Juvenile Hall Gets Consultant in ACLU Pact

Orange County officials have hired a consultant to train its Juvenile Hall staff as part of an agreement in a lawsuit filed against the county by the American Civil Liberties Union.

ACLU lawyer Dick Herman said Wednesday that the county’s agreement to hire the consultant, Mike Whitaker of Pittsburgh, Pa., is a major step toward improving treatment of the residents at Juvenile Hall.

“Mike Whitaker is the best thing for these kids since sliced bread,” Herman said.

The county’s special counsel on the lawsuit, David Epstein, was unavailable for comment late Wednesday. Juvenile Hall authorities Wednesday evening refused to discuss the issue.

The ACLU filed its lawsuit against the county over Juvenile Hall conditions nearly two years ago. Primarily, the ACLU opposed the use of padded isolation cells and the practice of tying juveniles to their beds at Juvenile Hall.

Used as ‘Last Resort’

Juvenile Hall authorities have claimed that those “tie-downs” and isolation cells are used only as a last resort to control problem juveniles. But the ACLU lawyers claim that they have been used routinely to punish the young people housed at Juvenile Hall. The ACLU claims such treatment is inhumane.

“The rubber rooms (isolation cells) should be used for psychiatric purposes only, not for discipline,” ACLU attorney Harry Lerner said.

Whitaker, who arrived this week, was unavailable for comment. But Herman said it was his understanding that Whitaker opposes such “tie-downs” and “rubber rooms.”

Whitaker, according to Herman, is well known as an expert in operating juvenile facilities. He was recommended to the county, Herman said, by Mark Soler of the Youth Law Center in San Francisco, which has been associated with the ACLU in its lawsuit against the county.

The debate between the county and the ACLU became heated a few months ago, after the county accused ACLU attorney Lerner of encouraging Juvenile Hall residents to create havoc so that officials would be forced to impose the disciplinary measures opposed by the ACLU.

Lerner has vehemently denied the accusations.

The ACLU’s Herman said the county’s decision to hire Whitaker was a result of ongoing negotiations between the county and the ACLU over its lawsuit.

“It is an interim agreement,” Herman said. “Right now, we are on status quo (in the negotiations). We’ll see how this goes with Mike Whitaker and then go from there.”