Courts Should Be Held to the Same Standard as Bail Agents
Mississippi taxpayers pay for every courtroom in the state. It is past time they see how those courts are performing.
It is past time for Mississippi courts to publish court appearance statistics by judge. Every day, judges make decisions on who is released from jail and how they are released after being charged with a crime. Those decisions influence whether a case moves forward, whether it is ever resolved, and whether a community is safer because of it. Judges hold enormous power over these outcomes, yet the general public never sees the results of those decisions, judge by judge.
The public is paying for all of it. Taxpayers pay for the buildings, the lights, the insurance on the buildings, the furniture, the computers, the salaries, the benefits, and the retirements. Every other public service is expected to show what it delivers for the money it spends, and the courts should be no different. So the question is fair, and it is simple: what are we getting in return?
Our message is that judges should be held to the same standard as a bail agent. A bail agent is accountable for every person released on a bond. When we write a bond, we stay with that case until it is closed. We know where our clients are, we remind them of their court dates, and when one fails to appear, we go find them and return them to court. If that person does not appear, the bail agent answers for it. Our results are measured, and our failures carry a cost. A judge’s release decisions carry consequences that are just as real, and they should be measured the same way.
The information we are asking for is not complicated. How was each individual released from jail? How long does it take for a case to close? If a fine was assessed, how long did it take to collect, if it was ever collected at all? How many unpaid fines are pending collection right now? How many people fail to appear, and how many of those cases are found guilty in absence, which can hide the true level of non-compliance? How many warrants remain open, and how long have they gone unserved? Open warrants affect the productivity of the court system, and when there is a victim in the case, justice delayed is justice denied. If an individual is placed on probation, how many fail to comply with their terms and conditions? These are management-level statistics. They directly demonstrate how well or how poorly a court system is functioning, and they affect public safety. Every failure to appear delays the case, adds work for the court, and raises the question of whether release conditions are being enforced at all.
We have a right to know how operations are being handled, and that right should not depend on which courthouse a case lands in. Mississippi Code § 9-1-46 already requires court clerks to report criminal case information to the Administrative Office of Courts twice a year, and those reports are shared with state agencies. Nothing in that law requires the results to be published for the general public, judge by judge. Access to this information must be mandatory, statewide, from every single court. Not some courts. Not the courts that choose to volunteer. Every one. A court system that publishes its numbers can show the public it is working. A court system that hides them leaves the public to conclude that it is failing to meet its primary reason for existing.
Michael D. Morrison
Michael D. Morrison
Michael D. Morrison
Michael D. Morrison
About the Author
Mike Morrison is the 2026 PBUS National Bail Agent of the Year, President of the Mississippi Bail Agents Association, and a nationally recognized bail educator, speaker, and criminal justice commentator. With more than 35 years of hands-on experience as a licensed Professional Bail Agent and owner of Mike Morrison Bail Bonding Company in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, he brings a practical, real-world perspective to discussions involving American legal history, institutional accountability, constitutional rights, public safety, technology, and public policy.
Morrison is recognized as a bail trainer by the Mississippi Judicial College and is a sought-after guest speaker for judicial, prosecutorial, and industry conferences across the country. He has presented before state judges, justice court clerks, prosecutors, attorneys general staff, and bail professionals nationwide, and he travels to state bail association conferences to speak on bail and on social media strategy for the profession. He also leads professional education and ethics programs for bail agents through the Master Class Bail Agent Series and other national training initiatives.
At the national level, Morrison works with the Professional Bail Agents of the United States (PBUS) Board of Directors and supports its committees on national initiatives. He also works with the boards of directors of other state bail associations, sharing the strategies behind Mississippi’s successes so they can be put to work across the profession.
He has published nearly 200 articles examining the institutions, policies, and decisions that affect working Americans. His writing is grounded in decades spent inside courtrooms, jails, communities, and the criminal justice system, and his commentary has surpassed 1.75 million views across social media in 2026.
Independent, plain-spoken, and focused on accountability, Morrison writes and speaks about the intersection of government, liberty, public safety, professional responsibility, and the real-world consequences of public policy in Mississippi and across the nation.
© 2026 Mike Morrison. All rights reserved.
