Print

Email story

Comment

Email editor

Judge in DCF flap recuses himself

Pinellas Judge Farnell removes himself. He had said he'd "love to" jail the DCF secretary.

By CHRIS TISCH
Published December 12, 2006

LARGO - Pinellas Judge Crockett Farnell, who caught the nation's eye recently by threatening to jail the outgoing secretary of the Department of Children and Families, removed himself from the case Monday.

Farnell held DCF Secretary Lucy Hadi in contempt of court and threatened to jail her because the agency wasn't removing mentally ill inmates from the Pinellas jail within the 15 days required by law.

Though judges rarely talk about ongoing cases, Farnell told the St. Petersburg Times last month that he would "love to" throw Hadi in jail.

"I'll do whatever I have to do to get somebody's attention," Farnell said.

DCF lawyers filed motions asking Farnell to recuse himself from the case, saying his comments indicated he could not be fair.

In his order Monday, Farnell said he could be impartial, but felt DCF's motion was legally sufficient to force his removal.

Still, he took the opportunity to write a scathing three-page motion aimed at DCF and Hadi, who announced Dec. 1 that she would resign in January.

"It has been far too long that these mentally ill defendants have agonized invisibly, forgotten in the county jail by a would-be protector who has turned its back on them," Farnell wrote.

He also wrote: "It is unfortunate that the head of the department, Secretary Lucy Hadi, chose to resign at a time when her attention was most needed by those entrusted to her care."

Reached in his chambers Monday afternoon, Farnell said he shouldn't have spoken to the press about the case, but said he felt strongly about the issue.

"That's the way I felt, so let the chips fall where they may," he said. "I wanted to get somebody's attention in Tallahassee so these poor souls could get some relief."

Farnell did get the attention of Gov. Jeb Bush, who accused Farnell of throwing a judicial "temper tantrum."

The case also drew widespread attention, including a front-page article in the New York Times.

DCF officials say they can't meet the 15-day requirement because they don't have enough beds or funding. Statewide, about 300 mentally ill inmates - including about 30 in Pinellas County - are on waiting lists for beds.

The waits have stretched to an average of about three months, during which some inmates have harmed themselves. County jail officials also have complained because mentally ill inmates tax their resources.

Farnell held Hadi in contempt of court, fined her $80,000 and threatened to jail her if the problem wasn't solved.

DCF officials have said they would like to meet the 15-day law, but don't have the funding for more beds. They didn't think threatening their boss with jail time was a proper solution.

"Divisive actions and words have not and will not help to solve this problem," Erin Geraghty, a DCF spokeswoman, said Monday. "We want to work in concert with the judicial system and our corrections counterparts to try to find help for these individuals."

Chief Judge David Demers will assign a new judge to oversee the case, which was pursued by Public Defender Bob Dillinger on behalf of several mentally ill Pinellas inmates.

Farnell, who is retiring in a few weeks after 24 years on the bench, shouldn't have spoken to the press about the case, said Charles Rose, a professor at Stetson University's College of Law.

Still, Rose said he approved of Farnell's orders, though he thinks Farnell could have held lower-level DCF officials who were closer to the situation in contempt of court.

"I'd probably do the entire chain of responsibility and hold them all in contempt," Rose said. "He's protecting defenseless people."

During this ordeal, Farnell has at times been called an activist judge, a phrase Rose said is commonly tossed around when a judge tries to force the executive branch to follow the law passed by legislators.

"One person's activist judge is another person's constitutional defender," Rose said. "It just depends what side of the fence you're on."

Chris Tisch can be reached at 727 892-2359 or tisch@sptimes.com.

[Last modified December 12, 2006, 05:29:59]