COUNTYWIDE : Judge Asked to Ease Curbs on Ex-Patient

An Orange County Superior Court judge has ordered research to see if a limited guardianship would be appropriate for Alberto Valdez, a 39-year-old deaf man, and his estate.

Valdez, who was improperly institutionalized for 30 years, was released last November. He was not at Wednesday’shearing, during which his lawyer, Mike Purcell, asked Judge Manuel A. Ramirez for permission to set up a limited conservatorship.

Valdez was given permission two months ago to live with his parents in Santa Ana. Since then, the allowance that he won in a lawsuit against the state has been managed by a private conservator. Details of his personal life have been supervised by another conservator, who is a longtime friend and tutor.

Ramirez praised Valdez for his “phenomenal progress in such a short time” and told the lawyer representing Valdez’s private conservators, John P. Deily, to study the limited conservatorship and report back by March 30 on whether his clients also felt it would be appropriate for Valdez.

Deilysaid after the hearing that he favors the limited conservatorship system because it would encourage Valdez to be less dependent on the conservators.

“If everything is being done for him, he won’t rehabilitate as quickly,” Deily said. “This is to foster more freedom to the individual. As he becomes more adjusted, this system will strip away layer by layer the obligations of the conservators and let Alberto make decisions for himself.”

Deily said Valdez was still learning sign-language in the evenings at home and still working at Goodwill Industries in Santa Ana. He started out busing tables, then moved to dish washing and is now in food preparation.

“He is moved around so we can make sure that he can handle change and see how he interacts with people,” Deily said.

Judging from the reports by Valdez’s employers, teachers and family members, he continues to do well at work as well as at home, according to Ramirez.

Valdez spent nearly his entire life in mental hospitals after a childhood test showed low intelligence. Subsequent tests produced conflicting results. Some showed he possessed above-average intelligence, but others indicated that he was retarded or schizophrenic.

Valdez’s sister sued the state in 1977, contending that he had been improperly institutionalized. To settle the suit in 1988, the state bought an annuity that will support Valdez for the rest of his life. He was awarded $60,000 for the first two years of his institutionalization, $50,000 a year for the following three years and $30,000 a year after that.

Deily said he wanted to limit Valdez’s presence in court because it disrupts his rehabilitation.

“Every time he has to go to court he’s afraid that he might have to go back to an institution,” Deily said.