If you're a teen then walking across a neighbors yard can get you shackled and strip searched in Mississippi. This was so outrageous that the judge was suspended from the bench and ultimately the kids were found Not Guilty.
http://www.desototimes.com/articles/201 ... 570072.txtThree juveniles, including one Southaven teen, were shackled and then strip-searched at an Alcorn County Youth Detention facility following an incident in Tate County in which they were arrested for walking through a neighbor's yard.
Cliff Johnson, attorney with Pigott and Johnson, a Jackson-based law firm, plan to hold a press conference today in Senatobia concerning the incident.
In a related matter, the Tate County Board of Supervisors have approved a "no confidence resolution" in Youth Court Judge Leigh Ann Darby of Senatobia who also serves as Drug Court Judge and family Master for Tate County.
Attorneys argue that While Darby did not order the strip search of the teens, her actions by ordering the children be taken into custody instead of being released to their parents set in motion the series of events which unfolded in Alcorn County, including the strip search incident.
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Attorneys for the parents and children allege that Darby ordered all three children be taken into custody immediately rather than being released to the custody of their parents which is normally the custom.
The resolution requests that Chancery Court Judge Percy Lynchard, Senior Chancellor for the Third Chancery Court District, remove Darby.
Lynchard suspended Darby as Tate County Youth Court Referee for 60 days following the July 8, 2011 incident. She is scheduled to resume her position on Nov. 1.
The Third Chancery District is comprised of DeSoto, Grenada, Montgomery, Panola, Tate and Yalobusha counties.
When the complaint first surfaced, Lynchard said he ordered his own investigation into the matter.
"Quite frankly, she (Darby) overstepped her bounds," Lynchard said. "I felt like some action needed to be taken and it was."
Lynchard said Darby is approaching her fourth year as Youth Court Referee.
"Up until this past May, I had heard no complaints," Lynchard said. He did not elaborate on what other complaints he had received concerning Darby.
Johnson said shortly after the teens, all 15 years-old, were taken to the police station, Darby, who was at the police station on another matter, insisted all three children be given a drug test.
When a father of one of the teens said he would like to talk with an attorney, Darby ordered all three children be taken into custody immediately, according to Johnson.
"There was no hearing, the children had no legal counsel, and there were no formal findings made by Darby," Johnson said.
Police shackled the teens' hands and placed them in a transport van.
"They then were driven over two hours to the Alcorn County Youth Detention Center," the complaint alleges. "Upon arrival, the two girls and one boy were stripped naked and forced to squat and cough while being closely observed by guards. They remained incarcerated in the facility from Friday night until Monday morning."
On Oct. 3, 2011, the Tate County Board of Supervisors passed a "no confidence resolution" declaring that the board has "no confidence in Leigh Ann Darby, and that it is not in the best interest of Tate County that Leigh Ann Darby continue to serve as Youth Court Judge, Drug Court Judge and Family Master for Tate County."
Johnson said the legal counsel for the parents and children were informed by the administrator of the Alcorn County Youth Detention Center that it is the policy of that facility to strip search every juvenile who enters the detention center regardless of age and regardless of offense with which they are charged."
However, Johnson said the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, which hears appeals of federal cases from Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas, has made it clear that "a strip search of an individual arrested for a minor offense must be premised on a reasonable suspicion that the detainee is carrying weapons or contraband."
"According to the Fifth Circuit, any strip search conducted without such reasonable suspicion violates the guarantee of the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution that American citizens will be protected against unreasonable searches," Johnson said.
On Oct. 20, 2011, the three teens faced trial on the trespassing charge brought against them on July 8. Darby was recused from the case.
All three were found not guilty.
"This is an extremely disturbing case that highlights the need for strict oversight of youth court judges and youth detention centers," Johnson said on his clients' behalf.
"These three children, like all children in Mississippi, deserve better. We are deeply troubled by the fact that Leigh Ann Darby will resume her position as Youth Court Referee for Tate County on Nov. 1. We applaud the members of the Tate County Board of Supervisors for so clearly declaring to Judge Lynchard their belief that Leigh Ann Darby should not serve as a judge in Tate County."
Johnson said the Alcorn County Youth Detention Center, and any other youth detention center in Mississippi with the same policy of strip searching each and every juvenile entrusted to them, "must end immediately its practice of conducting invasive and degrading strip searches of children without regard for the unique facts and circumstances of each case. The effects of a child or adolescent being forced to strip naked and be searched by a prison guard is profound and Mississippians should be outraged …"
Darby could not be reached for comment when a reporter contacted her office in Senatobia.
