Lawmakers met for a special session on July 15-16 where they passed Senate Bill 2001, dubbed the Mississippi Youth Court Reform Act, in addition to two appropriations bills. This legislation establishes youth courts in all of the state’s 82 counties.
In late June, a federal lawsuit was filed against the Administrative Office of the Courts to prevent a complete shutdown of due process because attorneys would no longer be able to access youth court records. The federal district judge approved a temporary agreement to maintain the status quo, giving lawmakers time to fix the issue. The special session began the day that federal order was set to expire.
André De Gruy is the State Public Defender, and one of the plaintiffs who filed the federal lawsuit. He said the new law should fix that key issue of document access. De Gruy said it also creates a more open court system, having closed trials up to the discretion of the judge.
“We’ve struggled with getting lawyers interested in doing youth court work. They never saw what happened in youth court,” said De Gruy. “As people can go [and watch], they will be more inclined to sign up and say ‘yes, I’d be interested in doing this kind of work.”
That new open door policy was highly debated during the special session. Democratic lawmakers said it would be harmful to minors involved in sensitive cases, like those including sexual assault.
Jamie McBride is Adjunct Professor of Law at the Mississippi Christian University School of Law.
He says he has concerns about the privacy of cases, and if judges will grant orders to close doors appropriately.
“The whole act is designed to rehabilitate the family on one side, or rehabilitate the child on the other. So I think confidentiality has always been a very important part of that because we’re trying to give them a fresh start. So that’s why I’m so concerned with the confidentiality.”
Public Defender De Gruy says he and his legal team have not yet decided to withdraw the federal lawsuit, and are studying the new legal code to see how it has changed.
