|
by The Purple Berets,PNN staff and Andrew DellaRocca/PoorNewsNetwork intern
The Triumph
by The Purple Berets
In the first ever monetary award by law enforcement for their failure to
protect a domestic violence victim leading up to her homicide, the
Sonoma County Sheriff's Department agreed to pay a million dollar
settlement in the landmark civil rights lawsuit "Maria Teresa Macias vs.
Sonoma County Sheriff Mark Ihde."
The announcement came mid-trial at the close of dramatic testimony by
Sara Rubio Hernandez detailing more than 20 attempts by her daughter,
Maria Teresa Macias to get help with her violent, estranged husband,
Avelino.
Hernandez outlined her daughter's repeated reports to the Sheriff Dept.
of Avelino's multiple felony crimes including his sexual assaults of
Teresa and her children, his constant obsessive stalking, repeated
threats to kill, and restraining order violations. The Sheriff's Dept.
never once arrested or cited Avelino. After deputies ignored more than
twenty reports in just the last few months of her life, Avelino fatally
shot Teresa, then shot and seriously wounded her mother, Sara on April
15, 1996.
This landmark federal civil rights lawsuit, filed in October, 1996
claimed that Sonoma County Sheriffs Dept. violated Teresa's
constitutional right to Equal Protection of the law. A July 2000 9th
Circuit Appellate Court decision in the Macias case established for the
first time and in the most unambiguous language to date women's right to
sue law enforcement when they fail to act.
With today's testimony and the historic damages award, Sara Hernandez
said, "I have fulfilled my daughter's wish." Shortly before her death,
Teresa told her mother, "If I die I want you to tell the world what
happened to me. I don't want other women to suffer as I have suffered; I
want them to be listened to."
The settlement sends a resounding message to law enforcement around the
country that they can no longer ignore domestic violence victims with
impunity, and sends an equally forceful message to women everywhere that
they have a constitutional right to hold law enforcement accountable
when they refuse to act.
PURPLE BERETS
Women Defending Women
PO Box 3064
Santa Rosa, CA 95402
707.887.0262; fax
707.887.0865
http://www.purpleberets.org
The Trial by PNN staff, Andy Dellarocca/PNN media intern;
My blue t-shirt, jeans, and white sneakers were by no
means a camouflage amidst the sea of business attire around me in the federal courtroom of the Macias trial. A court-like woman walked around the room, asking who was press, and blew by me without a pause, assuming I wasn't. It was as if I were invisible, however I know I was ignored because I was exactly the opposite. I was here from PoorNewsNetwork to report and "support" on the landmark trial of a poor woman of color, Maria Teresa Macias, who was murdered by her abusive husband due to the neglect of the Sonoma County Police Department
Macias v. Ihde has become a landmark civil rights lawsuit that challenges
law enforcement's right to ignore domestic violence. Maria Teresa Macias,
a Latina housecleaner in the town of Sonoma, was shot dead by her
husband, Avelino, on April 15, 1996, who afterward turned the gun on himself
and took his own life. The couple were separated at the time of the murder, due to the violent behavior and ongoing abuse by Avelino of
both Maria and their three children. The civil lawsuit is being brought
against the Sonoma County Sheriffís department by Mariaís mother, Sara
Hernandez, and the estate of Maria Macias, which includes Mariaís three
children. They accuse the Sheriff's department of neglecting to provide
Maria with her rightful equal protection under the law, as is outlined in
the 14th amendment of the United States constitution, and seek damages. The
case is being viewed by the press and many social justice groups as a
breakthrough in the advancement of the rights and protections of women and
victims of domestic violence.
When the proceedings began at 8:30, Judge Susan Illston entered the room
and, after having a brief discussion with the attorneys, called a half hour
recess that lasted until ten oíclock. "Hurry up and wait" was how one woman
described it to me. She was a journalist reporting for a newspaper in
the North Bay, and was familiar with the proceedings of the Federal judicial
system.
Forty observers had shown up by ten oíclock. The day's proceedings
consisted of the opening statements by both the prosecutors and the defense,
and an initial round of witnesses called to the stand by the prosecuting
attorney, Rick Seltzer. Seltzer painted a picture of a complacent Sheriffís
department that was hesitant to intervene in cases of domestic violence. He
called to the stand a group of witnesses that included an employer, friends,
and the mother of Maria Macias, Sara Hernandez. Seltzer told the jury that the Sonoma
County Sheriffís department had two policies concerning domestic violence
responses, one written and one ìunderstoodî. The ìunderstoodî policy of the
department rendered the use of restraining orders, which Maria had on
Avelino, useless, and thus emboldened Avelino to continue and augment his
abuse.
There is a system already established that is effective in preventing
domestic abusers from escalating their violence to the point of severe harm
or murder. That system includes fines, jail, and counseling. " The Sheriffís
department are the gatekeepers to this system," argued Seltzer, and, "they
kept the gate closed here".
The defense countered Seltzerís arguments by painting a picture of
extensive civic bureaucracy, diverting the blame from the sheriffís
department into multiple civic institutions that included the District
Attorney's office, the Juvenile Court, and Child Protective Services. Taken
separately, none, including the sheriffís department, could be held
accountable for Mariaís death. The sheriffís department, argued the defense
attorney Mike Senneff, tried multiple times to bring Avelino under the
umbrella of the criminal system, but were often derailed at the District
Attorneyís office. Senneff also mentioned a love letter that was written by
Maria for another man, and that was intercepted by Avelino a few days before
the shooting. The letter was written after Maria's final contact with the
sheriff's department, and the defense plans to argue that it wasnít until
Avelino read this letter that he began to display the psychotic tendencies
that led to the murder. How, therefore, could the sheriffís department have
acted to prevent the tragedy?
The Triumph...
The trial was expected to last three to four weeks, but instead, on day two of the case at the close of a dramatic testimony by Sara Rubio Hernandez detailing more than 20 attempts by her daughter, Maria Teresa Macias to get help with her violent, estranged husband, Avelino, a landmark settlement was reached to award
the first ever monetary settlement to the Macias Family by law enforcement for their failure to protect a domestic violence victim. The Sonoma County Sheriff's Department agreed to pay a million dollar settlement to the Macias Family.
With this testimony and the historic damages award, Sara Hernandez said,
"I have fulfilled my daughter's wish." Shortly before her death, Teresa
told her mother, "If I die I want you to tell the world what happened to me.
I don't want other women to suffer as I have suffered; I want them to be
listened to."
The settlement sends a resounding message to law enforcement around the
country that they can no longer ignore domestic violence victims with
impunity, and sends an equally forceful message to women everywhere that
they have a constitutional right to hold law enforcement accountable when
they refuse to act.
As well as a triumph for the memory of a crime against a poor woman of color, this trial could not have been a success without the tireless efforts of several grassroots women's organizations like The Purple Berets who are dedicated to bringing justice to oppressed women like Maria Macias, all over the world.
| 
