Mississippi

Delinquency proceedings: Members of the public are excluded from juvenile delinquency hearings in Mississippi unless they have a direct interest in the cause or work of the court. Miss. Code Ann. § 43-21-203 (West 2011).

Dependency proceedings: Media coverage of delinquency or “child in need of supervision” proceedings is strictly prohibited except in extraordinary and compelling circumstances. Miss. Youth Ct. R. 5.

Delinquency and dependency records: Juvenile court records are confidential except by court order in situations where the court determines that disclosure would advance the child’s best interest or public safety. Non-identifying information is available to people engaged in bona fide research. This general rule of confidentiality does not apply to the names and addresses of juveniles who: 1) have been adjudicated delinquent twice for an act that would be a felony if committed by an adult or for the unlawful possession of a firearm; and 2) have been adjudicated delinquent for murder, manslaughter, burglary, arson, armed robbery, aggravated assault, any sex offense specified in a particular statute, any violation of a particular statute involving drug trafficking or any violation of a particular statute involving driving under the influence. Nor does the prohibition apply to the disclosure of information in a criminal defendant’s juvenile record if such information is discussed in open court. Jeffries v. State, 724 So. 2d 897, 899—900 (Miss. 1998). And in holding that a youth court judge did not abuse his discretion in releasing records of a juvenile’s adjudication of delinquency for shoplifting for use as a defense in the juvenile’s civil suit arising from the same incident, the Mississippi Supreme Court stated that the right of confidentiality in youth court proceedings is qualified and not an absolute privilege. Daniels by Glass v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 634 So. 2d 88, 93 (Miss. 1993).

Law enforcement agencies may publicly disclose information about a child taken into custody for the alleged commission of a delinquent act without a court order. But the information may not identify the child or the child’s address unless the information involves a child convicted as an adult. Miss. Code Ann. § 43-21-261. But the statute does not prohibit release of the name and identifying information of a child reported missing or abducted. Miss. Op. Att’y Gen. 2002-0561 (2002). Law enforcement agencies also may disclose any public record it has maintained that contains statistical information regarding the number of arrests of students at local public schools, including records that categorize students by age, grade level, sex, race, offense(s) charged and disposition of charges, provided that the records do not contain any information from which the child may be identified. Miss. Op. Att’y Gen. 2008-00290 (2008). In cases where there is any indication or suggestion of either abuse or neglect and a child’s physical condition is medically labeled as “serious” or “critical,” the general rule of confidentiality does not apply. Moreover, in cases of child deaths, the state Department of Human Services may release the following information: 1) the child’s name; 2) the address or location; 3) a verification from the agency of case status, i.e., no case or involvement, case exists, open or active case, case closed; 4) if a case exists, the type of report or case, i.e., physical abuse, neglect, etc., date of intake and investigation, and case disposition, i.e., substantiated or unsubstantiated. This information may not be disclosed, however, if there is a pending or planned investigation into the death by any local, state or federal government agency or institution. Miss. Code Ann. § 43-21-261.

Restrictions on coverage: The Mississippi Constitution states that “in prosecutions for rape, adultery, fornication, sodomy or crime against nature the court may, in its discretion, exclude from the courtroom all persons except such as are necessary in the conduct of the trial.” The Mississippi Court of Appeals held that the defendant’s right to a public trial was not violated when the trial court excluded the public from the courtroom during the testimony of a child sexual assault victim. The court recognized the sensitive nature of the testimony, the family dynamics, the emotional state of the child and the child’s age. Tillman v. State, 947 So. 2d 993, 995 (Miss. Ct. App. 2006); Richardson v. State, 990 So. 2d 247, 251—52 (Miss. Ct. App. 2008) (finding same in case involving child fondling). A request for closure must be docketed, as notice to the media and public, in the court clerk’s office at least 24 hours before any hearing on the matter may be held, and the media have standing to contest a court order restricting public access to legal proceedings. Gannett River States Publ’g Co. v. Hand, 571 So. 2d 941, 944 (Miss. 1990). Mississippi law also allows a child victim or witness who is less than 16 years old and testifying about sexual or child abuse to do so outside the presence of the defendant via closed-circuit television or video-recorded testimony if the court determines that the child witness would suffer traumatic or mental distress from testifying in open court on before the defendant. The statutes do not specify whether the media and public may remain in the courtroom during this testimony. Miss. Code Ann. §§ 13-1-405, 13-1-407. Court rules governing electronic and photographic coverage of judicial proceedings explicitly prohibit such coverage of minors. Miss. R. 3.