Senate Bill 2314

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 9-1-46, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REQUIRE THE ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICE OF COURTS TO FURNISH CASE DATA TO THE OFFICE OF STATE PUBLIC DEFENDER; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

SECTION 1. Section 9-1-46, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

9-1-46. (1) Semiannually, the circuit clerks of each county, the municipal court clerks of each municipality, and the justice court clerks of each county shall report to the Administrative Office of Courts the following information:

(a) Individual misdemeanor and felony case records by offense, from the circuit clerk for all circuit and county court criminal proceedings, and from the municipal and justice court clerks for all misdemeanors, electronically when available, containing the date on which the criminal charges were filed, charge code and name of indicted offenses, count number of indicted offenses, whether counsel was appointed, the disposition of the charges, date disposed, date sentenced, charge code and name of sentenced offenses, and sentence length.

(b) Data should be kept individually by case number and misdemeanor charges or indicted felony offense, and include, for criminal docket purposes, demographic information necessary for tracking individuals across multiple databases should be collected, including date of birth, city and state of residence, race, and gender.

(2) The Administrative Office of Courts shall be empowered to establish a uniform reporting format for all court clerks described in subsection (1) of this section. Such reporting format shall emphasize the need for reporting information in a sortable, electronic format. All clerks who submit required information in other formats shall report to the Administrative Office of Courts a schedule for conversion to technology to enable the reporting of all required data in a sortable, electronic format.

(3) Semiannual reports shall be made to the Administrative Office of Courts by December 31, 2014, or as soon thereafter as practicable, and every year thereafter, and on June 30, 2015, or as soon thereafter as practicable, and every year thereafter. On August 1, 2015, and each year thereafter, the Administrative Office of Courts shall provide to PEER and the Office of State Public Defender sortable, electronic copies of all reports required by this section.

(4) The Administrative Office of Courts shall share the information required under this section with the Oversight Task Force.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2016.