The minor sex assault case for a former San Lorenzo Valley Unified School District assistant principal and administrator—who signed up as an event volunteer at a Santa Cruz school in December—is back on.
Ned Hearn’s trial, relating to his time as a teacher and swim coach in the 1990s in Dixon, Calif., had been postponed while the #metoo-era law that had allowed the case to be brought in the first place was debated by the courts.
Melissa Chowning chose to forgo anonymity in accusing Hearn of having a sexual relationship with her while she was a star swimmer on his team. Hearn has denied the accusations against him.
Normally, a case like this would’ve been beyond the statute of limitations in California. However, after women in Hollywood—and around the country—sparked a revolution in attitudes toward sexual assault, Sacramento passed AB 218, which reopened the window for historic rape and other sex abuse cases to be heard.
Some school districts, including the Los Gatos-Saratoga Union High School District and the Dixon Unified School District (where Hearn was employed), have tried to get the law thrown out, saying it forces education systems into giving away money in an unconstitutional fashion (among other angles).
Though many courts shot down the arguments made by these lawyers, other judges have entertained the theories.
And while things played out elsewhere—with the real possibility that the historic law would be invalidated—the participants in Hearn’s case agreed to nix the original trial, which had already been ordered.
“The Parties entered into a stipulation to stay the proceedings in the above-entitled matter due to the pendency of a challenges to the constitutionality of Assembly Bill 218 (AB 218) then-pending before various courts around the state,” wrote Chowning’s lawyer, Daniel L. Varon, of the Zalkin Law Firm, on Oct. 29. “The case most advanced in the appellate process is West Contra Costa Unified School District v. Superior Court (A.M.M.), First District Court of Appeal Case No. A169314. The First District issued a published opinion rejecting West Contra Costa Unified School District’s challenge pursuant to the Gift Clause of the California Constitution and upholding the constitutionality of the statute of limitations revival provision and retroactive elimination of the claim presentation requirement of AB 218.”
West Contra Costa Unified School District filed a petition for review in the California Supreme Court, on Sept. 9 (Supreme Court Case No. S286798), he added.
“If the Supreme Court has not issued a decision on the Petition for Review prior to the Status Conference on this case, Plaintiff respectfully requests this court set a statute conference in 45 days,” he said.
According to a minute order for the Nov. 13 hearing that followed, heard by Judge Christine Carringer, of the Solano County Superior Court, Chowning’s lawyer, Paul Mones, requested the stay be lifted—and asked for a new trial.
“The court is informed parties attempted mediation in the past and it has been unsuccessful,” reads the document, adding DUSD’s lawyer, Jessica Adair, expressed interest in a settlement. “Attorney Adair would like to try mediation a second time.”
A jury trial (of around 10 days) is scheduled to start Sept. 9, 2025, with a trial management conference set for July 31 and a settlement conference for June 23, in Dept. 12 of the Fairfield Courthouse.
The next day, Judge Carringer laid down the ground rules for the lead-up to the trial.
“Each party shall provide an electronic copy of any proposed special jury instructions and verdict forms,” she wrote. “The court encourages the parties to be realistic about the number of exhibits that a party will request to be admitted to a jury.”
Jury selection will proceed using the “six-pack” method, which refers to how 18 prospective jurors are often called to the jury box in California proceedings.
“The court reserves the right to fill additional seats traditionally designated as ‘alternates’ in order to examine additional prospective jurors and prove judicial economy,” Carringer added.
According to a screenshot of a signupgenius.com volunteer management application, Hearn was approved to assist as a breakfast server and on the clean-up crew at a Bay View Elementary (a TK-5 school on the West Side of Santa Cruz) buffet breakfast event on Dec. 20.
