Jackson Jambalaya

If you can't afford to pay court fees, then you shouldn't be allowed to have custody over your child. The problem is that the price of admission for parenthood is simply too cheap.

That is an absolutely ignorant comment. Just because a parent can't afford to pay court costs (which are staggering) that are NOT in their budget doesn't mean you take their children away from them.

That is an absolutely ignorant statement. Just because folks can't pay their court costs (which are staggering and and no one's budget) doesn't mean you take the children away from them.

Agree the price of admission for parenthood is too cheap. But what makes this country unique is that the constitution protects everyone, even the stupid and irresponsible.

The tough thing for government is to find a balance of those rights without extending them. That balance has been off kilter for a while.

I look forward to the day 10:14am becomes supreme ruler, and determines that the poor cannot keep their kids and they must become wards of the state. I expect a Mussolini-style ending for him.

This guy sits on the Commission on Judicial Performance?! Why were they in youth court if " When the car was stopped for a minor traffic violation, it was discovered that both adults had outstanding warrants for routine misdemeanor offenses." Here it says they were adults. And why oh why does Judge Shirley say his resignation had nothing to do with the case, but that it was because of a personal disagreement with the mayor? (per the CL) All this just doesn't add up.

Very Slippery Slope, 10:14. Owing court fees has nothing to do with being a good providing parent.

Wait, John Shirley has ordered something thoughtless, heartless, reckless, stupid and unprecedented? This is my shocked face.

Dear Judge Shirley, You cannot hold a child for RANSOM over court fees. You are not the SUPREME RULER of the land, and from all the talk I keep hearing this wasn't his first time being an overbearing A$$. Someone has little man's syndrome. Your issue isn't with the administration of Pearl, it it with the fact that someone called you on your a$$inine inability to properly serve as a JUDGE. BUH BYE.

Did anyone else read his statement? HA! Everyone is to blame but himself! It's Judge Broome's fault, no wait it's Mayor Windham's fault! Oh wait those LOUSY caseworkers caused this mess... **insert eyeball here***

Wake up John Shirley! You can't blame the social workers when you have the ultimate authority and find say so... ESPECIALLY when you don't consider or allow for the recommendation of the social worker!

Why is an ad for his firm - with him in his judicial robe - on the websites for the courts? The Commission on Judicial Performance doesn't have a problem with THAT?

The real question is will he be reelected once again to the Rankin County Justice Court? Or do Rankin County voters like Judges who violate the law as long as they are doing it to poor folks.

I hope Pearl is already gearing up for the inevitable 1983 suit that will be filed in 10, 9, 8, 7, 6... And deservedly so. While the "price of admission" to parenthood is too cheap, the youth court system in Mississippi is an appalling abuse of power which is shielded from public oversight by ridiculous privacy laws.

She would have been justified in shooting this Judge imo

10:14, you sound like you are a member of the "LUCKY SPERM CLUB" and have never faced any kind of hardship.

What a very stupid statement you made !

11:19, Have you bothered to go to internet and type in pearlyouthcourt.com or pearlmunicipalcourt.com?

I hope he gets sued and they take everything including his frickin crutch- he sucks as a human being

Y'all need to learn how to read. The press release from the "Justice Center" (a left-wing advocacy group) doesn't say the kid was taken away because she hadn't paid fees. It doesn't say paying the fees was the ONLY condition to get her getting it back, either. It just says that paying some kind of fee was one of the conditions to lifting the no-contact order. The actual record, of course, is sealed.

That condition on the order may or may not be legal (I tend to think it was probably legal, but I really don't know), but the entire press release was carefully drafted to make you assume these things without ever actually saying them.

10:14am here, people need to understand that parenthood is a big deal, and when you fail as a parent EVERYONE faces the consequences. Just ask Kingston Frazier. Or better yet, spend five minutes in South Jackson or any metropolitan city in the country. If I had a penny for every child that has been brought into this world with no resources and no chances of success whatsoever, I would be richer than Trump and Clinton combined.

Hopefully this situation is the first step in a process of ridding Rankin County of the scourge that is John Shirley. He needs to go.

People need to read all information before making a rush to judgement. This judge has served this state with distinction and honor. He has been hard on offenders. Pearl is not only a buffer to Jackson but is a blue collar city. Many are there due to low cost housing. This judge has helped many of these poor people by holding them accountable to what acceptable living is and acceptable parenting is. He has worked closely with the school system. It is a fact that Pearl has had and is having financial problems. The mayor has a way of shading the truth as he also did when he campaigned. If Pearl needs to close the court for money reason I get that. Just say so. Don’t get personal vendettas involved and don’t get politics involved. If you think that a judge over in Brandon or pelahatchie can serve the needs of pearl as this judge did you will be disappointed. Then the group that chased after this mayor to get elected will be chasing after another when your property values go down and the rif raf from Jackson run the streets.

Judge Shirley has always given out big fines and is a strong proponent of the Pay or Stay system. He needs to go.

@1:14, Is that you Judge Shirley?

1:14PM, Judge Shirley deserves all the grief he is getting over this. He is an angry, hateful man that just stepped in it BIGLY. I predict that the people of Rankin County will not reelect this man to the Justice Court bench, but chances are that he will also resign from that position as well or be forcibly removed from office. Either way, good riddance.

So, if you are the child riding in the backseat, and your mom and her friend driving the car are arrested on outstanding warrants, what would you want??

What is the alternative? DHS just hands back little Sally to her ex-con Mom no questions asked??

The ignorance of people with their "MY BABY" attitude.

So Shirley reads JJ.

Good to know.

10:14/1:03, I'll bet you're "pro-life" as well. Like all the wonderful bible thumpers who exude joie de vivre.

"In August 2016, “Mother A,” an African-American resident of Jackson, was traveling through Pearl while looking for employment. She was a passenger in a friend’s car, and her child rode with them in a car seat. When the car was stopped for a minor traffic violation, it was discovered that both adults had outstanding warrants for routine misdemeanor offenses."

There is only one reason to mention the child being in a car seat: Either the driver or passenger, perhaps both, were not wearing a seat belt. Easy pickings for the jack boot wearing fellows in the Dodge Chargers that watch you with the eyes of hawks from the beautiful City of Perlin. Here again, as I've stated it many times on this blog, the seat belt violation is a State Law mandated $25 fine to the driver ONLY. No additional courts costs, nada. 25 bucks. Period. However, the City of Perlin expects you to pay them $75 for the heinous crime. So what's the difference between $25 and $75 to many of us? Not much and not worth the hassle of waiting your turn on the docket when you show up on the court date with 100+ "Group W bench offenders" sporting mullets. Others may have trouble coming up with just the $25 much less the $75. Quite frankly, I hope it was the City of Perlin's violation of the seat belt law that initiated this case. So where did the extra $50 go? We've already learned a few weeks ago that the Court Clerk made off with what, nearly $200,000 before being caught? Did she roll on the Judge? What was his cut? Who wants to tell me that the City of Perlin is really concerned about your safety with regard to a damn seat belt, and not using the law for an easy detainment for a "fishing" expedition?

@1:14... Youth court was on the chopping block during the budget cuts, however the aldermen voted against getting rid of the city youth court. Pearl, by the way, was the only city in MS with its own youth court. I bet if they'd gotten rid of the youth court then that Pearl wouldn't have had as many lay offs as they did.

John Shirley just needs to be glad he still has his income from the Justice Court.. because I certainly don't see him getting reelected....

This is awful. Some judges are fair and try to help people, but our criminal justice system puts up way too many barriers for people who are accused of NONVIOLENT crimes where was NO VICTIM. This is a big part of our labor force problem.

Wow, 1:39 PM. Convicts to you are people who have unpaid misdemeanors?

I remember my sophomore year I ran a stop sign or was speeding in Starkville (can't remember which). I waited to pay the fine partly because I did not want questions from my parents.

I forgot about it until I got a call from my dad about why a letter had come stating a warrant was out for my arrest for an unpaid traffic ticket. He wired the money to me and I showed up to the Starkville PD and paid my outstanding fine and resolved the situation.

I guess I am an ex-convict to you? The ignorance of middle class / new money people who have no humanity or forgotten understanding of what it means to be poor.

Fortunately for me, I've never had to decide between eating or paying for a misdemeanor moving violation. I hope you realize that no one is perfect, and that while sure, at some point a poor decision was made to warrant a misdemeanor for these ladies, that 1)doesn't make them convicts and that 2) holding a child hostage for paying fines is never appropriate.

It seems like the rest of the posters agree with Shirley's actions being too much.

We need more good judges who understand the complexities of poverty and use the court system for Good. (Too poor to pay this fine? Volunteer at xx place for xx hours over the next year [we will work with your schedule], as an example.)

Where are you getting this idea it was a traffic violation? The press release says she was stopped for a minor traffic violation but that she was found have a preexisting "routine" misdemeanor warrant. What was it for? Her lawyer didn't say, presumably because the details wouldn't reflect well on her.

Protip: If you can't afford fines don't break the law.

Two of the worst judges in the state are Shirley and the late Fairley. Both are gone now for different reasons but the damage they did lingers.

Also, there is a strong monetary incentive in the Mississippi code for a Guardian ad Litem (sp?) to drag out a case
instead of getting it settled or closed. This is why things move so slow here in Mississippi and why easily solved problems
take forever to solve.

10:14 am here, it doesn't matter if one is pro-life or pro-choice. No one is above the law and no one should have a child if they cannot afford to take care of their child. What a controversial position!! I guess we should all let Uncle Sam foot the bill and we have as many babies as we can pump out!!

Stupid Idiot went to Justice Court today and cut an offer summonsing over 10,000 people to court for unpaid fines. True!

GAL here. I know that the cases I worked on I wanted a resolution as quickly as the system would allow. Getting paid was very difficult and I often got partially paid or not paid at all. Even with a court order. Parents would scream poverty the second I submitted my bill. $75.00 per hour. A very reasonable rate.

So I think most of the people don’t really know the entire truth.
1. Pearl youth court was going down one way or the other. When the mayor couldn’t get it done going through proper channels he brokered a deal with the Macauther Center.
2. The Macauther center is a liberal social justice entity that is conectrd to the ole Miss law school. If most OM grads knew the liberal mindset of this mess they would wet themselves.
3. The Macauther Center is a branch of the original Macauther Center based in Chicago to champion social justice. Yes the Chicago of Obama and Rom Emmanuel.
4. The conservative voters of pearl who elected the mayor would be not happy if they knew their mayor played politics by partnering with this sorry bunch.
5. The defendant in the case was riding the roads in pearl looking to steal, score drugs and hook up with someone. Not trying to get a job. She told Jackson and Hinds county to go _ _ _ _ themselves by not attempting to take care of her legal troubles. She attempted to tell that to pearl. She was no count to be a responsible mother. Because custody was taken away, even temporary, she was not getting her government check. The mayor, a former police officer, by politicizing this has set her back up to be a thug and sent a message to Jackson thugs to come hang out and ride the roads of pearl.

6:11 am It's The Macarthur Foundation and you don't seem to know anything about it other than it's in Chicago and to you , that's enough. You must be a follower of Wooster. He's a right winger who attacks any foundation who gives a dime to any issue he doesn't like...can't study climate change or prison overpopulation or the justice system and get a grant without being labelled "liberal". The primary grants are given to outstanding, people in their respective fields of study who are looking at creative ways to solve societal problems.

If financial security were the only qualification for parenthood, most of the commenters would not likely have been born. That would be an argument in favor of a financial minimum requirement for parents if I didn't know that rich people can be lousy, even abusive parents.

Here's a news flash: some of the most historically important contributions to the world have been made by the children of poor people. Oh, let's add poor and raised by single moms. Ever heard of Leonardo Da Vinci and Alexander Hamilton?

There's also the troubling oversight of what the child in question might need and how being removed from contact with the only mother the child has known might affect the child. You've assumed the mother was not loving and that she couldn't meet the child's needs, when all we know is that she couldn't meet the child's needs and pay fines for misdemeanors. Please read about child development and what the traumatic results can be when a child is removed from a parent.

Please ,also,look up the word " misdemeanor". If everyone who has had a speeding ticket or broken tail light loses their child, it'll cost you dummies a lot more that welfare costs to pay for foster care or to pay a custodial substitute. But, I'll bet not a one of you know what actual welfare payments are in this State or how much a foster parent gets per child.

God save us from the deliberately ignorant!

shirley has, or rather had, three (3), count em, judicial positions at one time. rankin county justice court judge, pearl municipal court judge, and pearl youth court judge. these are part time jobs that pay full time salaries of about 55,000$ each, plus the full benefits package of insurance, retirement, ect. no wonder everyone wants to work for the government. now he's gonna have to get by on only one government salary , and may, god forbid, have to get back out on the street and earn a living practicing law.

to 6:11.... noticed in paragraph 5 of your rant you imposed a little censorship on your own self. do us a favor and censor everything you got to say.

Shirley is not a member of The Judicisl Prrformsnce Commission . He was a long time ago but resigned.

after a stunt like this he may be getting acquainted with the committee on judicial performance once again .

@6:11 am. Do you have proof of the Mayor's connection to the MacArthur center? It certainly would be damning in this case and interesting for those of us that may have blindly supported him during his election.

Neither a mayor nor another Judge can be blamed for this type of ignorance. Just like everyone that appears before him, not my fault. Funny how Justice looks when you are on the receiving end.

The Washington Post first reported on Mr. (I can't call this dung Judge) Shirley's Judicial Hell Hole and One Stop Shop of Horrors, which was very embarrassing for Pearl and Mississippi (it fed into every negative stereotype of Mississippi--you should see the Comments to the story, like why doesn't Mississippi find a different nation to belong to?). Mr. Shirley you are not welcome in Jackson either, so don't think you can retreat here. Better go deeper into the swamps and woods to eek out an existence.

OMG, someone needs to take my children away from me. My husband and I live in south Jackson, of all places, and we have three smart-mouth teenage boys. Their stomachs are bottomless pits. I have a parking ticket that I haven't paid. Our combined income is approximately $70,000. We're barely paying the mortgage. There is no way we will be able to afford to buy cars and pay college tuition for these children. We're such bad parents because we don't have a lot of money. Please call someone to come and take my children, but DO NOT expect us to come and take them back. We need the break.

Fewer sociopaths than I expected in this thread. Slightly.