‘Emblematic of what we’re organizing against’: Prominent civil rights lawyer slams judge for reversing his own ‘canned verdict’ against her

FILE – Jill Collen Jefferson, president of JULIAN, civil rights and international human rights law firm, speaks in Lexington, Miss., during a civil rights tour, June 1, 2023. The civil rights attorney was arrested Saturday, June 10, while filming a traffic stop conducted by officers from a police department she is suing in federal court. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, file)

A week after finding a prominent civil rights attorney guilty on multiple criminal charges with what was described as a “canned verdict” that was “emblematic” of how Black residents are mistreated by local government, a Mississippi judge reversed his own ruling in a short order riddled with errors.

Jill Collen Jefferson is an attorney, the President of the Civil Rights group JULIAN, a Harvard Law School professor, and a former staffer for both Barack Obama and the late Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga. For years, Jefferson has fought for racial justice in Holmes County, Mississippi — one of the nation’s poorest counties.

In 2022, JULIAN sued the Lexington Police Department on behalf of a group of local residents over the department’s alleged misconduct that included racial profiling, harassment, threats, brutality, and corruption. The department and the town’s government are currently under investigation by the Department of Justice for much the same misconduct.

In June 2023 — just days after the DOJ hosted a session for residents to speak freely about their experiences with police — Jefferson filmed a traffic stop by the same police department, and was promptly arrested Saturday, charged with multiple crimes, and held for several days in a local jail.

Jefferson ultimately stood trial for four misdemeanor charges stemming from the June arrest: unlawful use of a mobile phone while driving; obstruction of a public roadway; failure to comply; and resisting arrest. Her attorneys presented evidence that included Jefferson’s testimony as well as her video recordings. Holmes County Justice Court Judge Marcus Fisher presided over the bench trial, acting both as judge and as fact-finder.

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