Appeals court lifts block on Mississippi DEI law and removes judge over AI-generated errors

A three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday vacated U.S. District Judge Henry Wingate's preliminary injunction against House Bill 1193, a 2025 Mississippi law that bars public education funds from being spent on diversity, equity and inclusion programs. The panel sent the case back to be heard by a different judge.

Writing for the panel, Judge Jerry Smith said an earlier temporary restraining order in the case named parties, declarations and quotations from the law that did not exist, and that even the corrected order cited a case that does not exist. Wingate had acknowledged that a law clerk used AI to draft the original order, according to Courthouse News Service. The ruling is not a final decision on whether the law is constitutional.

Why it matters: The decision lets Mississippi enforce the law while the challenge by teachers, students and parents continues before a new judge.