisan cases?
Two high-profile cases are pending where the nine justices on the Mississippi Supreme Court will decide whether to uphold the plain language of the law or find a reason to ignore that plain language.
In one case the justices are being asked to decide whether it is unconstitutional for the Legislature to pass a bill that gives public funds to private schools.
In the other, the justices are being asked to decide if it is OK for a candidate — Bob Hickingbottom — to wait 62 days after the deadline established in state law to appeal a decision of the state Democratic Executive Commission stating that he is ineligible to run for governor.
The two cases do not have much in common except for the fact that the language in the Mississippi code and state Constitution governing each issue is straight and direct. Also, both cases are highly partisan.
In general terms, Democrats oppose providing public funds to private schools. And many Republicans also badly want Hickingbottom to be on the August Democratic primary ballot to create additional work for Democratic gubernatorial frontrunner Brandon Presley.
In reality, the little-known Hickingbottom probably does not pose much of a threat, but any scenario that might make Presley's road to the November general election more difficult or bumpy is viewed as a victory by Republicans.
In that particular case, the state Democratic Executive Committee ruled back in February that Hickingbottom was not eligible to run for governor. Hickingbottom can make a strong argument that the executive committee acted outside the law in denying him a spot on the Democratic primary ballot. The committee ruled that because he did not file his statements of economic interest with the Ethics Commission or file campaign finance reports in previous elections, he was ineligible.
Apparently, under Mississippi law, not filing a campaign finance report or not filing a statement of economic interest so voters can know a candidate's financial ties and conflicts does not disqualify a person from running for office. That in itself might say something about the lack of seriousness the Mississippi Legislature places on transparency and ethics.
Nonetheless, Hickingbottom appeared to have a legitimate reason for the appeal of the Democratic executive committee's decision.
But the question before the Supreme Court could hinge a lot more on the law that states how long Hickingbottom had to file the appeal.
The law reads: “Any party aggrieved by the action or inaction of the appropriate executive committee may file a petition for judicial review to the circuit court of the county in which the executive committee whose decision is being reviewed sits. The petition must be filed no later than fifteen (15) days after the date the petition was originally filed with the appropriate executive committee.”
Hickingbottom waited 77 days — not 15 — to file his appeal.
In ruling in favor of Hickingbottom, Hinds County Circuit Judge Forrest Johnson Jr. said the law establishing a deadline to appeal is not that important.
“The right of citizens to run for elected office, while not yet recognized on the same level as voting itself, is at least a quasi-fundamental pillar of our democracy,” the judge wrote. “More democracy is better than less democracy. In summary, the plaintiff's right to ballot access in this case prevails over his delay in seeking relief from this court.”
In other words, the judge is saying it is OK to ignore some laws. Using that logic, perhaps it would be OK for people to continue to vote past Election Day or to ignore provisions requiring a voter ID. After all, more democracy is better than less democracy.
At any rate, the executive committee of the state Democratic Party is asking the Supreme Court to take the plain language of the law and overturn Johnson's decision.
In the other case, the state Constitution plainly reads: “No religious or other sect or sects shall ever control any part of the school or other educational funds of this state; nor shall any funds be appropriated toward the support of any sectarian school, or to any school that at the time of receiving such appropriation is not conducted as a free school.”
That no funds should be appropriated to a school that is not a free school seems clear in the law.
Based on the proverbial “plain language” arguments that judges like to cite, both cases appear to be slam dunks.
Judges often say they look first at and follow the “the plain language” of the law in deciding a case. But in recent years, Mississippi Supreme Court justices have been inconsistent in adhering to that “plain language” principle.
With two highly partisan cases before the high court, the question is: Which reading will the justices take?
This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
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Mississippi Today
On this day in 1964
May 2, 1964
Henry Hezekiah Dee and Charles Eddie Moore, two 19-year-old Black Americans, were simply trying to get a ride back home. Instead, Klansmen abducted them, took them to the Homochitto National Forest, where they beat the pair and then drowned them in the Mississippi River.
When their bodies were found in an old part of the river, FBI agents initially thought they had found the bodies of three missing civil rights workers, James Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner.
Thanks to the work of Moore's brother, Thomas, and Canadian filmmaker David Ridgen, federal authorities reopened the case in 2005. Two years later, a federal jury convicted James Ford Seale. He received three life sentences and died in prison.
Ridgen did a podcast on the case for the CBC series, “Somebody Knows Something.”
This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
Mississippi Today
Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann shuts down House Republican idea to let voters decide Medicaid expansion
After House Republicans asked Senate leaders to agree to a proposal that would place Medicaid expansion on November's statewide ballot, Senate leader Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann said the idea had no legs in his chamber and added that expansion talks were likely done for the year.
House Speaker Jason White, a Republican from West, announced the idea in a statement Wednesday night and pointed out it had become clear over the last few days that House and Senate Republicans were still far from agreement over the best way to expand Medicaid coverage.
The bill narrowly escaped death on Wednesday afternoon until House Democrats forced a procedural vote that granted everyone more time to find compromise.
“This session proved that a consensus has formed and we all share the same goal: to provide healthcare access to low-income Mississippians,” White said. “Creating a referendum process for this issue is a clear direction forward. We hope that our colleagues in the Senate will take this opportunity to finally hear from the electorate once and for all.”
About an hour after White announced the referendum idea, Hosemann poured cold water on the idea with a statement of his own.
“We had some discussions with senators today about the possibility of a non-binding referendum on the ballot and the idea was not well received,” Hosemann said. “We are disappointed in the outcome this year, but value the discussions which occurred this session — the first time this Legislature has seriously considered healthcare reform in our state.
“I remain committed to finding ways to increase access for working Mississippians who otherwise do not have the resources for a simple check-up or an extended hospital stay,” Hosemann continued. “A strong work requirement, with necessary exceptions, is a bottom line for many Senators. We look forward to continuing the conversation on access to healthcare in the future.”
READ MORE: Lawmakers buy one more day to reach Medicaid expansion compromise
The House's full proposal was not made available on Wednesday night, but White's statement said the proposed referendum would be two-fold: Voters would decide if they think Medicaid should be expanded to the working poor and if the program should include work requirements for recipients.
House Democratic caucus leadership supported the House Republican effort, saying in a statement Wednesday night that if the language in the House's referendum is “very clear” and allows working Mississippians to get the “health care we know that they need,” then they would likely support the new proposal.
“We are excited about the opportunity to finally give the people of this state a chance to voice what we know to be — that they want this, and they want it as quickly as possible,” read a statement from Reps. Robert Johnson and Daryl Porter, the House Democratic leaders.
The statewide ballot referendum idea was seen late Wednesday as a renewed chance for Republicans to find an expansion agreement — something that had become elusive during the first legislative session that expansion was earnestly considered.
At the heart of the Senate and House disagreement was a requirement that mandated Medicaid recipients work — a provision that the federal government had blocked in 13 other states.
House and Senate Republican negotiators earlier in the week agreed to a deal that would expand Medicaid only if a strict work requirement was approved by the federal government. House Republicans, who had previously proposed an expansion program that would go into effect even without federal approval of a work requirement, caved late Monday and agreed to the Senate Republicans' demand to include the make-or-break work requirement provision.
But House Democrats, who had for weeks vowed to not support any expansion plan that included a work requirement, fulfilled that promise on Wednesday and threatened to vote against the Republican bill on the House floor. The Democrats' dug-in position against the bill would likely have killed the proposal, which needed a three-fifths majority vote to pass.
Rep. Bryant Clark, D-Ebenezer, said he was one of 29 Democrats who would not vote for the agreement as it stood on Wednesday. He said he was unsure whether he would support the issue going to a statewide referendum.
“I think we as a Legislature should do it — that's what people hired us to do,” Clark said. “I wouldn't be just totally opposed to that idea, but sometimes the devil is in the details. What would be put before the people? Would it be a clean expansion proposal, or something else? I am 85% sure the citizens of Mississippi would pass something that is a clean Medicaid expansion proposal.”
Note: This article will be updated.
This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
Mississippi Today
Lawmakers buy one more day to reach Medicaid expansion compromise
Facing a late Wednesday deadline, the House and Senate procedurally voted to give themselves at least one more day to deliberate a proposal that could make Mississippi the 41st state to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act.
House and Senate Republican negotiators earlier in the week agreed to a deal that would expand Medicaid only if a strict work requirement for recipients was approved by the federal government. House Republicans, who had previously proposed an expansion program that would go into effect even without federal approval of a work requirement, caved late Monday and agreed to the Senate Republicans' demand to include the make-or-break work requirement provision.
But House Democrats, who had for weeks vowed to not support any expansion plan that included a work requirement, fulfilled that promise on Wednesday and threatened to vote against the Republican bill on the House floor. The Democrats' dug-in position against the bill would likely have killed the proposal, which needed a three-fifths majority vote to pass.
With the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services under the Biden administration unlikely to approve Mississippi's Medicaid expansion plan with a work requirement, Senate Republican leaders have expressed optimism that Donald Trump would be reelected and that he would approve Mississippi's plan.
However, the realpolitik is that Trump has loudly voiced his opposition to Medicaid expansion, and his approval of Mississippi's work requirement would usher expansion in for the Magnolia state over the wishes of a Republican governor (Tate Reeves) whom he supports. When he was president, the Trump administration approved Medicaid work requirements for some states, but only as a means of limiting participation where it had already been expanded, not to help a state implement expansion.
Waiting on approval from CMS under either Biden or Trump could keep Mississippi's expansion of coverage as it now stands in limbo indefinitely.
“We will vote for Medicaid expansion,” Rep. Robert Johnson III, the House minority leader, said after the recommittal on Wednesday. “This is not Medicaid expansion. At least we got a do-over.”
Johnson said that shy of going back to the original House position — or removing the work requirement the Senate demanded — House Democrats want to remove language that says the state would reapply for work requirements each year while expansion remains in limbo until such time as a work requirement is approved. He said the Democrats told the Republican leadership that they would agree to the work requirement, but not reapplying on an annual basis for the work requirement wavier. Instead, he said the state should apply once for the work requirement and if it is rejected by federal officials the Legislature should act to remove the requirement.
“We're not saying we are against the work requirement,” he said, adding House Democrats oppose it because it would keep Medicaid from being expanded,
Johnson added, “We're saying fine, we will try that once and show you it will not work, then we move on (removing the work requirement and expanding the program).”
When it was clear the House Democrats' dissension might kill the expansion program, House Republicans moved to recommit the bill to conference committee. The Senate Republicans followed suit a few minutes later, effectively extending the deadline for a final plan to be hammered out between House and Senate negotiators until 8 p.m. Thursday.
House and Senate Republican leaders declined to comment about what they may bring to the negotiations or what the next few hours may look like. House Democrats claimed a small victory and reiterated their desire to pass an expansion plan that would actually go into effect and provide health coverage to an estimated 200,000 Mississippians.
As news of the recommittal spread quickly through the Capitol on Wednesday afternoon, many people floated the notion of placing a Medicaid expansion issue on a statewide ballot, where voters could mandate what they wanted lawmakers to do.
“I have heard talk about that, but it would confuse voters with a work requirement,” Johnson said, adding he would support placing Medicaid expansion without a work requirement on the ballot.
Rep. Bryant Clark, D-Ebenezer, said he was one of 29 Democrats who would not vote for the agreement as it stood on Wednesday. He said he is unsure whether he would support the issue going to a statewide referendum.
“I think we as a Legislature should do it — that's what people hired us to do,” Clark said. “I wouldn't be just totally opposed to that idea, but sometimes the devil is in the details. What would be put before the people? Would it be a clean expansion proposal, or something else? I am 85% sure the citizens of Mississippi would pass something that is a clean Medicaid expansion proposal.”
As the extraordinary politics played out on Wednesday, dozens of clergy and other citizens came to the Capitol to express their support of expansion. Many Capitol attendees specifically said they did not support the compromise plan that included the work requirement.
“There are people in Mississippi who are sick, hurting, in pain and broken,” said the Rev. Dawn Douglas Flowers, a minister at Parkway Hills United Methodist Church. “We have a way to enter into that brokenness and offer healing right away. I hope lawmakers can find a way to compromise and allow Medicaid expansion to happen now because what they've come up with is just a delay. The work requirement will not allow us to get help to people who need help today. We can't just kick the can down the road any longer.”
This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
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