Caleb Bedillion, Mississippi Today

 

Sweeping corruption charges have rocked local government in Mississippi’s capital city, with potentially significant implications for the local legal system.

During arraignments on Thursday, federal prosecutors charged Hinds County District Attorney Jody Owens, Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba and Jackson City Councilmember Aaron Banks with a string of bribery and corruption charges.

All three pleaded not guilty and were released pending trial.

The charges stem from an undercover sting operation in which FBI agents posed as real estate developers and allegedly provided bribes to win the support of local officials.

Former Jackson City Councilmember Angelique Lee and local businessman Sherik Marve’ Smith previously pleaded guilty to corruption charges as part of plea agreements.

All three officials charged Thursday have influence over the local legal system in Mississippi’s largest city and county. Owens is the county’s prosecutor, with sweeping power over felony prosecutions in a county that has struggled with violent crime, a backlog of cases and a troubled jail.

Lumumba appoints the Jackson police chief. Lumumba has fought against the creation of a state-controlled police force with jurisdiction within certain areas of the city, as well as a special state-controlled court for those areas. His beleaguered legal position may only strengthen the efforts of statewide leaders to exert more control over local policy within the state’s capital city.

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Banks, as a councilmember, votes to confirm or reject Lumumba’s appointments, including police chief. The city council also sets the budget for city government departments, including the police department and the municipal court. The Jackson City Council can also impose other policies, including a controversial youth curfew policy that came earlier this year.

Can Owens, Lumumba and Banks remain in office while facing criminal charges?

Yes. While the Mississippi constitution forbids anyone who has been convicted of almost all felonies from holding elected office, nothing requires a person to resign or take a leave of absence from their job before a conviction.

Owens on Thursday indicated no plans to resign. Instead, he said he would fight what he called a “flawed FBI investigation” and said, “I’m going to get back to protecting Hinds County and being the district attorney that you elected me to be.”

Owens’ predecessor, Robert Shuler Smith, faced multiple state criminal prosecutions during his tenure in elected office and never resigned. None of the charges brought against him by then-Attorney General Jim Hood ended in a conviction.

In 2016, then-state Rep. Nick Bain filed a bill that would have created a process to remove local officials from office following an indictment, but that bill never advanced.

The state constitution allows people convicted of manslaughter and state or federal tax crimes to hold elected office.

 

What happens if Owens resigns?

Owens was most recently elected in 2023 for a four-year term that began January 2024 and will run through the end of 2027. If he’s not convicted before then, he can complete the entire term and even qualify for reelection again. If he were to be convicted or plead guilty before the end of 2027, he would be removed from office.

On Thursday, U.S. District Court Judge Daniel P. Jordan set a trial date for Jan. 6, but delays in criminal cases are common.

If Owens resigns or is removed with more than six months remaining in his term, Gov. Tate Reeves will appoint someone to replace him until a special election can occur. Special elections to replace a district attorney generally occur as needed in November of each year.

If Owens were to resign now, that means a gubernatorial appointee would serve as Hinds County’s district attorney for a year until a special election in 2025. Any qualifying candidate could run in the special election to fulfill the term, including the gubernatorial appointee.

If Owens were to resign or be removed from office with less than six months remaining in his term, the governor would simply appoint someone to fulfill the term and the winner of the regularly scheduled general election would take office at the beginning of the next term.

What would happen if Lumumba or Banks were to resign or be removed from office?

The current terms of both Lumumba and Banks conclude next year, with municipal general elections set for June and new terms beginning in July.

Lumumba said on Thursday that he will continue to run for reelection. Banks declined to answer questions about whether he intends to remain in office or to seek another term.

If either Lumumba or Banks were to resign with less than six months remaining in their term, state law requires that the Jackson City Council would replace either with interim appointments who would serve the remaining months of the terms.

If either man were to resign or be removed before the end of 2024, the City Council would have to order a special election to fill the vacant posts.

 

Can voters recall elected officials in Mississippi?

Mississippi does have an obscure and very roundabout recall process, but only for county officials, despite several unsuccessful efforts to expand the law. State Sen. Jeremy England, a Republican from the Gulf Coast, has filed some of those bills, and said he did not think a district attorney could be recalled under the current law, but they could have been recalled under a bill he has filed before.