Mississippi court office will follow judges’ orders to provide youth court records
The Administrative Office of the Courts told a federal judge Friday it will continue to follow court orders that give attorneys access to youth court case files even as a state law that provides exceptions to youth court secrecy is set to repeal Wednesday, the agency and the Office of the State Public Defender said.
The Office of the State Public Defender sought a temporary restraining order last week, saying in court filings that the sunsetting of the exceptions would have catastrophic consequences for parents and lawyers who rely on records to defend clients, including people whose children have been removed by the Mississippi Department of Child Protection Services.
At issue is a state statute that places blanket confidentiality on youth courts, the public defenders say. The law that creates exceptions allowing judges, the child protection agency, providers and lawyers to share information is scheduled to lapse. Without those exceptions, the remaining statutes would make it a misdemeanor to share many youth court records, the public defenders’ complaint says.
Lawyers for the public defender’s office and the Administrative Office of the Courts debated the agency’s role during a five-hour hearing Friday. Elizabeth Rossi of the Civil Rights Corps told the court the Administrative Office of the Courts “holds the key” to youth court records, while Anna Morris, representing the Administrative Office of the Courts for the state attorney general’s office, said the agency is more like a “custodian of a filing cabinet” and cannot force judges to issue access orders.
U.S. District Judge Henry Wingate and the parties signed an agreed order Monday confirming the Administrative Office of the Courts will follow judges’ orders to provide access and continuing the case until July 15, court filings show. State officials and the public defender’s office have asked Gov. Tate Reeves to call a special legislative session to address the lapse, the filings say. The public defenders’ federal civil rights lawsuit says current confidentiality rules already produce unconstitutional results and that the pending repeal would worsen due-process harms, calling the policies “draconian.”
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