CA Corrections officer awarded $2,500 in suit against youth offender

[Greg]

Suit against state ward could set precedent | Ventura County Star

Corrections officer awarded $2,500; teen's lawyers want case dropped

By Raul Hernandez
Monday, October 1, 2007

What happened: In 2005, 16-year-old Ventura Youth Correctional Facility ward Patricia Diane Hills spazt on corrections officer Deborah McCollum. Two years later, McCollum sued Hills in Small Claims Court for punitive damages and won a $2,500 claim. Hills did not attend the trial because she was still locked up.

While on prescribed drugs for post-traumatic stress disorder and under suicide watch at the Ventura Youth Correctional Facility, Patricia Diane Hills refused to be strip-searched and spat on a corrections officer.

That was two years ago, when Hills was 16.

This year, after Hills turned 18, the corrections officer she spat on, Deborah McCollum, went to Small Claims Court and sued her for the "intentional infliction of emotional distress." She asked for $5,000 as punitive damages.

With Hills still locked up and unable to make the court appearance, Ventura County Superior Court Judge Pro Tem Richard Heller awarded $2,500 to McCollum in March.

Today, lawyers representing Hills will be in Superior Court asking for the case to be dismissed on the grounds that Hills' due-process rights were violated and there was no legal basis for awarding the damages.

But this case is much more than just a legal fight pitting a corrections officer against a defiant and angry teen who spat in her face, officials say.

It might determine whether correction officers or others can sue wards — juveniles in the custody of the state — who assault them or make false allegations against them.

Dismissal of case was denied

McCollum, who didn't return calls from a reporter, was aided in her case by the California Staff Assault Task Force, which helps correctional employees sue prisoners.

"This was the first case (in California) against a ward, and we were successful in holding the ward accountable in the assault of a corrections officer," said Charles Hughes, former executive director of the nonprofit organization based in Quartz Hill.

Hughes said an attorney representing the Task Force is expected to be in court today.

On its Web site, the Assault Task Force says its members have been awarded more than $10.5 million in civil judgments against inmates since a group of correctional employees created the organization in 2003. It has 9,000 members, and corrections officers plan to sue more wards, Hughes said.

That stance shocks Philip Dunn, one of Hills' lawyers.

"That's just amazing. That's incredible," said Dunn, who said it seems unfair to take legal aim at youths who are incarcerated for rehabilitation. He said that when Hills responded to the suit by McCollum, it was too late and in the wrong court.

After the judgment against her, Hills wrote letters to Superior Court to get the case dropped. "I don't know what the process is for Small Claims Court, and I am not sure why Ms. McCollum is asking for so much money, but I would respectfully ask the court to dismiss the case." She was unsuccessful.

Recently, her plight fell on the ears of a Ventura County businessman and his wife. They hired Dunn, a Westlake Village attorney, and the law firm of Stowell, Zeilenga, Ruth, Vaughn & Treiger, also of Westlake Village.

"A very fine man and his wife are paying the legal fees," Dunn said. "They believe it is the just thing to do." The couple chose to remain anonymous, he said.

'Shocked' by the legal action

Still, trying to have any case dismissed isn't easy, even with a small army of attorneys.

On Aug. 10, Dunn went to Superior Court to argue Hills' case. Commissioner Mark Borrell denied Hills' request to hold another hearing because she wasn't able to go to court the first time. He concluded that the request was "without merit."

"The defendant made no effort to ask for a continuance in the first hearing, nor is there any evidence the defendant made any request to be transported to court for her hearing," Borrell noted in his decision. Borrell didn't return phone calls from a reporter.

Small Claims Court Judge Heller said on Thursday that he was aware that Hills was locked up and couldn't be at the Small Claims Court hearing. "I awarded (McCollum) for personal injuries," he said.

Heller refused to answer further questions about his decision. "I don't discuss Small Claims cases. It is highly improper," he said.

Dunn and the law firm filed a second appeal on Sept. 7. It landed in front of Superior Court Judge Frederick Bysshe, who ordered the hearing today to determine whether a new trial should be held.

Bysshe also ordered the Ventura County Sheriff's Department to bring Hills to the hearing.

Court records show that Hills was convicted of robbery and put in the youth corrections facility near Camarillo on Dec. 22, 2004. She is scheduled to be released in 2009.

In May and July, before she got legal help, Hills wrote to the Superior Court, stating that she was locked up at the state juvenile detention facility near Camarillo. She stated that she was "shocked" about the legal action taken by McCollum.

"I was 16 years old and my state of mind was not stable," wrote Hills.

As a result of the spitting incident, Hills wrote, she got another year tacked onto her sentence and was ordered to pay $100 in restitution.

Hills stated that she makes $61 a month working inside the facility as an animal groomer and can't afford to pay $2,500.

Dunn said a Small Claims court judgment against an inmate can result in the seizure of half of the money in the person's account, which is used to make commissary purchases.

"She gets paid $60. They'll take $30 of it," he said.

"They waited until she turned 18 years old to file in Small Claims," he noted.

'My job is not to be spit on'

Hughes, however, said wards like Hills need to be held accountable for their actions. "Hopefully, we will send a message to stop assaulting our youth corrections officers," he said.

He said the Small Claims Court procedures are clearly outlined as far as defendants' rights. "They do have their day in court," he said, even if an inmate is locked up. "They can do it in correspondence with the judge."

"Ask yourself a question. If I was to spit on your face, what would you do?"

He said correctional officers understand the job is dangerous and have to show a lot of restraint. "My job is not to be spit on. My job is not to be stabbed," Hughes said.

He said spit can carry diseases such as hepatitis C or HIV. "That's nasty. That's vile. Hopefully, that ward will think twice before she does it to another individual."

In her letter to the court in May, Hills stated she holds no ill feelings toward McCollum.

"I later realized that this action against Ms. McCollum was offensive and I apologized to her and we have had no further altercations since that time. In fact, I believe Ms. McCollum to be one of the nicer officers here at the facility."

The Star on Tuesday filed a request with youth authority officials in Camarillo for permission to interview Hills. Officials said the interview could not take place until a week has passed, to allow time for security procedures.
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© 2007 Ventura County Star