Parties in Goen case must give accounts

December 1, 1998

By Kevin Mayhood
Columbus (OHIO) Dispatch Staff Reporter

The parents who sent their son in handcuffs to a Jamaican disciplinary
school, the agency that alleges he was mistreated and the lawyer appointed
to represent him must give a judge summaries of the issues they will raise at
the first trial of its kind in Franklin County.

"The case presents some interesting legal questions,'' Juvenile Court Judge
Yvette McGee Brown said during a hearing yesterday.

"I don't usually ask for briefs . . . but it may be appropriate to give the
court a road map.''

The summaries are due Monday, and the trial is to start Dec. 9.

McGee Brown denied the request of the parents, Barbara and Scott
Goen, to have a jury trial.

Michael Oser, the attorney for the Northwest Side couple, said a jury of
citizens could help find the truth, but the judge said the court will have to
make difficult decisions "not always reached by popular opinion.''

Afterward, lawyers for the Goens said they may file a motion to have the
trial closed to the public.

Franklin County Children Services is seeking a civil action against the
Goens, alleging they abused, neglected or put their son, Justin, at risk of
abuse or neglect by sending him to the Tranquility Bay behavior-
modification program in Jamaica last summer.

Justin, 17, who had dropped out of Worthington Kilbourne High School,
was handcuffed and escorted from his house in the middle of a July night
with no idea where he was being taken, the agency said.

McGee Brown's order for case summaries was a partial victory for the
Goens.

Oser had sought more information from Children Services and Sue
Bennett, the lawyer appointed to represent Justin's welfare.

But the judge did not grant Oser's request to depose Bennett, who was
present when a Children Services caseworker interviewed Justin in
Jamaica last month.

Bennett said in court that she has concerns the Jamaican facility may not
have the standards or oversight to prevent neglect or abuse.

John Saros, director of Children Services, has said that if there were no
indications of abuse or problems at the school or during Justin's transport
there, and if Justin presented no evidence of such, the matter would have
been dropped.

After the interview with Children Services and Bennett, Justin wrote a
letter saying he is doing well at the school and wants to complete his work
there.