SACRAMENTO, Calif. (CN) — A federal judge ruled on Thursday in favor of a California county and its workers, effectively ending a civil case over whether foster children were improperly removed from their home.
Faun O’Neel had argued that the city of Folsom in Sacramento County, along with its police officers and social workers, had removed her children after one of them lied and said he’d been abused. O’Neel claimed government officials pressured the children to provide answers they wanted, as well as included and omitted key details from a warrant application.
Folsom and two police officers already had settled the case. On Thursday, U.S. District Court Judge William Shubb granted summary judgment and dismissed the remaining claims against the county and other government employees.
The ruling effectively ends the case, unless O’Neel appeals.
“That decision has yet to be made,” said attorney Robert Powell, who represents O’Neel, in a Thursday phone interview with Courthouse News. “It’s a long haul. It’s about a year-and-a-half in the Ninth Circuit.”
Attorneys for the defendants couldn’t be reached for comment.
O’Neel had argued the government and its workers recklessly made false statements or withheld information that led to her children being removed. However, Shubb found that errors in an affidavit caused by negligence or simple mistake don’t invalidate the document. Also, there’s no law requiring a supervisor to review a subordinate’s warrant application.
According to O’Neel, the social worker failed to review an interview with the child who made the abuse allegation and instead relied on what the officers said. Shubb ruled that the worker had no reason to question the officers’ accuracy as officers typically are entitled to use information they get from other officers.
That means neglecting to review interviews or their transcripts wasn’t a reckless disregard for the truth, the judge wrote.
Also, opting against further investigation after the child said he’d been picked up by the neck at most led to negligence, but not to a legal claim, Shubb added.
“Additionally, it is not clear that further avenues of investigation concerning the choking incident would have yielded information that, if included, would have been material,” the judge wrote.
O'Neel in a Monday hearing said key details didn’t appear in the warrant application that were in a police report. The child who first claimed he’d been abused later said he lied. He said he didn’t know why he claimed abuse, adding that he’d been angry and wanted to apologize.
Shubb also ruled in favor of the county and its workers on false imprisonment and official policy claims. He wrote that they’re entitled to qualified immunity, which protects governments except in cases where they’re obviously incompetent or knowingly break the law.
The abuse claim against O’Neel has long since been dismissed and the children returned to her, Powell said.
That accusation stemmed from a Dec. 20, 2020, 911 call one of the children made after being disciplined. Police officers arrived and spoke to the children. Days later, social workers went to the home and took the kids. They were placed with a maternal grandparent. A social worker later filed a petition to have them declared dependents of Juvenile Court.
A judge in January 2021 granted that petition and placed the children with paternal grandparents. Their dependency was terminated in July 2021.
Powell expressed frustration with Juvenile Court, saying its proceedings are closed to the public and that people, deemed guilty, must prove themselves innocent.
“I’m very upset because if this behavior is allowed to continue unchecked, it’s going to continue,” he said.
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