NCJ Number
84776
Date Published
1982
Length
11 pages
Annotation
This selection addresses the vulnerability of the Mississippi Judicial Council and advisory agencies in general to attacks from opponents of reform efforts.
Abstract
The Mississippi judicial Council existed from 1977 through June 1980, when the legislature failed to renew it. The Council was a statewide office designed to evaluate court operations, to develop goals and objectives for the court system, and to formulate proposals for possible legislative adoption. Despite a successful 3-year period in which the Council operated with relatively few legal, operational, or financial constraints and produced useful reports and recommendations, the Council failed to win legislative renewal. Several factors contributed to the Council's elimination, including Mississippi's political and cultural resistance to innovation, centralization, and perceived bureaucratic growth. In addition local interests (primarily judges and court clerks) mobilized against the Council and its proposal to consolidate and upgrade minor trial courts. One figure, 1 table, 12 notes, and 27 references are provided.