Over the prosecutor's objections, a judge today sentenced a woman to 90 days in county jail for the the death of her baby who was poisoned by methamphetamine ingested through the woman's breast milk.
Sacramento Superior Court Judge Laurie M. Earl imposed the term on Maureen Hoffart, 46, whose eight-week-old baby, Olivia, died Jan. 1, 2008, during the course of her mother's methamphetamine binge.
The judge had sentenced Hoffart to a four years in state prison but suspended it in favor of a one-year county jail term that consisted of the three months in custody and another nine months in the sheriff's work furlough program. Hoffart also was placed on five years probation.
Deputy District Attorney Morgan Gire said he was opposed to the final terms of Hoffart's plea agreement. Gire told the court he believed Hoffart needed to serve more "significant" time in custody.
"Given the circumstances of the case and the fact that an infant child lost her life because of her mother's reckless behavior, the crime warrants more time in custody," Gire said in an interview.
Earl said from the bench that Hoffart had plenty of mitigating circumstances working in her favor. Among them, the judge noted, was a minimal criminal history that consisted of two methamphetamine-related arrests that were more than 10 years old. The judge said Hoffart has strong support from family, friends and other community members and that a former kindergarten teacher wrote a letter to the court on her behalf characterizing the defendant as a good mother who volunteered at school and provided her children with a "supportive academic environment."
A licensed clinical social worker also wrote a letter on behalf of Hoffart saying she displayed "honesty, trust, responsibility and consistency" in her approach to parenting.
The county's Child Protective Services agency closed its case on Hoffart last year, according to Hoffart's probation report.
Before remanding Hoffart into custody, Earl ordered her back to court on Sept. 8 before her release "to share with the court your thoughts while you sat and reflected" in jail.
The judge also ordered Hoffart to address offenders in the county's drug courts and in its Proposition 36 rehabilitation programs once she gets out of jail.
Earl expressed concern during the sentencing over a statement Hoffart made to the officer who compiled her probation report in which the defendant said in her "heart of hearts" she believes her child died of suffocation, not through methamphetamine poisoning. A coroner's autopsy cited the latter as the baby's cause of death.
Asked by the judge about the comments in the probation report, Hoffart said "I take all responsibility" for her baby's fatality and she further acknowledged that it was her own methamphetamine use that caused the baby to die.
"I've felt that since day one," Hoffart said.
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