Nevada family-law case summaries

Dana DeHesa worked for 14 years as a probation officer at the Clark County juvenile detention center. In August 2018, he was assigned to a unit that included a 15-year-old boy, referred to as J.J., who was on suicide watch. According to the opinion, DeHesa and J.J. engaged in "horseplay" - the two playing at slapping each other. When DeHesa went to close the door to J.J.'s room, J.J. stuck out his arm and tried to slap him. Even though DeHesa saw the boy's arm sticking out, he continued to close the door onto the forearm, pressing the door with both arms and his foot three times before letting J.J. pull his arm away. J.J. was injured. Several days later, J.J. told his parents about the incident during a visit. His parents raised concerns with a probation officer on duty. A report was eventually filed, and DFS investigated and "substantiated" - meaning it officially concluded there was enough evidence to support - an allegation of physical abuse. DeHesa appealed within the agency, lost, and then requested a formal administrative hearing. At that hearing, a hearing officer found DeHesa credible when he said the officers and juveniles engaged in horseplay and that he did not intend to hurt the boy. But the hearing officer concluded that intent to injure did not matter under the applicable state regulation, and that DeHesa's actions were "nonaccidental." The officer upheld the finding of abuse. DeHesa then asked the district court to review the decision. He argued two main things: first, that the hearing officer defined "nonaccidental" incorrectly by not requiring an intent to injure; and second, that his constitutional right to fair procedures (called "procedural due process") was violated because he could not use subpoenas to compel witnesses and documents that, he said, would have shown he properly reported the incident and that J.J. had a reason to lie. The district court rejected these arguments and denied his petition. Although DeHesa has since resigned, his name was placed on the Nevada State Central Registry - a state database of substantiated child abuse or neglect reports - which the opinion notes may adversely affect him. The Court of Appeals affirmed. It held that under the state regulation defining "nonaccidental," what matters is whether a person responsible for a child could reasonably foresee the harmful event - not whether the person intended to cause harm. Because DeHesa saw the boy's arm in the doorway, pressed the door repeatedly, worried about dislocating a shoulder or elbow, and admitted horseplay could be dangerous, the court concluded the injury was foreseeable and therefore nonaccidental. On the subpoena issue, the court explained that the record showed DeHesa never actually asked the hearing officer to issue a subpoena, so he did not preserve the issue for appeal. The court added that even if he had asked, it would not have changed things: the rule allowing subpoenas in regular court cases does not apply in administrative hearings, and Nevada law does not grant administrative agencies general subpoena power. The court also noted that the witness testimony he wanted would not have mattered because the finding of abuse rested on the injury being foreseeable, not on any failure to report. Finally, the court rejected DeHesa's claim that he was unfairly held to a higher standard than a parent would be. The court found the record showed he failed to follow the procedures required of all probation officers during shift changes, so he was held to the standard applicable to probation officers generally.