Right to counsel

Mississippi , Legislation , Truancy - Petition Against Child

In Mississippi, truancy is treated as a “child in need of supervision” matter (Miss. Unif. Rule Youth Ct. Proc. 33(a)) or a dependency matter (Miss. Unif. Rule Youth Ct. Proc. 33(b)).  And indigent children have a right to appointed counsel in such proceedings, due to Miss. Unif. Rule Youth Ct. Proc. 24(a)(5) (child in need of supervision) and Miss. Unif. Rule Youth Ct. Proc. 24(b)(4) (dependency).

Appointment of Counsel: Yes
Qualified: No
? If "yes", the established right to counsel or discretionary appointment of counsel is limited in some way, including any of: the only authority is a lower/intermediate court decision or a city council, not a high court or state legislature; there has been a subsequent case that has cast doubt; a statute is ambiguous; or the right or discretionary appointment is not for all types of individuals or proceedings within that category.