Judge blocks effort by Dallas Co. commissioner to access juvenile department records
DALLAS COUNTY - A civil court judge has denied a request from a Dallas County commissioner to access documents that say how long juveniles spend in solitary confinement.
Dallas County Commissioner Andrew Sommerman and county judge Clay Jenkins, who are part of the nine-member juvenile oversight board, subpoenaed documents from the Dallas County Juvenile Department (DCJD) called observation sheets.
The sheet detail detainees activity every day, including time spent "behind the door," also known as solitary confinement.
Sommerman said he wanted to know if reports by parents of kids and even some former employees of juveniles in isolation for hours are true.
"We're here because the Dallas County Commissioners Court has a very important job to do, and we need information to do it, judge," argued Jennifer Richards, the attorney for Dallas County Commissioners Court.
Sommerman argues the observation sheets are needed to determine if DCJD should have more employees or even a larger budget.
DCJD executive director Darryl Beatty pushed back. His attorney says the documents are confidential by state law and sued to stop the commissioners attempted access reading from state law in court.
"The juvenile board shall set policy, the juvenile board may investigate, the juvenile board may do any special studies, it never mentions the county commissioners, not once," said Frank Adler, co-counsel for the Dallas County Juvenile Department.
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Judge Eric Moyé weighed the arguments from both sides.
"The defendant commissioners court has not provided authority to this court that justifies the issuance and the execution supplied with its subpoena, so therefore, the motion to compel is denied," said the judge.
The observation sheets Sommerman sought will stay secret inside the juvenile department, but if the entire juvenile board has concerns, those can be addressed.
"The juvenile board which has the authority they can raise whatever issues are appropriate with the board they can ask the board to do whatever investigations they deem necessary, and they continue to do so in the future," said Judge Moyé.
They keep the records confidential, but there is still another issue out there.
That is a criminal investigation by the state's Office of Inspector General into alleged mistreatment of juveniles in the facility.
That investigation was still in the process, as of last week.