A federal appeals court has temporarily delayed Mississippi officials from creating a state-run court in part of the majority-Black capital city of Jackson starting on Monday. The ruling came just before U.S. District Judge Henry Wingate dismissed requests to block the new court in a ruling filed late Sunday. The U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals granted a temporary administrative stay, blocking the court's creation until at least Jan. 5. The decision followed a request from the NAACP. “The NAACP stands firm in our belief that this legislation is inherently undemocratic,« NAACP spokesperson Alicia Mercedes said in a statement Monday. »We will continue to do everything in our power to fight for Jackson residents’ rights to have control over their own institutions and live free from state-driven discrimination.” Michelle Williams, chief of staff for Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch, responded to the decision by pointing to a statement she issued Sunday that said the state would continue to defend the law and “perform our duties to help protect the people of Jackson from stifling, suffocating crime that plagues the city. ” Read more