Judge Smith, in the Fifth Circuit majority opinion, called Wingate’s proceedings a “botch job,” saying that he “carelessly exercised his Article III power by issuing sloppy edicts based on falsehoods and fabrications.”
The U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals vacated a preliminary injunction in Jackson Federation of Teachers v. Lynn Fitch, allowing Mississippi’s anti-DEI law to take effect while litigation continues.
Enacted in April 2025, lawmakers said HB 1193 prevents public K-12 schools and higher education institutions in Mississippi from utilizing diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) practices when making decisions concerning school employment, academic opportunities, and student engagement. Such decisions are to be based on an individual’s merit and qualifications rather than a person’s race, color, sexual orientation, or gender. The law passed through both bodies in the State Capitol and then received the governor’s signature in April.
In July 2025, U.S. District Judge Henry Wingate issued a preliminary injunction blocking enforcement of the law, citing First Amendment concerns.
Judge Smith, in the Fifth Circuit majority opinion, called Wingate’s proceedings a “botch job,” saying that he “carelessly exercised his Article III power by issuing sloppy edicts based on falsehoods and fabrications.”
The court also criticized Wingate for using hallucinated information, including citing a case—Cousings v. School Bd. of City of Norfolk—that does not exist, calling it an “embarrassment.”
The use of artificial intelligence to write the opinion that issued the temporary restraining order handed down by Judge Wingate was later found to have inaccuracies pertaining to the actual language of the bill and incorrectly listed plaintiff names, requiring a rewrite.
As previously reported, Judge Wingate admitted to the mistake in using AI to draft the order after U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley wrote a letter to him regarding the allegations. Judge Wingate then sent a letter to Robert Conrad, Director of the Administrative Office of the Courts, in response to Senator Grassley, stating that a law clerk utilized a generative artificial intelligence tool known as Perplexity “strictly as a foundational drafting assistant to synthesize publicly available information on the docket.”
Further, the Fifth Circuit accused Wingate of getting “the entire law of injunctive relief completely backwards” in an attempt to stop a law from taking effect that he did not personally like.
“The district court—or perhaps, being charitable, its AI agent—ignored and manipulated governing law, apparently to satisfy a policy agenda,” the opinion reads.
Although HB 1193 will be able to take effect for now, litigation surrounding the law is not over. The Fifth Circuit vacated Judge Wingate’s ruling but also remanded it to another district court judge.
However, the Fifth Circuit opinion acknowledged that the plaintiffs “have a high burden to show” that HB 1193 is unlawful.
You can read the Fifth Circuit’s order below.
-- Article credit to Cass Rutledge for the Magnolia Tribune --
