NCJ Number
70132
Date Published
1980
Length
157 pages
Annotation
This fifth volume of a six-volume study of Mississippi's court system examines the State's organization and operation in three areas: clerks of court, court reporters, and indigent defense services.
Abstract
The discussion of court reporters deals with statutory authorization, training, qualification standards, reporting methods, compensation, time allocation, and travel. The analysis of indigent defense services explores organization of services, compensation of assigned counsel, eligibility criteria for indigency, funding of services, and alternative modes of service delivery. The creation of the Office of the Court Clerk to provide administrative support to the judicial functions of the chancery and circuit courts is recommended. The proposed court clerk should be an appointed official, selected by a majority of the chancery and circuit judges serving a county. The proposed system of court reporters envisions a more centralized locus of court reporter administrative support by judicial system authorities, which would include the State's setting and funding court reporter salaries and the creation of a certification program administered by the Judicial Council. At the same time, the recommendations suggest a flexible system able to respond to the individual needs of each county. In the area of indigent defense services, it is recommended that the ad hoc method of assigning counsel to defend indigents be eliminated and replaced by public defender offices administered on a local, regional, or statewide basis. Supplementary data are appended, and tabular data and footnotes are provided in the report's body. See NCJ 70127-31 and NCJ 70133-34.