Mississippi Courts
Mississippi CourtsOctober 2012Published by the Administrative Office of CourtsPlain language model jury instructions completedA group of judges, lawyersand legal scholars recentlycompleted more than threeyears of work drafting plainlanguage jury instructionswhich will be easier for jurorsto understand.The Mississippi Model JuryInstructions Commission presented its report to the Supreme Court Oct. 24.Pictured above are, frontrow, left to right, Forrest W.Stringfellow; Keith Foreman;Presiding Justice George C.Carlson Jr., chairman; Mississippi Judicial College Executive Director Cynthia D. Davis;Judicial College Staff AttorneyCarole Murphey; Circuit JudgeBetty W. Sanders; and formerSupreme Court Chief JusticeJim Smith, who created thecommission; back row, Ramel L. Cotton; Circuit JudgeJames T. Kitchens Jr.; Univer-sity of Mississippi School ofLaw Professor Emeritus Guthrie T. Abbott, civil instructionscommittee chair; Court of Appeals Judge David M. Ishee,criminal instructions committee chair; Lance L. Stevens;and Philip W. Gaines.Other committee members,not pictured, were CircuitJudge Clarence E. Morgan III,Forrest County Court JudgeMichael W. McPhail, SpecialAssistant Attorney GeneralJohn R. Henry, Assistant District Attorney Archibald W.Bullard, and attorneys MerridaP. Coxwell Jr., ThomasFortner, C. Joy Harkness, andJames D. Holland.The diverse membershipincluded representatives of theMississippi Bar, Magnolia Bar,Mississippi Association forJustice, Mississippi DefenseLawyers Association, Prose-cutors Association, Public Defenders Association, Mississippi College School of Lawand University of MississippiSchool of Law.Non-attorney members ofthe commission were Booneville businessman Jimmy Murphy and Meridian Englishteacher Libby Riley.The Commission submitteda 668-page Model CriminalJury Instructions, and a 479page Model Civil Jury Instructions.Former Chief Justice Smithsigned the order creating theCommission shortly before heleft office in 2008. He said therevision was needed because“most of the errors I saw(raised) on the appellate levelwere with jury instructions.”Chief Justice Bill Waller Jr.said, “This is going to helpjurors to make better deci-sions.”Judge Ishee said there hadbeen no major revision tomodel jury instructions sincethey were written in the 1970s,and a rewrite was long overdue. “Forty years in the lawcan be light years,” he said.Judge Ishee said, “Whatwe hoped to achieve was tosimplify the jury instructionsfor the lay people as jurors. Ithink there were many instructions which were verytechnical, and we have simplified them so that the average lay person can more easily understand them. It’s beenmy fear that a lot of jurorsignored the jury instructions.They might be overwhelmedat all the legalese that wasthrust at them just before theywere to deliberate. I think thiswill make the law easier toapply on a case by case basis. IContinued, page 2
October 2012Page 2Task Force examines juvenile detention and alternativesA task force is exploringalternatives to juvenile detention, formulating recommendations for licensing standardsfor juvenile detention facilities, and seeking fundingsources to improve juvenileprograms.The 2012 Legislature created the Juvenile Detentionand Alternatives Task Force.Senate Bill 2598 called for areport and recommendationsbefore Nov. 1, 2013.Adams County Court JudgeJohn Hudson of Natchez, TaskForce chair, said, “The first ofthe major focuses is to recommend juvenile detentionalternatives that can be usedby all of the counties in ourstate to prevent the unnecessary detention of juveniles.”“The second primary focusis to develop licensing standards to recommend to theLegislature,” he said.The Task Force will develop recommendations forminimum standards for juvenile detention facilities.“The third charge is to develop a plan to assist in reducing the financial burdens thatModel jury instructions, continuedthink it will lead to more wellreasoned outcomes and amore thorough understandingof the law by the individualjurors.”Abbott said, “In the pastit’s been lawyers draftingthese for judges in legalese,but the group that is supposedto use this is the jurors, whofor the most part are not lawyers.”The new civil jury instructions include forms of theverdict which require jurors togo step by step through elements of the case. “The thrustof our instructions is to identify those elements, and on theverdict form it asks if thoseelements have been met,”Abbott said.Presiding Justice Carlsonsaid, “The concept of plainlanguage jury instructions hasworked extremely well inother states.”Members spent hundreds ofhours on the project. JudgeIshee said, “I appreciate eachone’s hard work on the committee. None of this wouldhave been possible withoutthe help of the MississippiJudicial College.”Judge Ishee and Abbottpraised the work of their committees, and the research anddrafting of Mississippi Judicial College Staff AttorneyCarole Murphey.Murphey said, “It was awonderful experience to serveon this Commission. I amhonored to have participatedin such an important task forthe benefit of the judicial system.”Presiding Justice Carlsonthanked Judge Ishee, Abbott,Murphey and the members fortheir service. “I am proud tohave been a part of this blueribbon commission made upof outstanding and experienced members of the legalprofession, as well as lay persons, all of whom were veryimportant to this entire process,” he said.Judge John Hudson discusses juvenile detention standards and alternatives.counties have for juveniledetention,” he said.Rankin County Court JudgeThomas Broome of Brandon,vice-chair, said, “The TaskForce will be working to protect public safety and providesafe facilities to help our kidslearn from their mistakes. Wewant to appropriately usedetention and find communityservices for those who need it.Standards will benefit thecounties and taxpayers bymaximizing our local, stateand federal resources.”In its second meeting, heldin Natchez on Oct. 5, the TaskForce sought to jump-start itswork by getting an overviewof similar efforts begun inLouisiana in 2010. By July 1,2013, all Louisiana juveniledetention facilities will belicensed and must complywith nationally recognizedbest practices.Calcasieu Parish Police JuryOffice of Juvenile JusticeServices Director Dane R.Bolin told about 45 TaskForce members and spectators, “Mississippi was in abetter position than Louisiana.” When the initiative began in Louisiana in 2010, “ourstandards were no standards.We did know that itwas going to raise the bar ofwhat we did every day.”As he laid out the progressof the development of Louisiana’s program, Bolin displayed a picture of a youthstanding in a jail cell. “Pictureyour child in this picture.”Judge Hudson said, “I thinkwhat we want to be about isthat if our kid were in thatcell, that it is going to be operated in a safe and secure manner.”The Task Force will explore development of a risk
October 2012assessment instrument “whichwill define which juvenilesshould be in detention, andwhich juveniles should behandled by alternatives todetention,” Judge Hudsonsaid.“The bottom line is makingsure the kids that are risks tosociety are being detained,and those who are not, arenot,” Judge Hudson said.“The Task Force will identify juvenile detention alternatives which are workable andcost-effective and will recommend strategies to accomplishprovision of these alternatives,” Judge Hudson said.Adams, Harrison, Leflore,Rankin and Washington counties participate in the JuvenileDetention Alternative Initiative, JDAI, a national programwhich uses systematic caseevaluation to determinewhether juveniles should bedetained. A point system takesinto account nature and seriousness of the offense andother factors. The point scoreon the risk assessment determines who should be detained, released or supervisedin an alternative program.“Those alternatives wouldinvolve intensive supervisionof the children without placing them in secure cells,”Judge Hudson said. Amongpossible alternatives areglobal position sensor tracking via ankle bracelets, andevening reporting to a locationwith supervised activities.Adams, Hinds and Rankincounties, among others, haveused GPS tracking as a way tomonitor juveniles who havegotten in trouble, withoutconfining them.“It’s been a huge success inreducing the number of youthplaced in detention,” JudgePage 3Juvenile Facilities Monitoring Unit Director Donald Beard, left, and Division of YouthServices Director James V. Maccarone, right, study a work group roster.Hudson said of the GPS system in Adams County. However, the Adams County program is about to run out ofmoney. It operated on a grantthat runs out in October. “Weare working to try to findways to continue the systembecause it’s worked tremendously,” Judge Hudson said.Other members of the TaskForce are: Leflore CountyCourt Judge Kevin Adams,Washington County CourtJudge Vernita King Johnson,Forrest County Court JudgeMichael McPhail, DeSotoCounty Court Judge CelesteWilson, Assistant AttorneyGeneral and JDAI State CoCoordinator Patricia Marshall,State Public Defender LeslieLee, Washington CountyYouth Court Public DefenderErrick D. Simmons, Department of Human Services Division of Youth Services Director James V. Maccarone,Department of Mental HealthDivision of Children andYouth Services Director Sandra Parks, Adams CountyJuvenile Detention CenterDirector Glen Arnold, LefloreCounty Juvenile DetentionCenter Director Robert Fitzpatrick, Rankin County Sheriff’s Office Juvenile Administrator Eric Fox, JacksonCounty Juvenile DetentionCenter Director Chris Gilbert,Rankin County Sheriff’s Office Attorney Richard Lawrence, Department of PublicSafety Juvenile FacilitiesMonitoring Unit DirectorDonald Beard, Hinds CountySheriff Tyrone Lewis, Mis-sissippi Security Police President Nicky Maxwell, PikeCounty Supervisor LukeBrewer, Leflore County Supervisor Anjuan Brown,Lamar County AdministratorChuck Bennett, LauderdaleCounty Administrator JoeMcCraney, and Departmentof Education Office of Compulsory School AttendanceEnforcement, AlternativeEducation/GED and Counseling Bureau Director ToniKersh.Rankin kids run with the lawSeven Rankin Countyteens under Youth Courtprobation supervision ranalongside law officers onJune 30 in Gov. Phil Bryant’s 5K Run for Health.The teens ran several otherraces, most recently in theSept. 29 WellsFest 5K Run.Most of the youths hadbeen in trouble multipletimes. The running team wasorganized in an effort tosteer their energies down adifferent path.Since the running program began, “none havetested positive for drugs.None have been back in detention,” said RankinCounty Juvenile DetentionCenter Director Lt. Eric Fox.“We are literally changingthese babies’ lives. It hasn’tcost taxpayers one dollar.”Local businesses and individuals have provided theteens with running gear.Continued, page 4
Page 4They need sponsors to helppay event participation fees.The runners practice threetimes a week with Fox, Rankin County Sheriff BryanBailey, Chief Deputy KenMcBroom and other lawofficers. Bailey and some ofthe officers ran with theteens in the Governor’s Run.Their goal is to participate inthe half-marathon event ofthe Mississippi Blues Marathon in January.The running program isone of a series of alternatives to detention utilized byRankin County officials aspart of the Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative.JDAI is a national program which seeks to eliminate inappropriate or unnecessary use of secure detention, minimize re-arrest andfailure to appear rates pending adjudication, ensure appropriate conditions of confinement in secure detention,reduce racial and ethnic disparities, and redirect resources to sustain successfulreforms, according to GloriaSalters, state co-coordinatorfor JDAI.Five Mississippi countiesparticipate in the JuvenileDetention Alternatives Initiative. Adams, Leflore andWashington counties werethe original pilot sites starting in 2008. Rankin Countybecame involved in the program in 2010, said AssistantAttorney General PatriciaMarshall, state cocoordinator for JDAI. Harrison County kicked off itsprogram July 13, 2012.Initial funding camefrom the private, non-profitAnnie E. Casey Foundation.The U.S. Department ofJustice Office of JuvenileJustice Delinquency Preven-October 2012tion provides continuingfunding through a JuvenileAccountability Block Grantadministered through thestate Department of PublicSafety Division of PublicSafety Planning, and theCasey Foundation providessome funding, Marshall said.Harrison County CourtJudge Margaret Alfonso,said, “The mission is to improve the juvenile justicesystem without compromising public safety.JDAI isbuilt on the foundation thatsecure detention is to beused for those who are adanger to the public, or aflight risk.”Juveniles who are neithera danger to the communityor a flight risk can benefitfrom rehabilitative programswithout confinement. JudgeAlfonso said, “You justcan’t treat juveniles like youwould adult prisoners. Withchildren, there has to be atrue commitment to rehabilitation, as opposed to justpunishment. There are betterways of dealing with thejuvenile justice system thanincarceration.”Harrison County YouthCourt works with nonprofits to place at-risk children in constructive programs. In 2011, Hope Community DevelopmentAgency of Biloxi paid forsix youths ages 15 to 17 towork for the Youth Court.Nine teens worked for theYouth Court this summer,Judge Alfonso said. Theteens did office work andhelped with recreation,crafts and feeding of children housed at a shelter. Thecourt also found outsidefunding to enable three children to attend summer camp.“What I’m doing is keep-Rankin County Juvenile Detention Center Director Eric Foxing them busy and keepingthem off the streets,” JudgeAlfonso said. “It’s careerbuilding, character-building,recreational and fun.Youjust have to find theirstrengths and nurture thatand help them with theirweaknesses. Every child hasa strength. We don’t alwaysfind it early enough,” shesaid.Counties participating inJDAI use a systematic approach to evaluate all casesto determine whether a juvenile should be detainedwhile awaiting adjudicationby the Youth Court. A riskassessment tool utilizes apoint system that takes intoaccount the nature and seriousness of the offense andother factors. The pointscore on the risk assessmentdetermines who should bedetained, released or supervised in an alternative program.Rankin, Adams, Lefloreand Washington counties allsaw decreases in the numbers of juveniles detainedduring the 2011 fiscal year,according to Salters. RankinCounty saw a 4.2 percentdecrease; Adams, 5.1 percent; Leflore, 12.6 percent;and Washington County,11.2 percent.The risk assessmentevaluation process helpedWashington County reducethe number of juveniles heldin detention, said CountyCourt Judge Vernita KingJohnson. However, she saidthere is work to be donetoward reducing the numberof juveniles who are takeninto custody.Judge Johnson said that inWashington County, African-American juveniles aretaken into custody in disproportionate numbers. Ninetyeight percent of the juvenileswho are brought to theWashington County JuvenileDetention Center are AfricanAmerican; the population ofWashington County is about65 percent African American, Judge Johnson said.“We want everyone to getequal treatment regardless ofrace, class or culture. Wewant that in our juvenilejustice system. We want it tobe a neutral setting,” Judge
October 2012Johnson said. “We want todeal with the offenses. Wewant to deal with the circumstances. We don’t wantto deal with race, class orculture because that shouldnot come into play with regard to what to do with thischild or that child. A child isa child.”Rankin County is workingto reduce recidivism, Baileysaid. Many adult offendersgot into trouble as juveniles.The JDAI program seeksways to address the problems which cause juvenilesto commit offenses, in aneffort to prevent repeat offenses and to prevent crossing over into the adult criminal system.Detention alone isn’t adeterrent, Fox said. “If Icontinue putting him in detention, I’m ultimately goingto put him in prison someday,” Fox said.“If we can find somethingon the front end to curtail itor stop it, it’s going to helpour county,” Bailey said.Bailey said training forand participating in racesteach the teens about settingand achieving goals throughhard work, discipline, andsticking with something.It’s also an op-Page 5portunity to find and develop talents and interests.Only one of the team hasprevious track experience.Two of the team have doneextremely well. Deputy Michelle Rhodes, who startedthe running program, plansto try to get them involvedin school track activities,Bailey said.“Everyone has a talent orinterest. It’s just a matter offinding that talent or interest,” Bailey said.Since February 2012, juvenile officers with the Rankin County Sheriff’s Department have organized a seriesof life skills presentationsfor youths in detention andon probation. “We wantthem to be successful,” Foxsaid.A Metropolitan Bank officer talked to youth aboutcredit. A representative ofTemp Staff gave tips aboutjob hunting and interviewing. The Brandon Fire Chiefspoke about careers in thefire service. Talks have included etiquette and appropriate behavior with members of the opposite sex.Other programs includeddiscussionsabout drug abuse, drunkendriving, teen pregnancy andsexually transmitted diseases.Some of the juveniles onprobation have also servedas volunteers feeding thehomeless at a shelter. “Thepurpose is to teach them thatyou need to help others, andyou are not as bad off as youthink you are,” said RankinCounty JDAI CoordinatorDawn Mapp. “It’s also away to engage the youth incommunity service and giving back.”The Rankin County AreaExtension Agent talkedabout the importance of agriculture in the state’s economy. Juveniles in the detention center or under YouthCourt probation supervisionmay soon begin learninghow to grow vegetables.Two high tunnel greenhouses were ordered througha U.S. Department of Agriculture grant. “Eventually itwill provide some of thefood the children who aredetained will be eating. It’salso to teach them how togrow crops and feed themselves,” Mapp said.Juveniles got a lesson inhorse sense during a June 13program. Horse trainersset up an arena near thePelahatchie detentioncenter and put twohighly trained TennesseeWalkersthroughtheirpaces, includingkneelingandlater picking d a greenyearling QuarterHorseandPaul Thompson demonstrates horse training to Rankin County youths.showed the youths a style ofgentle pressure, release andreward training.Professional horse trainerPaul Thompson drew a parallel between working withjuveniles and horses. “If Ioverpower them with pressure, they shut me off,” hesaid. “To question is OK,but rebellion is out of thequestion.”Thompson, formerly ofPelahatchie and now livingin Rocky Face, Ga., workedthrough catching, halteringand leading the horse. Hewaved and draped ropes,garbage bags and tarps to getthe horse accustomed tosights, sounds and sensations. His training styleholds the horse’s attention,makes him understand, andrewards his efforts. After anhour’s work, the horse stoodas Thompson waved arounda loud running chainsaw,minus the chain.“If you are willing to putthe time and effort in theright way, you will get positive results,” Thompson toldthe crowd. “We are going toget control of him withoutphysically hurting him,” hesaid as he worked with thehorse. “First comes trust,then a little understanding,and now respect.”A Flowood couple whosechildren are on probationsaid they would use theequine demonstration as ateaching moment for theirson and daughter, who wereunder house arrest after being caught smoking marijuana. “We are going to talkto them in the car on the wayhome and say, ‘This is whatwe are trying to do with you.There are consequences toyour actions,’ ” the womansaid.
Page 6October
Rankin County Sheriff’s Of-fice Attorney Richard Law-rence, Department of Public Safety Juvenile Facilities Monitoring Unit Director Donald Beard, Hinds County Sheriff Tyrone Lewis, Mis-Hudson said of the GPS sys-tem in Adams County. How-ever, the Adams County pro-gram is about to run out of money. It operated on a grant that runs out in October.
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