WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Roger Wicker, R-Miss., and Thad Cochran, R-Miss., on Tuesday supported Senate passage of legislation to realign the federal judicial divisions for the Southern District of Mississippi.

Wicker and Cochran recently requested prompt consideration of HR.2871, which was approved by unanimous consent in the Senate on Tuesday evening.  The measure consolidates the existing five judicial divisions into four, following realignment recommendations of the federal judges serving in the Southern District of Mississippi.

“Updating these boundaries is a practical step that will serve people in South Mississippi well,” Wicker said. “This realignment will allow the Southern District to utilize resources more capably and organize in a more efficient and effective manner.”

“The federal judiciary in the Southern District of Mississippi recognizes the budgetary constraints on the courts, as well as the opportunity to improve the efficiency of court operations,” Cochran said.  “I am pleased the Senate has approved this legislation and look forward to its implementation.”

With Senate passage, HR.2871 will be sent to the White House to be signed into law.  Representatives Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), Gregg Harper (R-Miss.) and Steven Palazzo (R-Miss.) cosponsored the measure, which was approved 401-0 by the House on Nov. 12.  The divisional realignment will take effective on the date of enactment.

The legislation, which is expected to result in approximately $135,000 in first-year cost savings for the judiciary and U.S. Marshals Service, redraws the division boundaries for the Southern District of Mississippi by eliminating the Eastern Division that has been served by the federal courthouse in Meridian.

HR.2871 defines the four reconfigured divisions for the Southern District of Mississippi as:

1. Northern Division:  Copiah, Hinds, Holmes, Issaquena, Kemper, Lauderdale, Leake, Madison, Neshoba, Newton, Noxubee, Rankin, Scott, Simpson, Sharkey, Smith, Warren and Yazoo counties.  Court for the Northern Division will be in Jackson.
2. Southern Division:  George, Greene, Hancock, Harrison, Jackson, Pearl River and Stone counties.  Court will be held in Gulfport.
3. Eastern Division:  Clarke, Covington, Forrest, Jasper, Jefferson Davis, Jones, Lamar, Lawrence, Marion, Perry, Wayne and Walthall counties. Court will be held in Hattiesburg.
4. Western Division:  Adams, Amite, Claiborne, Franklin, Jefferson, Lincoln, Pike and Wilkinson counties.  Court will be held in Natchez.

The realignment is supported by judges in the Southern District, the Fifth Judicial Circuit, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Mississippi, Office of the Public Defender for the Southern District of Mississippi, and the legal community.

In September 2012, Congress completed work on similar legislation to realign the federal judicial boundaries for the Northern District of Mississippi, condensing four divisions into three.