Jackson Women's Health Organization et al v. Currier et al

Filing 25

ORDER extending TRO and separating claims in this case. Signed by District Judge Carlton W. Reeves on 4/11/2018. (cr)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF MISSISSIPPI
NORTHERN DIVISION
JACKSON WOMEN’S HEALTH
ORGANIZATION & SACHEEN CARRELLIS, M.D., M.P.H.,
On Behalf of Themselves and Their Patients,
V.

PLAINTIFFS

CAUSE NO. 3:18-CV-171-CWR-FKB

MARY CURRIER,
State Health Officer of the Mississippi
Department of Health,
ET AL.

DEFENDANTS

ORDER SEPARATING CLAIMS & EXTENDING TRO
Originally, Plaintiffs in this case sought only to challenge Mississippi’s 15-week abortion
ban, claiming it violated their Constitutional rights to due process and equal protection.1
Consequently, the Court entered a Temporary Restraining Order to prevent Defendants from
enforcing the Ban.2 Plaintiffs have since amended their complaint, dropping the equal protection
challenge to the Ban and adding five separate challenges to Mississippi’s other abortion laws.3
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 42 allows the Court to “order a separate trial of one or
more separate issues [or] claims” for “convenience, to avoid prejudice, or to expedite and
economize.” The Court will do so here, separating this case into two Parts. Part I will deal with
the challenge to the Ban, and will proceed according to a discovery schedule the Court will adopt
after the parties have fully briefed Plaintiffs’ pending discovery motion.4 Part II will deal with
the challenges to Mississippi’s other abortion laws, and will proceed according to a case
management order the parties are to obtain from Magistrate Judge F. Keith Ball.

1

Complaint at Docket No. 1.
Docket No. 9.
3
Amended Complaint at Docket No. 23.
4
Docket No. 16.
2

On September 24, 2018, the Court will hold a hearing on a preliminary injunction
regarding the Ban. The Restraining Order is EXTENDED until 30 days after the conclusion of
that hearing, pursuant to Defendants’ consent and Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 65.
SO ORDERED, this the 11th day of April, 2018.
s/ Carlton W. Reeves
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

2