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TAMPA---A spokesman for the Florida Department of Children and Families says that attorneys for the social services agency have filed a motion for the recusal of Sixth Circuit Court Judge Crockett Farnell from a case involving DCF's failure to timely transfer mentally ill inmates to secure hospital facilities.
By law, once an inmate has been declared mentally incompetent to stand trial, they must be transferred to a secure hospital facility within 15 days. There are currently 300 inmates statewide who have been held in county jails longer than the requisite 15 days due to a shortage of beds in state hospitals.
According to DCF spokesman Al Zimmerman, the motion seeks Farnell's removal "on the basis that we do not believe the judge can be objective on either case".
The other case to which he's referring is the contempt case of DCF secretary Lucy Hadi. Late last month Farnell charged Hadi with seven counts of indirect criminal contempt which could subject her to jail time if found guilty, saying that Hadi had ignored his order to move the inmates. On Thursday, Farnell fined Hadi $80,000 and on Friday, Hadi, 60, submitted her resignation.
It's likely that she will remain at the agency until the end of January or until Governor-elect Charlie Crist appoints a replacement.
The St. Petersburg Times reported that Farnell had stated that he would "love to" jail Hadi and DCF says his comment indicates that he can't be impartial in the matter.
After Hadi was charged with contempt, DCF said it had found $5 million to fund 85 more beds by mid-December but said that more money was needed to solve the problem. They had allocated another $6.8 million from the 2006 budget in October to fund 87 beds.
Bob Dillinger, Pinellas-Pasco public defender who had pushed the issue to place the mentally ill inmates in facilities where they could receive mental health treatment said that he didn't feel it was Hadi's fault but rather the Governor's for failure to authorize adequate funding.
Several inmates at the Pinellas County Jail who should have been transferred gouged their eyes out.
In October, Farnell had ruled that the social services agency was in contempt for placing mentally ill inmates in jeopardy by failing to comply with the state law.
Due to a shortage of beds and funding, some 300 inmates statewide have been waiting more than three months for a bed in mental health facilities.
In late September, Farnell ruled that he would fine DCF $1,000 a day, at the expense of the taxpayer, for each mentally ill inmate who remained in the Pinellas County Jail more than 15 days.
An agency spokesman said it would appeal Crockett's ruling. Although Hadi is personally liable for the fine, the spokesman said the state would pay it if the appeal failed.
http://www.northcountrygazette.org/articles/120206ShowdownLooming.html
DCF and Hadi are scheduled to reappear before Farnell on Dec. 14 for another hearing and Farnell could levy even more sanctions if the inmates still have not been moved.
Hadi also faces similar court hearings in both Jacksonville and Miami this week and judges there have commented that they may also find her in contempt. 12-04-06
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© 2006 North
Country Gazette
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