Whose job is it to draft Mississippi youth court orders, the prosecutor or the court staff?

Plain-English summary

A Yazoo County Youth Court Judge asked the AG who is responsible for drafting youth court orders. She referenced a 1996 AG opinion (Harkey) that distinguished between paperwork for filing a petition (the prosecutor's job) and paperwork for adjudication, disposition, taking a juvenile into custody, and similar matters (the court staff's job, hired by the judge and paid by the county under § 43-21-119).

The AG applied the Harkey framework to the court's work and concluded that "drafting the orders of the court would be the responsibility of the court staff hired by the judge." Section 43-21-119 says the judge appoints personnel as provided in § 43-21-123, with their cost paid out of available funds budgeted for the youth court by the board of supervisors.

The opinion's footnote quotes an earlier opinion about a Circuit Judge's discretion to ask others involved in the criminal court process to draft an order. The Cotton opinion does not extend that footnote into a ruling that the youth court prosecutor must, may, or cannot be required to draft orders.

The AG also noted a procedural caveat: opinions are not issued to advise one public officer about another's duties. Section 7-5-25 limits AG opinions to questions of law for the requestor's own future guidance. To the extent the request asked about the prosecutor's duties, the AG declined to answer. To the extent it asked who is responsible for the court's own orders, the AG answered.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2020. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

Background and statutory framework

Section 43-21-119 sets up the youth court's staffing structure:

The judge or his designee shall appoint as provided in Section 43-21-123 sufficient personnel, responsible to and under the control of the youth court, to carry on the professional, clerical and other work of the youth court. The cost of these persons appointed by the youth court shall be paid as provided in Section 43-21-123 out of any available funds budgeted for the youth court by the board of supervisors.

Section 43-21-123 governs how youth court staff are appointed and compensated, with the funding coming from the county budget allocated to the youth court.

The Harkey opinion (Dec. 16, 1996) provided the operating framework:

[P]aperwork necessary for the filing of a petition should be done by the prosecuting attorney of the youth court. Paperwork for an informal adjustment, an adjudicatory hearing, as well as paperwork necessary for taking a juvenile into custody and disposition of a case should be done by youth court staff, hired by the judge and paid by the county, out of the court budget . . . .

The 2020 Cotton opinion applies Harkey to orders and concludes that drafting court orders is court staff's responsibility. It declines to answer the separate question about the prosecutor's duties.

The footnote references the Johnson opinion (April 27, 2001), which concerned a Circuit Judge. It quotes that opinion's statement that a Circuit Judge may require someone involved in the criminal court process to draft and present an order for signature. Cotton does not decide how that discretion applies to the youth court prosecutor.

The AG's process note about § 7-5-25 deserves attention. AG opinions are issued for the requesting official's "future guidance." They cannot be used to assign duties to a different official. So when a judge asks "what is the prosecutor's job?" the AG can only answer to the extent the answer is part of the judge's own guidance about how to administer the court, not as a directive to the prosecutor.

Common questions

Q: Can a judge require the youth court prosecutor to draft adjudication orders?
A: The AG expressly declined to answer the part of the request about the prosecutor's duties. It concluded that drafting orders of the youth court is court staff's responsibility. The footnote quotes an earlier opinion about a Circuit Judge, without deciding whether a youth court prosecutor can be required to draft an order.

Q: What if the youth court has no dedicated staff to draft orders?
A: Section 43-21-119, quoted in the opinion, directs the judge or designee to appoint sufficient personnel and provides for payment from available funds budgeted for the youth court. The opinion does not address a staffing shortage.

Q: Can the judge use law clerks or interns to draft orders?
A: The opinion does not address law clerks or interns. Its footnote quotes an earlier opinion about a Circuit Judge, but Cotton's conclusion is that youth court staff are responsible for drafting the court's orders.

Q: Can the judge require parents' or children's lawyers to draft orders?
A: The opinion does not decide whether those lawyers may be required to draft orders. Its answer assigns responsibility for drafting youth court orders to court staff.

Q: Does the Cotton opinion apply outside Yazoo County?
A: The opinion was directed to the Yazoo County Youth Court Judge and interprets the statewide youth court staffing statute, § 43-21-119. It does not address a dispute in another county.

Q: What about informal-adjustment paperwork?
A: The Harkey opinion includes informal-adjustment paperwork in the court-staff bucket alongside adjudication and disposition. The same is true in 2020.

Citations and references

Statutes:

• Miss. Code Ann. § 7-5-25 (AG opinions issued to requesting officials for future guidance)
• Miss. Code Ann. § 43-21-119 (youth court staffing)
• Miss. Code Ann. § 43-21-123 (appointment and compensation of youth court personnel)

Source

• Landing page: https://attorneygenerallynnfitch.com/divisions/opinions-and-policy/recent-opinions/
• Original PDF: https://attorneygenerallynnfitch.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/M.Cotton_January-31-2020-Preparation-of-Youth-Court-Orders.pdf

Original opinion text

Lynn Fitch
ATTORNEY GENERAL
OPINIONS DIVISION

January 31, 2020

The Honorable Mary B. Cotton
Yazoo County Youth Court Judge
Post Office Box 1437
Yazoo City, Mississippi 39194

Re: Preparation of Youth Court Orders

Dear Judge Cotton:

Attorney General Lynn Fitch is in receipt of your opinion request and has assigned it to me for research and reply.

Background and Issues Presented

Your request asks us to determine if the Youth Court Prosecutor is responsible for preparing the orders issued by the youth court in the prosecution of a juvenile delinquent. You cite a previous opinion issued by this office dealing with a school attendance officer by which this office opined:

> [P]aperwork necessary for the filing of a petition should be done by the prosecuting attorney of the youth court. Paperwork for an informal adjustment, an adjudicatory hearing, as well as paperwork necessary for taking a juvenile into custody and disposition of a case should be done by youth court staff, hired by the judge and paid by the county, out of the court budget . . . .

MS AG Op., Harkey (December 16, 1996). You then ask if the term "paperwork" includes orders issued by the court. You state you believe the term "paperwork", as used in the previous opinion, includes orders of the court. You ask "whether the Youth Court Prosecutor should be responsible for generating the orders resulting from all adjudication and disposition hearings conducted in the Youth Court."

Response and Legal Analysis

Section 7-5-25 of the Mississippi Code Annotated provides the Attorney General is authorized to issue official opinions to designated State and local public officers upon any question of law relating to their respective offices. Official opinions are not issued to advise one public officer about another public officer's duties and responsibilities. To the extent your request asks about another official's responsibilities, we decline to answer. However, to the extent your question may be limited to who is responsible for the preparation of the orders of the Youth Court, we provide the following response.

In a previous opinion to the Honorable Dale Harkey, this office opined:

> It is our opinion that paperwork necessary for the filing of a petition should be done by the prosecuting attorney of the youth court. Paperwork for an informal adjustment, an adjudicatory hearing, as well as paperwork necessary for taking a juvenile into custody and disposition of a case should be done by youth court staff, hired by the judge and paid by the county, out of the court budget, as provided for in Sec. 43-21-119.

MS AG Op., Harkey (December 16, 1996) (emphasis added).

While the Harkey opinion pertained to the duties of a school attendance officer, we find the opinion nonetheless applicable here, as the relevant portion of the opinion clearly deals with the youth court prosecutor's duties as well as the court's duties pursuant to Section 43-21-119 of the Mississippi Code Annotated. Section 43-21-119 states:

> The judge or his designee shall appoint as provided in Section 43-21-123 sufficient personnel, responsible to and under the control of the youth court, to carry on the professional, clerical and other work of the youth court. The cost of these persons appointed by the youth court shall be paid as provided in Section 43-21-123 out of any available funds budgeted for the youth court by the board of supervisors.

(Emphasis added.) Any paperwork necessary to commence a filing in the youth court would be the responsibility of the youth court prosecutor. However, any paperwork for "taking a juvenile into custody and disposition of a case" is the responsibility of the youth court staff which is hired by the judge and paid by the county out of the court's budget. Therefore, drafting the orders of the court would be the responsibility of the court staff hired by the judge.

(Footnote: Though finding the Judge to be ultimately responsible for the issuance of his orders, this office further opined that, "the Circuit Judge may, in his discretion, require a clerk, administrator, attorney, or other individual involved in the criminal court process to draft and present a court order for the judge's signature, in order for the action to be properly recorded among the court's minutes." See MS AG Op., Johnson (April 27, 2001).)

If we can be of further assistance, do not hesitate to call us.

Very truly yours,

LYNN FITCH, ATTORNEY GENERAL

Emiko Hemleben
Special Assistant Attorney General