Judge says case is not affected by gag order

By JoANNE VIVIANO
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- A Mahoning County juvenile judge says there is no gag order in the case of a 16-year-old girl accused of killing an infant.
Judge Theresa Dellick and lawyers have been referring to the order for the past 18 months.
The judge told The Vindicator on Friday that there is no gag order prohibiting lawyers and others from discussing the Jackie Colon case with the press.
Jackie is accused of killing 3-month-old Alex Zalovcik at her family's Youngstown home. She has been diagnosed with mental illness and mental retardation, according to Atty. Don L. Hanni Jr. Officials have struggled to find placement for her.
Lawyers, and Jackie's mother, Michele, have reserved comments saying they are bound by a gag order issued by interim juvenile Judge Joseph E. O'Neill in June 2001.
On Friday, Michele Colon said Judge Dellick twice threatened to put her in jail if she discussed Jackie's case. She said the judge told her, " 'I'm telling you I do not want you talking about your daughter's case.' "
Judge Dellick said she did not tell the woman she could not talk about the case but told her she must abide by Judge O'Neill's ruling.
"I never told anyone not to mention the case," she said.
Judge Dellick, in September, told reporters she would like to review the order but said her understanding was that it prevented lawyers and parties in the case from commenting.
Judge O'Neill's ruling
A Vindicator reporter was given access to rulings in the case earlier this week. Judge O'Neill's order states: "There is to be absolutely no media involvement directed to the placement of or at the Indiana Developmental Training Center." The ruling came after Judge O'Neill authorized the placement of Jackie at the facility. That placement fell through, and Jackie was eventually sent to an Oklahoma facility.
Judge Dellick said Friday that she had reviewed the ruling.
"When I read it, I saw that the confidentiality order was strictly for placement in the Indiana facility," the judge said. She is the third judge involved in the case.
Michele Colon expressed frustration that she felt bound from discussing her daughter when Judge Dellick "didn't even read" the order. She said Judge Dellick had told her "'It's not about Indiana, it's about your daughter.'"
"I'm tired of all these people not listening," she said.
Hanni supported Judge Dellick, saying she is the "best juvenile judge we've ever had." He said that Jackie's file is extensive and that Judge O'Neill's order was vague and could be interpreted as a gag.
Judge Dellick, in July 2001, called Hanni, Michele Colon and her attorney, Mark S. Colucci, to court to remind them that the order was in effect and that they should abide by it, court documents show.
In April 2002, she again reminded Michele Colon of the order.
Hearing closed to press
A competency hearing Wednesday was closed to the press because it involved confidential medical records, Judge Dellick ruled. A Vindicator reporter objected to the hearing's being closed. Court staff had said in September that the hearing would be open to reporters.
Reporters are at times kept out of courtrooms in cases like Jackie's that may appear to be politically charged, said Dan Macallair, executive director of the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice in San Francisco
"They're probably trying to reach a negotiated settlement quietly," Macallair said. "That may or may not be in the best interest of the child."
Judge Dellick ruled that there was no overriding public interest that superseded Jackie's right to privacy.
Aside from the criminal matter, there are two pending civil lawsuits regarding Jackie's case.
If it is not settled before then, a February 2004 date has been scheduled for a trial in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court. Michele Colon is suing a Youngstown counseling center, a psychiatrist and two unidentified doctors.
A second lawsuit, filed in December 2001 by Michele Colon, is pending in federal court.
The common pleas lawsuit, filed in March 2002, alleges that D & amp;E Counseling Center, Dr. William Fikter and two other doctors were negligent when they failed to properly diagnosis, treat and manage Jackie's mental illness and symptoms, causing her to become "terminally mentally ill." It seeks in excess of $25,000.
The $3 million federal suit names D & amp;E Counseling Center, Dr. Fikter, Mahoning County, the county Board of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities, the county Children Services Board, the county Board of Mental Health, Youngstown Board of Education and Forum Health Tod Children's Hospital and Northside Medical Center.
It alleges that negligence in caring for Jackie before the death of Alex led to his death and resulted in Jackie's current situation. It also alleges that Jackie's stay in the Mahoning County juvenile detention center before the Oklahoma placement was wrong and amounted to cruel and unusual punishment because it caused her mental condition to worsen.
The suit says Jackie ate her own feces, walked naked among the detention center population and had a dangerous weight gain.