MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2017 Regular Session
To: Judiciary B
By: Representatives Bomgar, Baria
AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 43-21-309, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REQUIRE ANY SHELTER HEARING, UNLESS WAIVED, BE ON THE RECORD; TO AMEND SECTION 43-21-203, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, IN CONFORMITY TO THE PRECEDING SECTION; TO AMEND SECTION 9-21-9, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REQUIRE THE ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICE OF COURTS TO SUBMIT RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE LEGISLATURE CONCERNING THE CREATION OF A DETAILED CASE FILING FORM TO BE UTILIZED WHEN A CHILD IS REMOVED FROM A HOME DUE TO ABUSE OR NEGLECT AND CONCERNING THE CREATION OF A CERTAIN DETAILED UNIFORM SYSTEM OF REPORTING FOR NEGLECTED AND ABUSED CHILDREN; TO BRING FORWARD SECTION 43-21-251, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, WHICH PERTAINS TO YOUTH COURT RECORDS, FOR PURPOSES OF POSSIBLE AMENDMENT; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. Section 43-21-309, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
43-21-309. (1) A child who has been ordered or taken into custody may be held in custody for longer than temporary custody if:
(a) A written complaint or petition has been filed; and
(b) A court order has been entered for continued custody following a review of that custody at a detention hearing in delinquency and child in need of supervision cases and at a shelter hearing in abuse and neglect cases.
(2) Reasonable oral or written notice of the time, place and purpose of the hearing shall be given to the child; to his or her parent, guardian or custodian; to his or her guardian ad litem, if any; and to his or her counsel. If the parent, guardian or custodian cannot be found, the youth court may hold the hearing in the absence of the child's parent, guardian or custodian.
(3) At the detention or
shelter hearing, all parties present shall have the right to present evidence
and cross-examine witnesses produced by others. The youth court may, in its
discretion, limit the extent but not the right or presentation of evidence and
cross-examination of witnesses. The youth court may receive any testimony and
other evidence relevant to the necessity for the continued custody of the child
without regard to the formal rules of evidence, including hearsay and opinion
evidence. All testimony shall be made * * * on the record, which may include
stenographic reporting, by mechanical or electronic device or by some
combination thereof, and may be in narrative form. Any shelter hearing,
unless such hearing is waived, held pursuant to this subsection shall be on
record.
(4) (a) At the conclusion of the detention or shelter hearing, the youth court shall order that the child be released to the custody of the child's parent, guardian or custodian unless the youth court finds and the detention or shelter hearing order recites that:
(i) There is probable cause that the youth court has jurisdiction; and
(ii) Custody is necessary as defined in Section 43-21-301(3)(b).
(b) In the case of a shelter hearing, the shelter hearing order shall further recite that the effect of the continuation of the child's residing within his or her own home would be contrary to the welfare of the child, that the placement of the child in foster care is in the best interest of the child, and, unless the reasonable efforts requirement is bypassed under Section 43-21-603(7)(c), the order also must state:
(i) Reasonable efforts have been made to maintain the child within his own home, but that the circumstances warrant his removal and there is no reasonable alternative to custody; or
(ii) The circumstances are of such an emergency nature that no reasonable efforts have been made to maintain the child within his own home, and there is no reasonable alternative to custody.
(c) In the event that the court makes a finding in accordance with subparagraph (ii), the court shall order that reasonable efforts be made towards the reunification of the child with his or her family.
(5) The child with advice of counsel may waive in writing the time of the detention hearing or the detention hearing itself. The child's guardian ad litem, and parent, guardian or custodian, and child may waive in writing the time of the shelter hearing or the shelter hearing itself. If the child has not reached his tenth birthday, the child's consent shall not be required.
(6) Any order placing a child into custody shall comply with the requirements provided in Section 43-21-301.
SECTION 2. Section 43-21-203, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
43-21-203. (1) The youth court shall be in session at all times.
(2) All cases involving children shall be heard at any place the judge deems suitable but separately from the trial of cases involving adults.
(3) Hearings in all cases involving children shall be conducted without a jury and may be recessed from time to time.
(4) All hearings shall be conducted under such rules of evidence and rules of court as may comply with applicable constitutional standards.
(5) No proceeding by the youth court in cases involving children shall be a criminal proceeding but shall be entirely of a civil nature.
(6) The general public shall be excluded from the hearing, and only those persons shall be admitted who are found by the youth court to have a direct interest in the cause or work of the youth court. Any person found by the youth court to have a direct interest in the cause shall have the right to appear and be represented by legal counsel.
(7) In all hearings, except
detention * * *
hearings under Section 43-21-309, a complete record of all evidence shall be
taken by stenographic reporting, by mechanical or electronic device or by some
combination thereof.
(8) The youth court may exclude the attendance of a child from a hearing in neglect and abuse cases with consent of the child's counsel. The youth court may exclude the attendance of a child from any portion of a disposition hearing that would be injurious to the best interest of the child in delinquency and children in need of supervision cases with consent of the child's counsel.
(9) All parties to a youth court cause shall have the right at any hearing in which an investigation, record or report is admitted in evidence:
(a) to subpoena, confront and examine the person who prepared or furnished data for the report; and
(b) to introduce evidence controverting the contents of the report.
(10) Except as provided by Section 43-21-561(5) or as otherwise provided by this chapter, the disposition of a child's cause or any evidence given in the youth court in any proceedings concerning the child shall not be admissible against the child in any case or proceeding in any court other than a youth court.
SECTION 3. Section 9-21-9, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
9-21-9. The Administrative Director of Courts shall have the following duties and authority with respect to all courts in addition to any other duties and responsibilities as may be properly assigned by the Supreme Court:
(a) To require the filing of reports, the collection and compilation of statistical data and other information on the judicial and financial operation of the courts and on the operation of other offices directly related to and serving the courts;
(b) To determine the state of the dockets and evaluate the practices and procedures of the courts and make recommendations concerning the number of judges and other personnel required for the efficient administration of justice;
(c) To prescribe uniform administrative and business methods, systems, forms and records to be used in the offices of the clerks of courts;
(d) To devise, promulgate and require the use of a uniform youth court case tracking system, including a youth court case filing form for filing with each individual youth court matter, to be utilized by the Administrative Office of Courts and the youth courts in order that the number of youthful offenders, abused, neglected, truant and dependent children, as well as children in need of special care and children in need of supervision, may be tracked with specificity through the youth court and adult justice systems; in support of the uniform case docketing system, the director shall require that all youth courts utilize the Mississippi Youth Court Information Delivery System (MYCIDS);
(e) To develop, promulgate and require the use of a statewide docket numbering system to be utilized by the youth courts, which youth court docket numbers shall standardize and unify the numbering system by which youth court docket numbers are assigned, such that each docket number would, among other things, identify the county and year in which a particular youth court action was commenced;
(f) To develop, promulgate and require the use of uniform youth court orders and forms in all youth courts and youth court proceedings;
(g) To prepare and submit budget recommendations for state appropriations necessary for the maintenance and operation of the judicial system and to authorize expenditures from funds appropriated for these purposes as permitted or authorized by law;
(h) To develop and implement personnel policies for nonjudicial personnel employed by the courts;
(i) To investigate, make recommendations concerning and assist in the securing of adequate physical accommodations for the judicial system;
(j) To procure, distribute, exchange, transfer and assign such equipment, books, forms and supplies as are acquired with state funds or grant funds or otherwise for the judicial system;
(k) To make recommendations for the improvement of the operations of the judicial system;
(l) To prepare and submit an annual report on the work of the judicial system to the Supreme Court;
(m) To take necessary steps in the collection of unpaid court costs, fines and forfeitures;
(n) To perform such
additional administrative duties relating to the improvement of the
administration of justice as may be assigned by the Supreme Court; * * *
(o) To promulgate
standards, rules and regulations for computer and/or electronic filing and
storage of all court records and court-related records maintained throughout
the state in courts and in offices of circuit and chancery clerks * * *; and
(p) To develop, for submission to the Legislature prior to January 1, 2018, a report of recommendations, along with any associated costs, creating the following:
(i) A case filing form, as prescribed under Section 9-21-9 (d), to be utilized when a child has been removed from a home due to abuse or neglect, which has detailed categories and reasons for the removal; and
(ii) A uniform system of reporting for neglected and abused children that includes detailed categories and reasons for removing such children from their homes when they are within the youth courts and the Mississippi Department of Child Protection Services.
SECTION 4. Section 43-21-251, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
43-21-251. (1) The court records of the youth court shall include:
(a) A general docket in which the clerk of the youth court shall enter the names of the parties in each cause, the date of filing the petition, any other pleadings, all other papers in the cause, issuance and return of process, and a reference by the minute book and page to all orders made therein. The general docket shall be duly indexed in the alphabetical order of the names of the parties.
(b) All the papers and pleadings filed in a cause. The papers in every cause shall be marked with the style and number of the cause and the date when filed. All the papers filed in a cause shall be kept in the same file, and all the files shall be kept in numerical order.
(c) All social records of a youth court, which shall include all intake records, social summaries, medical examinations, mental health examinations, transfer studies and all other information obtained and prepared in the discharge of official duty for the youth court.
(i) A "social summary" is an investigation of the personal and family history and the environment of a child who is the subject of a youth court cause. The social summary should describe all reasonable appropriate alternative dispositions. The social summary should contain a specific plan for the care and assistance to the child with a detailed explanation showing the necessity for the proposed plan of disposition.
(ii) A "medical examination" is an examination by a physician of a child who is the subject of a youth court cause or of his parent. The youth court may order a medical examination at any time after the intake unit has received a written complaint. Whenever possible, a medical examination shall be conducted on an outpatient basis. A medical examination of a parent of the child who is the subject of the cause shall not be ordered unless the physical or mental ability of the parent to care for the child is a relevant issue in the particular cause and the parent to be examined consents to the examination.
(iii) A "mental health examination" is an examination by a psychiatrist or psychologist of a child who is the subject of a youth court cause or of his parent. The youth court may order a mental health examination at any time after the intake unit has received a written complaint. Whenever possible, a mental health examination shall be conducted on an outpatient basis. A mental health examination of a parent of the child who is the subject of a cause shall not be ordered unless the physical or mental ability of the parent to care for the child is a relevant issue in the particular cause and the parent to be examined consents to the examination.
(iv) A "transfer study" is a social summary which addresses the factors set forth in Section 43-21-157(5). A transfer study shall not be admissible evidence nor shall it be considered by the court at any adjudicatory hearing. It shall be admissible evidence at a transfer or disposition hearing.
(d) A minute book in which the clerk shall record all the orders of the youth court.
(e) Proceedings of the youth court and evidence.
(f) All information obtained by the youth court from the Administrative Office of Courts pursuant to a request under Section 43-21-261(15).
(2) The records of the youth court and the contents thereof shall be kept confidential and shall not be disclosed except as provided in Section 43-21-261.
(3) The court records of the youth court may be kept on computer in the manner provided for storing circuit court records and dockets as provided in Section 9-7-171. The Administrative Office of Courts shall recommend to the youth courts a uniform format to maintain the records of such courts.
SECTION 5. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2017.