Copyright 2004, San Mateo County Times

County may open hearings to the public
San Mateo would be the first in the state to adopt such a policy

(San Mateo County Times 12/7/04) -- San Mateo County may become the first in the state to let the public routinely attend hearings for abused and neglected children.

Reacting to nearly two years of criticism over its handling of a murdered-child's case, the county counsel's office has asked the juvenile court to open all child-dependency hearings unless a parent, child or guardian objects.

But officials with the Private Defender Program, which represents children and their families, said they will oppose the move, citing privacy concerns.

"To have a young pre-pubescent girl or teenage girl have to tell a courtroom full of people how she was molested is very troubling," said John Digiacinto, who heads the program.

But, according to the petition, certain information about the families, such as name and address, could be kept confidential.

Juvenile Court Judge Marta Diaz -- who has been a judicial leader in opening juvenile proceedings to the press -- said Monday she could not comment because she would likely have to hold hearings on the petition if it is contested.

The request is the latest in a string of major child-welfare policy changes in the county stemming from the death of 8-month-old Angelo Marinda, a ward of the county's Human Services Agency.

"Through the last couple of years the department and the agency have come under a lot of
criticism," said County Counsel Tom Casey. "We think there would be great benefit by having the proceedings open in public, as most court proceedings are."

Casey said he knows of no other county in the state with open juvenile hearings, although courts in New York, Iowa, Michigan and Minnesota allow them.

Although the petition was filed by county counsel on behalf of HSA, a spokeswoman for the agency refused to say if HSA supported the change.

Through a spokeswoman, HSA Director Maureen Borland said, "That is an issue for discussion between the county counsel and the courts."

The Marinda case began at Christmas 2002, when Angelo was sent home by county social workers on an unsupervised visit with his family -- despite repeated abuse by someone in his family. His father, Ronnie Marinda, was convicted in May of the child's murder.

Following Angelo's death, Diaz, a blue-ribbon panel and a civil grand jury all released reports on the child-welfare system's failings. After a series of stories in The Times, county supervisors hired an independent consultant last summer to oversee changes in the system. Many changes, such as the creation of a director of child welfare, have already been instituted, but opening up the system to the public would be profound, experts say.

"It sounds like a very, very promising development, and hopefully, it will be viewed elsewhere as an experiment for other counties to try," said Peter Scheer, executive director of the California First Amendment Coalition. "In the long term, most importantly, there's a benefit from openness."

Scheer said when all juvenile hearings are closed, the public loses confidence in the process, especially after tragedies such as Angelo's death.

Supervisor Mike Nevin, who's been involved in reforming HSA, said he was thrilled by the request to open hearings.

"This is an added protection for our kids," he said. "If anything good comes out of Angelo's death, it's how far it has taken this agency in protecting our children."

The open hearings would be modeled on state legislation that was supported by children's advocates.

"I realized that the only way for the system to change for the better was from more public scrutiny," said Darrell Steinberg, the former assemblyman who sponsored the bill, which stalled in committee.

Shauna Mullins, one of the foster mothers who cared for Angelo, said she was heartened by the idea. She said she's concerned, though, that parents may try to close most of the hearings, shutting out foster parents who are important players in children's lives.

In Angelo's case, Mullins said she received no information about prior suspected abuse by his father, which might have helped her be a stronger advocate for him.

Nevin, however, said parents could not close the hearings without a valid reason.

Casey said some sensitive cases involving molestation could be closed, but criminal proceedings related to them are often covered by the press.

"We have nothing to hide, really, and we don't see in most cases any particular detriment," Casey said. "If the public wants to see how these cases are conducted, let them come."

By Amy Yarbrough and Emily Fancher