JXN UNDIVIDED Coalition et al. v. Tindell and Luckey

A law in Mississippi makes peaceful protests on public sidewalks and streets next to state government buildings in Jackson, Mississippi, illegal without receiving prior written permission from one of two government officials – a clear violation of the First and Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The MacArthur Justice Center is fighting alongside communities, like Jackson, and advocacy organizations to ensure the right to peacefully gather and protest is preserved as a democratic pillar and constitutional right. 

Senate Bill 2343 makes peaceful protests on public sidewalks and streets next to state government buildings in Jackson – a majority Black city – illegal without prior written permission from the Mississippi Department of Public Safety Commissioner Sean Tindell or Chief of the Capitol Police Bo Luckey for any event, including protests against the state government.

The law was passed in the wake of recent protests in Jackson against various measures by the State of Mississippi to dilute or remove entirely certain powers from the majority-Black local governments, elected officials, and residents. The law will effectively allow two government officials to have veto authority over protests that have included, and will continue to include, criticisms of their own expanded authority and actions as well as that of other state officials.

JXN Undivided Coalition, Mississippi Votes, People’s Advocacy Institute, Mississippi Poor People’s Campaign, Black Votes Matter, and three local community organizers, represented by the MacArthur Justice Center (MJC) and the Mississippi Center for Justice (MCJ), filed a lawsuit seeking declaratory relief and preliminary injunction to prevent the law from going into effect. The lawsuit challenges S.B. 2343’s requirement of written permission from one of the identified officials as unlawful prior restraint on speech under the First Amendment and the Equal Protection and Due Process Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment.

UPDATE

A federal judge granted MJC and MCJ’s request for a preliminary injunction, blocking the prior restraint on speech indefinitely.