Friday, Sept. 16, 2005 | 11:07 a.m.
Clark County District Judge Stewart Bell this morning rejected a request from the Las Vegas Sun for access to the social service records of a 2-year-old Las Vegas girl who died in June of malnourishment and neglect a year after the county closed an investigation into her living conditions.
Bell denied the Sun's motion, part of a lawsuit filed by the newspaper against the county's Department of Family Services, citing a state law that he said protects the privacy of family members without balancing the public's interest in those records.
The Sun sought the records in connection with Adacelli Snyder, the girl who was found dead on June 29 in the family's mobile home at 1832 N. Walnut Ave. The coroner determined that Adacelli suffered from malnourishment and neglect. She was also diagnosed with cerebral palsy.
JoNell Thomas, the Sun's attorney, told Bell that the newspaper plans to appeal his decision to the Nevada Supreme Court on the grounds that good cause can be shown for public release of the county's Child Protective Services records.
The Sun, in its lawsuit, argued that release of the records would be meritorious because of "important questions" surrounding the county's decision to close its case. The newspaper also argued that disclosure would help the public determine "whether its government is functioning in an appropriate manner."
Joining the Sun in the lawsuit were the Las Vegas Review-Journal and KLAS-TV.
Bell said that while he is "a big believer in open meetings and open records I always err on the side of caution." He said the Nevada Legislature has made the release of such records the exception rather than the rule, and he advised the media's lawyers to take the issue up with legislators if they wanted the law changed.
"I think there's a decent argument for that but it's not up for me to decide," Bell said.
Thomas said afterward that she understood "the hesitancy in disclosing the records."
"I wish the Legislature was clearer," Thomas said. "Good cause was presented here and I'm hopeful the Supreme Court will read that provision of the law differently and recognize situations when the records should be disclosed."
But Deputy District Attorney Elizabeth Vibert, representing the county, said the privacy of Adacelli's three surviving siblings is paramount.
"That is the interest we're protecting," Vibert said. "That is our basis for opposing this. These are their records as well."
Bell's ruling was preceded on Thursday by the filing of a bill draft request from Assembly Majority Leader Barbara Buckley, D-Las Vegas, that would make all records open to the public in cases involving the death of a child.
Buckley's intent is to have her request considered by the 2007 Legislature, when she is in line to become the Assembly's next speaker.
Adacelli's parents, Charlene Snyder, 28, and Jack Richardson, 25, have pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder and four counts of abuse and neglect in connection with Adacelli's death and the treatment of Snyder's two other daughters, ages 5 and 3. A 1-year-old boy also lived in the home.
Authorities found Adacelli covered with insect bites, bruises and abrasions, and dried excrement in a home that also was filled with garbage and rotting food.
The arrest warrant indicated that Child Protective Services officials were first alerted to the family's squalid living conditions and Adacelli's weight loss in July 2003. CPS ended its involvement with the family on June 11, 2004.
Susan Klein-Rothschild, director of the county's Department of Family Services, has said that a social worker worked with Charlene Snyder to improve the household conditions and those of the children, and that community support was also provided to the family.
She also has said that the family made great progress and that CPS closed the case because concerns had been addressed and no other complaints were received.
Having reviewed the case file, Bell held up the files in court and said: "There isn't likely a smoking gun in there, but that is my opinion."
Bell also said it is likely at least some of the information in the files will become public record anyway because of the ongoing criminal investigation.
The county, in declining the Sun's request to review Adacelli's case files, cited state laws that it says address the confidentiality of records related to child abuse and neglect.
The state Division of Child and Family Services also had denied a Sun request for all information on the deaths of foster children throughout Nevada. That ruling was bolstered by a June 8 opinion from the state that such information was confidential based on various state and federal laws.
But there has been an interpretation from the federal Administration for Children and Families that provisions of the federal Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act requires disclosure of information in cases of child abuse or neglect that result in the death or near death of a child.
Buckley, an attorney who has played an active role in child welfare legislation, said Thursday that she sees no reason why the public shouldn't have access to all child protective service records involving children who have died.
"Who are we trying to protect?" Buckley said. " When children die, their privacy is no longer relevant. All we're doing is protecting the bureaucracy.
"The whole file should be open. Let's look at the good that can come from that. If we understand how these cases happen, maybe that's the first step in making sure these things don't happen again."
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