Judge Threatens Jail In Homeschool Case

A judge who was demanding – for his own use – the names and addresses of all the homeschool students and their parents in his Mississippi judicial district threatened school officials with jail if they didn't give him what he wanted.

The reports of the threat from Judge Joe Dale Walker, of the state's 13th Chancery district court, come from one of the attendance officers involved in the case in which Walker demanded the student data.

"He threatened us," said one of the school officials later  served with an order the judge wrote and signed for himself.

WND reported a week ago when Walker was ordered by the state Supreme Court to explain his demands.

His order for details about homeschoolers has been suspended until April 18 at least, when his explanation is due to the high court.

Walker declined to respond to multiple message left by WND seeking comment on the situation.

The state Supreme Court got involved when lawyers with the Home School Legal Defense Association, which fights for the rights of homeschooling worldwide, was informed of the situation by some of its members in Mississippi, and petitioned the high court on an emergency basis.

Walker had called a meeting with the school attendance officers and told them to provide the students names and addresses. They hesitated, as under federal law such information is confidential, and the judge said he had researched the issue and it was safe for them to give him the information, according to one of the attendance officers who spoke with WND today.

However, the state education department told them not to provide the information, and the judge, upset with the results, threatened that he would go write his own court order and then they would have to comply, the attendance officer said.

"The judge wanted information. We tried to explain we didn't think we could give it to him," the officer, whose identity is being withheld by WND. "He wanted it. He threatened us, said if he gave us a court order and we did not fulfill, we would be in contempt and would be arrested."

When WND reported on the case, it was noted that the information is being sought by the judge himself, as there is no underlying case, motion or dispute that could have prompted the request. There was no case number on the order and there were no other documents in the court file.

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