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Children who are placed in the care of proctor homes should not be considered as incarcerated juveniles, the Utah Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday.
The Utah Supreme Court was asked to clarify what is included in the definition of juvenile incarceration in the wake of a lawsuit filed against the Utah Department of Human Services, Division of Juvenile Justice Services, state of Utah and Quest Youth Services by the mother of a teenager who slipped out of his proctor home and died after falling down a stairwell while drunk in 2007.
Donna Whitney's suit alleges the proctor home where her son, Dillon, was placed did not fulfill its duties to supervise the 16-year-old.
Assistant U.S. Attorney General Bridget Romano argued before the high court earlier this year that the state should be immune from Whitney's negligence claim because state law protects government agencies from litigation, in some circumstances, when people are harmed while incarcerated. The "incarceration exemption" in the Governmental Immunity Act of Utah releases government agencies from negligence liability in Dillon's death, she said.
But the high court ruled against Romano's arguments, which means a lawsuit filed by Whitney against several state agencies may now proceed in federal court.
"We conclude that a juvenile who is placed in an unsecured community-based proctor home is not incarcerated in a place of legal confinement. Accordingly, the incarceration exception to the state's waiver of its sovereign immunity does not apply and the state remains potentially liable for damages related to Dillon Whitney's death," wrote Justice Jill Parrish, in the court's opinion. Justices Christine Durham, Matthew Durrant, Ronald Nehring and Thomas Lee joined in the opinion.
Robert D. Strieper, an attorney for Donna Whitney, argued in December before the high court that the state can't use the immunity clause and should be held liable for negligence in Dillon's death. He argued that proctor care shouldn't be considered as incarceration because Dillon was able to come and go from his proctor home as he pleased. The teen had a bus pass that allowed him to go to work and school, but since he wasn't being properly supervised, he often spent the night at friends' homes, Strieper noted.
"The state wants to say the entire community is a place of legal confinement. This child was able to go anywhere he wanted to. I am arguing that is too broad," Strieper said. "Any child would be considered incarcerated because every child would be considered restricted."
Dillon was placed in a proctor home after landing in juvenile court for several delinquent acts, according to court documents.
On Nov. 24, 2007, police found Dillon lying dead in a stairwell outside of 51-year-old Victor Hernandez' Salt Lake City apartment.
Dillon had suffered a head injury, according to court documents. Witnesses told police Dillon drank vodka provided by Hernandez and fell down 1½ flights of stairs. Hernandez and two of Dillon's teenaged friends moved the boy into Hernandez's apartment and put him on a couch after the fall. The other teenagers then left. Hernandez called police the next day and said there was a person lying in the stairwell near his apartment. Hernandez was later arrested and charged with negligent homicide in 3rd District Court. Judge Judith Atherton issued a warrant for Hernandez' arrest on Dec. 20 when he failed to appear for court.
Investigators from juvenile services launched an investigation into how Dillon ended up at Hernandez's residence. The boy had been living in the proctor care of a local family since August 2007, but the state had granted Dillon permission to visit his father for Thanksgiving. The boy never returned to the proctor family's home on Nov. 23 following the visit.
U.S. District Judge Dale Kimball ruled in favor of Donna Whitney in federal court in January 2010, and ordered Quest Youth Services — the company contracted to have Whitney in their care — to pay the family $1.9 million. Judgments for the other parties named in the lawsuit are pending.
Donna Whitney hasn't received any funds for the judgment awarded from Quest Youth Services, her attorney said, in part because an appeal was sent to the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, which sent the case to the Utah Supreme Court for clarification on the incarceration exemption.
Donna Whitney's case will now be returned to federal court, but a new court date hadn't been set on the calendar as of Tuesday afternoon.
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