Fifth Circuit Overturns Mississippi DEI Ban Injunction

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit unanimously overturned a preliminary injunction that had prevented Mississippi from enforcing H.B. 1193. The state law prohibits schools and colleges from promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) practices or penalizing students for their views on those practices.

In its October 22 decision, the appeals court vacated the ruling of U.S. District Judge Henry Wingate, citing extraordinarily grave errors. The court found that Wingate's original orders contained fabricated facts, false quotations, and citations to non-existent legal cases. Judge Wingate subsequently admitted in a letter to the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts that a law clerk used the AI program Perplexity to help draft the initial order, which Wingate stated had not undergone the standard review process.

The Fifth Circuit removed Judge Wingate from the case and remanded the matter to a different judge. The panel concluded that the district court failed to follow Supreme Court frameworks and ignored governing law to satisfy a policy agenda. The case was originally brought by the Jackson Federation of Teachers, which argued the law violated the constitutional rights of students and teachers.