Judge resigns and youth court shut down after baby is taken from mother over unpaid court fees

Boing Boing

The Youth Court of Pearl, Mississippi has been shut down and its judge, John Shirley (also a Republican Party activist) has been forced to resign after widespread disapproval of his decision to bar a mother from seeing her 4-month-old baby for 14 months over her unpaid court fees.

The story began when the mother, who is African American, was passing through Pearl on a job-hunt. She was pulled over by local police, who found that she and the car’s driver had outstanding warrants for misdemeanor offenses. She and the driver were arrested and the baby was declared “abandoned” by the arresting officer, despite the baby’s grandmother arriving “within minutes” of the arrest.  

Judge Shirley’s court awarded custody to the grandmother, and issued an order prohibiting the mother from having any contact with her baby until the court fees were paid, an act that Roderick and Solange MacArthur Justice Center director Cliff Johnson called “judicial kidnapping.”

When the Center took on the mother’s case and publicized it, Pearl Mayor Jake Windham shut down the Youth Court, and another judge vacated the no-contact order. Judge Shirley resigned before he could be fired, and insists that he resigned over differences with the mayor, and not because he knew he was about to be fired for gross misconduct.

Windham, a 16-year law enforcement veteran, said Thursday that Shirley has his facts wrong. He said the mayor and Board of Aldermen were presented with information and did an investigation.

“We acted under objective facts,” Windham said. “It was simply that we had to act on a situation to safeguard citizens and the city of Pearl.”

Windham said it is an unfortunate incident and he is sorry that Shirley is allowing his emotions to get the best of him.

All Pearl Youth Court cases will now be transferred to Rankin County Youth Court, Windham said

Pearl Youth Court judge resigns, court permanently closed [Jimmie E. Gates/The Clarion-Ledger]

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10 thoughts on “Judge resigns and youth court shut down after baby is taken from mother over unpaid court fees

  1. The judge should be disbarred and the mother should sue the county and the judge personally as well as the police

    1. DISBARRED??????????????
      BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!
      YOUR ON THE WRONG SITE HOMER……… BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

      1. And Sue is a woman’s name not something you can actually do towards a gov agent.
        But you could possibly find their house and burn it to the ground just saying anything is possible heck forests just catch fire in cali why not Mississippi?

  2. This nearly happened to me since we couldn’t pay the “failure to appear” fines for “no seatbelt” the previous year…almost lost son and toddler daughter. Fortunately, the country judge was a good woman who was also investigating crookedness in the county’s sheriff department. And almost lost them again in the winter of 1996-97 to CPS, but I truly believe divine intervention and prayer interceded this time…a couple of months before the Republic of Texas standoff.

    1. DL, I cannot even imagine the pain and fear involved in the prospect of losing your children. This is an unconscionable act.

  3. How the hell does this happen? Take your kids?????????

    If this doesn’t kick it off, nothing will. But then again, a lot of people hate their kids. 🙂

    1. Bury his ass,then dig him up for trial? Why not? That’s more than the victims of Las Vegas got….

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