A prominent Lamar County judge and the chief of the Hattiesburg Police Department have been named to the Mississippi Commission on a Uniform Youth Court System and Procedures, which is designed to have discussions on whether to make changes to the existing youth court system, potential costs and what is in the best interest of the children who come under the supervision of the youth courts.
Circuit court judge Brad Touchstone was elected on August 31 as chairman of the commission, while Gov. Tate Reeves appointed HPD chief Peggy Sealy to the commission’s Department of Child Protection Services. Touchstone, along with chancellor Gerald Matin of Raleigh, was originally appointed to the board by Mike Randolph, chief justice of the Mississippi Supreme Court.
“I really look forward to this work,” Touchstone said. “I think (Randolph) selected me for this role because I have a background in youth court – when I was (Lamar) County court judge, I served as youth court judge for those four years.
“So I think he felt like, as a circuit judge, I’d have the requisite background to offer suggestions on how we can improve our youth court system.”
Touchstone previously served in the Mississippi House of Representatives, where he represented District 101 from 2016 to 2019. He left that office after election to the county judge position in 2018.
Sealy began her law enforcement career with the Hattiesburg Police Department in 1988 as a meter maid. In 1992, she went through training at the Hattiesburg Police Training Academy before being named assistant chief in December 2017.
In 2021, she was appointed as chief of the department.
During her tenure at HPD, Sealy has served as a patrol officer, training instructor, sergeant in the detectives’ division, lieutenant in internal affairs, the accreditation manager, liaison to the Forrest County District Attorney’s Office, patrol commander, Neighborhood Enhancement Team member, and the special Tactics and Rescue Team’s hostage negotiator.
"'I believe it is important for law enforcement, judges, department of child protection and state representatives to work together to help children that may not have a voice of their own, and that they have representation," Sealy said. "The youth is our future, so we have to make sure we give them opportunities to succeed if our system fails them.
"Our children of Mississippi need to be given (opportunities for) long-term success. It is an honor and privlege to sit on the Mississippi Commission on Uniform Youth Court System and Procedures."
The commission began discussions on August 31 regarding the youth courts. It is expected to submit a report to the Mississippi Legislature on the matter in October 2024.
The commission’s next meetings are scheduled for September 22 and October 19.
“Our primary goal is just to gather data and look at how our outcomes are different, with some of the ways that we serve our youth,” Touchstone. “One thing a lot of people don’t realize with our youth court system, it’s kind of a bifurcated system – counties that have a county court, like Lamar and Forrest counties, we have full-time youth court judges.
“In counties that do not have a county court – which are your smaller, more rural counties – they don’t have full-time youth court judges. They have what we call referees, and those referees are appointed by the chancery judges to hear youth court cases in those counties. So one of the things we’re going to look at is, does the lack of uniformity in the way that we handle youth court, does that result in different outcomes?”
