A crisis in Mississippi’s youth court system has been avoided for now.
Intervention by two higher courts — one federal, one state — has allowed the youth court system to continue dealing with allegations of juvenile delinquency or child abuse and neglect.
Up until last week, that was not a certainty, thanks to the failure of the Mississippi Legislature to renew a critical youth court law that deals with confidentiality, and the failure of Gov. Tate Reeves to grasp the gravity of the situation.
Since April, when the Legislature adjourned, lawmakers and state officials knew they had a problem on their hands after the Legislature failed to reenact exceptions to the rules of strict confidentiality in youth court matters.
Without those exceptions, which allow judicial officers, the state’s child protection agency and lawyers to communicate information, not only would youth courts be unable to function, but so would the state Department of Child Protection Services, which investigates allegations of child abuse and neglect.
Renewal of those exceptions was included in a 117-page Senate bill that was designed to overhaul the state’s youth court system, including making it more accessible and transparent. The House, however, left the Capitol before taking up the Senate bill.
As a result, the exceptions were set to lapse on July 1, leaving everyone in a quandary. Mississippi’s Office of State Public Defender went to federal court, where a judge issued an order to allow attorneys to continue getting access to youth court records. Meanwhile, in response to a request from the state Department of Child Protection Services, the Mississippi Supreme Court agreed to allow youth court business to proceed as usual until at least July 24.
These are temporary fixes from both jurisdictions. In fact, the federal lawsuit argues that business as usual is not good enough. It says Mississippi’s youth court system gives the judges and the state agency that administers records access too much discretion over who gets to see what information. The lawsuit also takes issue with the restrictions the youth courts impose on who can participate in or observe the closed-door hearings. The lawsuit claims these restrictions are denying children and parents their constitutional right to due process before juveniles are locked up or taken away from their families.
The Senate bill that died this year was intended to address some of those complaints. Waiting until 2027 to take up the issue again may be too long.
It would be chaos for the youth courts to shut down because of a lack of workable rules on confidentiality. If that becomes possible, the governor should heed the call for a special session. Tackling comprehensive youth court reforms might be too complicated to handle in a rush, but renewing the confidentiality exceptions could be accomplished in a day.
