In re R.D.W. v. Natchez-Adams Sch. Dist.


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Docket Number: 2006-CP-01971-COA
Linked Case(s): 2006-CP-01971-COA

Court of Appeals: Opinion Link
Opinion Date: 04-15-2008
Opinion Author: IRVING, J.
Holding: Affirmed

Additional Case Information: Topic: Juvenile justice - Adjudication of delinquency - Transfer from alternative school - Section 43-21-621(1) - Jurisdiction
Judge(s) Concurring: KING, C.J., LEE AND MYERS, P.JJ., CHANDLER, GRIFFIS, BARNES, ISHEE, ROBERTS AND CARLTON, JJ.
Procedural History: Bench Trial
Nature of the Case: CIVIL - JUVENILE JUSTICE

Trial Court: Date of Trial Judgment: 10-01-2006
Appealed from: Adams County Youth Court
Judge: John Newton Hudson
Disposition: The court entered a final judgment in which it held (1) that R.D.W.’s request to modify the school board’s finding was moot and that the court lacked jurisdiction to enter an order altering R.D.W.’s placement at Central Alternative School, and (2) that the court did not have jurisdiction to alter or amend its prior order which adjudicated R.D.W. a delinquent, as R.D.W. failed to timely appeal the court’s finding.
Case Number: 06-CV-0295

  Party Name: Attorney Name:  
Appellant: IN THE INTEREST OF R.D.W., A MINOR CHILD




R.D.W. (PRO SE)



 

Appellee: NATCHEZ-ADAMS SCHOOL DISTRICT BRUCE M. KUEHNLE  

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Topic: Juvenile justice - Adjudication of delinquency - Transfer from alternative school - Section 43-21-621(1) - Jurisdiction

Summary of the Facts: A due process hearing was held wherein R.D.W., a ninth grade student at Natchez High School, was expelled for one calendar year. The Board of Trustees for the Natchez-Adams School District reduced the period of expulsion to the remainder of the 2005-2006 school year and allowed R.D.W. to attend Central Alternative School at the beginning of the 2006-2007 school year. R.D.W. was adjudicated a delinquent by the Adams County Youth Court. R.D.W. filed a motion with the Adams County Youth Court in which he requested that the court modify its order adjudicating him a delinquent and order the Natchez-Adams School District to allow him to return to Natchez High School. The court held that R.D.W.’s request to modify the school board’s finding was moot and that the court lacked jurisdiction to enter an order altering R.D.W.’s placement at Central Alternative School, and that the court did not have jurisdiction to alter or amend its prior order as R.D.W. failed to timely appeal the court’s finding. R.D.W. appeals.

Summary of Opinion Analysis: R.D.W. argues that the youth court erred in refusing to order his transfer to Natchez High School from the alternative school. While section 43-21-621(1) empowers a youth court to order a state-supported public school within its jurisdiction to enroll or reenroll any compulsory-school-age child in school, the statute does not grant to the youth court the power to designate the specific school in which the child is to be enrolled. In fact, the statute is clear that that determination is to be made by the school district superintendent. R.D.W. also argues that he was denied his due process and equal protection rights afforded to him by the Mississippi and United States constitutions when the youth court failed to amend its order adjudicating him a delinquent. Because R.D.W. did not appeal the court’s decision, the court lacked jurisdiction to modify its order.


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