In Memory of Gabriel Myers
HOMEGABRIELTHE DCF VIDEOSVIDEOS – AHCAWEEKLY PSYCH DRUG REPORTSMAY 1, 2010
So much bluster, but foster kids’ drug nightmare continues
Miami Herald
By Fred Grimm
Gabriel Myers died for nothing.
His shocking death supposedly galvanized Florida. It would mean something, this suicide of a foster kid who had been drugged into nether-consciousness with antidepressants and antipsychotics never intended for any child, much less a 7-year-old.
A new law would be crafted. State-sponsored zombification of foster kids would be stanched. Something would be done.
More like nothing.
“I was shocked. I was devastated,” said Mez Pierre, a young survivor of the unrestrained psychotropic regimes used to addle Florida foster kids.
THE PERPLEXING PUSHBACK
Pierre, 23, joined a number of child advocates, state officials, political leaders and judges in the Gabriel Myers Work Group formed by the Department of Children & Families. They met a dozen times over the past year, exploring legislative fixes for this stunning propensity to subdue foster children with adult-strength pharmaceuticals.
The group was born out of our collective shame. Gabriel Myers had been addled with Lexapro, Zyprexa and Symbyax — a drug cocktail no real parent would countenance. On April 15, 2010, Gabriel locked himself in the bathroom of his Margate foster home, coiled a shower hose around his neck and shocked Florida into . . . nothing.
The widely supported bill designed to regulate the drugging of foster kids disappeared in the House of Representatives this week. Medical and drug-industry lobbyists, and a single powerful legislator, Rep. Paige Kreegel, chairman of the Health Care Services Policy Committee, managed to waylay the bill.
Bernard P. Perlmutter, director of the University of Miami’s Children & Youth Law Clinic, was surprised that “pushback came from doctors and psychiatrists, since the bill did little more than codify existing medical ethics standards and laws regarding consent from a child’s parents or judge, and assent from the child, before psychotropic medication could be administered.”
Kreegel feigned unfamiliarity with Myers’ case. “I am shocked that the chairman never heard about Gabriel Myers, especially after the months of work by a task force of leading experts and then work by the Senate,” said Broward child advocate Andrea Moore. “Unfortunately, we know there are other children who have been harmed by the unfettered use of these drugs as chemical restraints. If a highly publicized death is not enough to galvanize the Legislature, I do not know what will do it.”
SPIRITS IN SHACKLES
Mez Pierre now understands Florida’s priorities: Doctors matter. But foster children . . .
“They sent foster kids a message.” he said.
“You’re just not important enough to protect.”
Pierre, 23, grew up in so-called “therapeutic” foster homes from age 5 to 18, shuffling from one zombie warehouse to another, where psychotropic drugs left him perpetually listless, filled his head with strange, often suicidal thoughts and caused serious physical side effects.
The brutal effects ended when he left foster care at age 18 and quit the psychotropics. Without the pills, the supposedly unruly young man has finished three years at Broward College. “But what happened to me, what happened to Gabriel, it’s still going on,” Pierre said.
And all the work group meetings. All the talk. All the work. As if foster kids mattered.
It came to nothing.
http://gabrielmyers.wordpress.com/
Isabella Brooke Knightly and Austin Gamez-Knightly
In Memory of my Loving Husband, William F. Knightly Jr. Murdered by ILLEGAL Palliative Care at a Nashua, NH Hospital
Friday, May 14, 2010
Florida Psychiatrist now involved in Dosing Scandal
Florida Psychiatrist now involved in Dosing Scandal
From:
To: "Psych News"
Date: Wed, 28 Apr 2010 18:12:07 -0400
Subject: Florida Psychiatrist now involved in Dosing Scandal
Florida Psychiatrist Sohail Punjwani
Comments can be made here: http://www.pharmalot.com/2010/04/the-pfizer-geodon-trial-and-physician-mishaps/
Pharmalot
The Pfizer Geodon Trial And Physician Mishaps
By Ed Silverman
April 28, 2010
Earlier this month, the FDA sent Pfizer a warning letter for failing to properly monitor pediatric clinical trials in which at least 13 children with bipolar disorder experienced overdosing that led to restless legs, tremors, involuntary facial movements and a serious skin disorder.
This is a big problem for the drugmaker, since Pfizer hopes to receive an extra six months of marketing exclusivity in return for having conducted the pediatric trials. But the dosing scandal could prompt the FDA to request further trials, which would require so much additional time that exclusivity would likely be lost, since the basic Geodon patent expires in 2012. This would also delay pediatric approval, which would expand the possibilities for a drug that generated $1.1 billion in sales last year.
But who were some of the doctors involved? …
…there was Sohail Punjwani, who was cited for numerous instances in which the wrong dosage was given children. Punjwani ran one of three sites that were responsible for 40 patients receiving incorrect doses, or 16 percent of the kids involved, and half of them were given more than the maximum tolerated dose for the trial…
Punjwani has made headlines in Florida, where he is based, for treating 7-year-old Gabriel Myers, who hanged himself with a shower cord in a foster home. The boy’s death prompted a probe by a Department of Children & Families task force and proposed legislation before the Florida Senate. He did not respond to messages.
+++
Note: The FDA warning letter to Pfizer states that informed consent was not obtained in these clinical trials. See letter here: http://www.fda.gov/ICECI/EnforcementActions/WarningLetters/ucm208976.htm
The FDA warning letter to Punjwani can be found here: http://www.fda.gov/ICECI/EnforcementActions/WarningLetters/ucm202862.htm
29,192 petition signatures http://www.petitiononline.com/TScreen/petition.html Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfU9puZQKBY
From:
To: "Psych News"
Date: Wed, 28 Apr 2010 18:12:07 -0400
Subject: Florida Psychiatrist now involved in Dosing Scandal
Florida Psychiatrist Sohail Punjwani
Comments can be made here: http://www.pharmalot.com/2010/04/the-pfizer-geodon-trial-and-physician-mishaps/
Pharmalot
The Pfizer Geodon Trial And Physician Mishaps
By Ed Silverman
April 28, 2010
Earlier this month, the FDA sent Pfizer a warning letter for failing to properly monitor pediatric clinical trials in which at least 13 children with bipolar disorder experienced overdosing that led to restless legs, tremors, involuntary facial movements and a serious skin disorder.
This is a big problem for the drugmaker, since Pfizer hopes to receive an extra six months of marketing exclusivity in return for having conducted the pediatric trials. But the dosing scandal could prompt the FDA to request further trials, which would require so much additional time that exclusivity would likely be lost, since the basic Geodon patent expires in 2012. This would also delay pediatric approval, which would expand the possibilities for a drug that generated $1.1 billion in sales last year.
But who were some of the doctors involved? …
…there was Sohail Punjwani, who was cited for numerous instances in which the wrong dosage was given children. Punjwani ran one of three sites that were responsible for 40 patients receiving incorrect doses, or 16 percent of the kids involved, and half of them were given more than the maximum tolerated dose for the trial…
Punjwani has made headlines in Florida, where he is based, for treating 7-year-old Gabriel Myers, who hanged himself with a shower cord in a foster home. The boy’s death prompted a probe by a Department of Children & Families task force and proposed legislation before the Florida Senate. He did not respond to messages.
+++
Note: The FDA warning letter to Pfizer states that informed consent was not obtained in these clinical trials. See letter here: http://www.fda.gov/ICECI/EnforcementActions/WarningLetters/ucm208976.htm
The FDA warning letter to Punjwani can be found here: http://www.fda.gov/ICECI/EnforcementActions/WarningLetters/ucm202862.htm
29,192 petition signatures http://www.petitiononline.com/TScreen/petition.html Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfU9puZQKBY
JUDGING THE JUDGES 2010: Most judges won't discuss low scores
JUDGING THE JUDGES 2010: Most judges won't discuss low scores
Las Vegas Review-Journal May 13, 2010
By Frank Geary, Las Vegas Review-Journal
May 13--Exercising their right to remain silent, most Southern Nevada judges refused to discuss why attorneys gave them dismal scores on knowing the law and the facts of cases before them, applying both, and explaining their decisions.
A third of the criteria on which attorneys are asked to rate judges, in the biennial Judicial Evaluation Survey conducted by the Review-Journal, involve knowledge and application of the law and facts.
The report card from hundreds of attorneys -- who win and lose in court for a living -- provides insight into those on the bench who are the brightest, the above average, the acceptable and the ill-equipped for the job.
Of the 25 judges in Clark County District Court, Judges Jessie Walsh, Stefany Miley and Michelle Leavitt received the worst scores on those core questions.
Each declined to comment on their ratings after nearly half, or more, of the attorneys who responded rated them "less than adequate," with the remainder rating them either "adequate" or "more than adequate."
The questions involved the judges demonstrating familiarity with the case before them, making appropriate rulings in it, properly applying law and court rules and making it clear why they ruled as they did.
Other judges who scored poorly on those survey questions, and who also declined to discuss their grades publicly, included Family Court Judge Cynthia Dianne Steel, Las Vegas Municipal Court Judge George Assad and Nevada Supreme Court Justice Nancy Saitta.
Judges who received some of the best ratings on those questions were District Court Judges David Wall and David Barker, Family Court Judges Frank Sullivan and Gloria Sanchez, Justice of the Peace Joseph Sciscento, Las Vegas Municipal Court Judge Bert Brown and state Supreme Court Justice Mark Gibbons.
Mary M. Cheh, a law professor at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., whose specialities include criminal law and procedure, said such surveys are helpful in states that elect judges.
After all, voters aren't as familiar with them as attorneys. However, for attorneys responding anonymously who have had a particular judge rule against them, such a survey may be more of a popularity contest than a measurement of ability, she said.
"Lawyers are the first line, but they also have an interest in the outcome" of cases, Cheh said. "The judges should take the survey results to heart, but it may be that lawyers are responding to judges being hard on them."
CLARK COUNTY DISTRICT COURT
Walsh had the worst score of District Court judges, followed by Miley and then Leavitt, on questions involving knowledge and application of the law.
Attorneys also were allowed to make anonymous comments, some more crude and candid than others. With each of the three judges, the criticism was harsh and flattering comments were few.
The 8th Judicial District Court is the largest general jurisdiction court in Nevada and serves all of Clark County. The court presides over more than 90,000 criminal and civil cases a year.
For Walsh, who did not return calls, comments included "Unknowledgeable and often lost in her own thoughts on the bench" and "Judge completely disregarded applicable law and decided case on how she felt it should turn out."
For Miley, who declined to comment after seeing the survey results, criticisms included "She's just too stupid. She's a person who has gotten through life on good looks and a little smarts" and "Dumb as a rock, but sexy as hell" and "The facts don't seem to matter and the law is not followed. As a Family Court judge she was a disaster. She is quickly proving as a District Court judge to be an even greater disaster." Positive comments about Miley included "Very pleasant" and "She is a fair, open and honest judge. I respect her."
With regard to Leavitt, who did not return phone calls, negative comments included "She is not smart and she does not work hard. That's a dangerous combination" and "This judge has also been inclined to make her rulings fit the way she wants them to come out." The few positive comments included Leavitt "is one of the bravest judges on the bench. She is willing to make difficult decisions."
Wall and Barker, both former Clark County prosecutors, received the best scores among the 25 District Court judges on the four survey questions involving knowledge and application of the law.
For Wall and Barker, 10 percent or fewer respondents rated them "less than adequate" on each of the four issues.
"It's gratifying. To me, it's a department-wide score. Everybody (from my office) who comes in contact with the attorneys ... is as responsible for that (score) as I am," Wall said. "We strive to be prepared and to do the best job we can. It's good to know people appreciate that."
Approximately 300 attorneys responded to questions about Wall. Anonymous comments were predominantly positive, such as, "His rulings and analysis are above the norm. He can handle complex civil arguments and offers well-reasoned rulings."
Barker said he believes attorneys like the fact he is decisive.
"The worst thing for a judge to do is fail to make a decision," he said.
Positive comments from the approximately 260 attorneys who graded Barker included, "He gives a great deal of thought to most of the decisions he makes and generally uses his long experience as a prosecutor in a good, fair way."
CLARK COUNTY FAMILY COURT
Of the 18 Clark County Family Court judges, Cheryl B. Moss received the worst scores on the four key questions. She was followed by Steel and Kenneth Pollock, who is running for a newly created District Court seat even though he has served only one year in Family Court.
Family Court oversees cases involving divorce, annulments, child custody, visitation rights, child support, spousal support, community property division, name changes, adoption, and abuse and neglect .
More than half of the approximately 130 attorneys who responded rated Moss "less than adequate" on two questions (ruling appropriately and applying laws and rules properly), while about 45 percent rated her "less than adequate" on demonstrating familiarity with her cases and explaining her decisions.
Moss said she was perplexed by the scores, and that her track record suggests she is a better judge. Moss said she reads every case twice to familiarize herself, and that the state Supreme Court has overturned her rulings only five to 10 times during her decade on the bench.
"If I was continually misapplying the law, wouldn't I have more reversals and more appeals?" Moss said. "They (respondents) maybe have a different impression because I am judge who asks a lot of questions and some attorneys don't like that."
Moss said she regularly attends the Judicial Education Conference, where judges from around the country learn new practices, and that state records show she has taken more than 500 hours of judicial education classes.
Criticisms included, "Continually demonstrates a lack of ability to grasp the facts of the matter. ... Lacks both the temperament and capability to be on the bench." Even positive comments were seasoned with criticism, such as "Judge Moss seems to be very dedicated and genuinely cares about being a good judge, she just does not have a firm understanding of the law."
Steel, who didn't return phone calls after receiving the survey results, has not scored well in past judicial surveys. Nearly half the respondents or more rated her "less than adequate" on three of the questions, and 41 percent rated her "less than adequate" on the fourth.
Criticisms included "She makes up her own law and applies that to cases instead of the published laws she should be following" and "Judge Steel either doesn't know the law or she ignores it. She injects her own beliefs and feelings into almost every ruling she makes, ignoring the law and demeaning the litigants and the attorneys when she speaks." The positive comments about Steel included "Cares very much about everyone in her courtroom."
For Pollock, 54 percent of respondents rated him "less than adequate" on two of the core questions and 41 percent rated him "less than adequate" on the other two questions.
He said his poor scores are more about campaign politics than performance. With only 98 attorneys rating Pollock, he says it's possible that those who gave him poor scores are supporters of Susan Scann, his opponent in the upcoming District Court election.
A better measurement of performance, Pollock said, is 2009 data that shows he heard more motions than any other Family Court judge, that he ranked second in the number of bench trials and evidentiary hearings heard and second in case management conferences heard.
"There seems to be a disconnect between perception and reality," Pollock said. "I aggressively manage the docket, which may upset some attorneys because it means I am taking control of the case rather than them."
Criticisms of Pollock from attorneys far outweighed the positive. They included "Does not have a clue. This is a typical 'can't practice law, so I'll be a judge' kinda guy" and "Sometimes I cannot tell if he is plain dumb or if he overthinks things. He makes up policy that is particular only to his courtroom. Frankly, he does not know what he is doing in Family Court."
Positive comments included "A big reason that Family Court is improved -- vast improvement over Lisa Brown" and "New to the bench, but growing quickly; takes great pains to consider all sides."
Judge Frank Sullivan and Clark County Family Court Presiding Judge Gloria Sanchez were the Family Court judges who scored best on the four survey questions measuring knowledge and application of the law.
"I don't think I'm a brilliant guy," Sullivan said. "The key to doing a good job is patience and compassion. If you make a bad decision, it should never be for lack of preparation. ... I think it makes attorneys comfortable that I know a lot about issues."
Positive comments about Sullivan include, "He is very thoughtful and takes time to understand and apply the law to the facts," and "Judge Sullivan worked as a master for juvenile neglect and abuse cases for a long time prior to be voted in as a family court judge. He is truly one of the best." One of the few criticisms of Sullivan was, "Needs to be much tougher on the party who violates court orders, lies and/or does not comply with the rules."
As presiding judge over Family Court, Sanchez said she oversees informal meetings every six weeks, at which all the Family Court judges are invited to meet with family law attorneys to discuss common concerns. The meetings may focus, for instance, on the court's interpretation of recent state Supreme Court rulings, Sanchez said.
"I am very thrilled. I work really hard. I read every case and every brief ... and I try to give everybody their say," Sanchez said of her positive survey results.
Comments were predominantly positive, such as "Judge Sanchez is a shining star of the Family Court bench. She is extremely knowledgeable of the law and is consistent and thorough in her rulings."
CLARK COUNTY JUSTICE COURT
Of the 18 justices of the peace in Las Vegas, Henderson and North Las Vegas, Las Vegas Justice of the Peace Karen Bennett-Haron had the poorest score on the four questions involving knowledge and application of the law.
While they were much better than the poorest scores in District Court and Family Court, 30 percent to 40 percent of the approximately 165 respondents graded Bennett-Haron "less than adequate" on the four survey questions involving knowledge and application of the law.
Las Vegas Justice of the Peace Eric A. Goodman had the second worst scores, followed by Las Vegas Justice of the Peace Nancy Oesterle.
Clark County Justice Court administers criminal probable cause reviews, arraignments and preliminary hearings, as well as trials for misdemeanor and traffic cases. The court's civil jurisdiction includes small claims, and other civil cases for values up to $10,000, eviction proceedings and traffic violations.
Bennett-Haron said her scores are not a true reflection of her ability, and the results are skewed because prosecutors and public defenders are more likely to respond to the survey than are attorneys in other areas of the law.
"It is something I have always wanted to do ... to be of service to the community," Bennett-Haron, the first black woman appointed to Justice Court said when asked why she became a judge. "When you can bring diversity to a diverse situation, that impacts people from all walks of life and that is a good thing."
Criticisms included "Likely the least intellectually capable judge sitting on the bench today. That she has the authority to sentence people to jail scares the hell out of me" and "She does not know the law as well as she thinks she does and her decisions are often motivated by what she thinks the end result should be, rather than what the law says."
Las Vegas Justice of the Peace Joseph Sciscento had the best score followed by Henderson Justice of the Peace Rodney Burr, Henderson Justice of the Peace Stephen George and Las Vegas Justice of the Peace Melanie Andreas-Tobiason.
"I think it's generally true that lawyers who have a lot of experience appearing in Justice Court make good Justice Court judges," Sciscento said. "From my experience, I know what it takes to run an efficient courtroom."
Positive comments about Sciscento's performance include "Very prepared, very straightforward, very humorous, very smart" and "Plays it fair" and "Does the right thing on the right cases."
CLARK COUNTY MUNICIPAL COURTS
Of the 11 municipal judges rated, Las Vegas Municipal Court Judge George Assad and Henderson Municipal Court Judge Diana Hampton scored far worse than others on four questions involving a judge's knowledge of the law and the cases.
The judge with the best scores was Las Vegas Municipal Court Judge Bert Brown. He was followed by Judges Martin D. Hastings and Cedric A. Kerns, also of the Las Vegas Municipal Court, which has jurisdiction over misdemeanor criminal offenses committed within city limits.
For Assad, two-thirds of approximately 115 respondents rated him "less than adequate" on two of the four questions, and more than half rated him "less than adequate" on the other two.
Criticisms included "Two words, nut case" and "ruthless dictator who tramples over the Constitution and people's rights."
For Hampton, half or more of the respondents rated her "less than adequate" on the four questions. She said attorneys are tougher in ranking judges like her because "In Municipal Court, we do everything. We're judge, jury, and executioner, if you will. Because we are all three of those things, I think people tend to be much harsher on Municipal Court judges if they don't get a ruling that goes their way."
Criticisms from the approximately 55 attorneys who responded on Hampton included "Power has gone to her head. No sense of fairness" and "So mean. So bad. Married to a cop and plays cop on the bench." Among the relatively few comments about Hampton, none was positive.
STATE SUPREME COURT
Of the seven state Supreme Court justices, two judges from Southern Nevada had by far the best and worst scores on the four knowledge-based questions. Former District Court Judge Mark Gibbons had the best scores, and former District Court Judge Nancy Saitta scored far worse than any other.
Of the approximately 315 respondents on Saitta, between 41 percent and 46 percent rated her "less than adequate."
Criticisms included "Wouldn't make her a judge of a pie eating contest let alone the NV S. Ct." and "Completely unqualified for the job. Her own colleague at the Supreme Court recently reversed one of her rulings as a District Court judge calling her actions a 'manifest abuse of discretion.' " Positive comments include "Saitta is motivated to do the right thing."
Meanwhile, Gibbons received "less than adequate" ratings from no more than 13 percent of respondents on any of the attributes rated for Supreme Court justices. About 300 attorneys weighed in on each question.
"I try to do my best as a judge in applying the law and in following the general precedents," Gibbons said.
Positive comments about Gibbons far outweighed the negative. They included "May not always agree with conclusions he reaches but no question about the fact that he arrives at his conclusions after thorough, thoughtful deliberation."
Criticisms of Gibbons include "Shows a marked lack of interest in criminal cases."
Contact reporter Frank Geary at fgeary@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0277. Reporter Alan Maimon contributed to this report.
-----
To see more of the Review-Journal or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.lvrj.com.
Copyright (c) 2010, Las Vegas Review-Journal
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
http://www.leagle.com/unsecure/news.do?feed=yellowbrix&storyid=144899456
Las Vegas Review-Journal May 13, 2010
By Frank Geary, Las Vegas Review-Journal
May 13--Exercising their right to remain silent, most Southern Nevada judges refused to discuss why attorneys gave them dismal scores on knowing the law and the facts of cases before them, applying both, and explaining their decisions.
A third of the criteria on which attorneys are asked to rate judges, in the biennial Judicial Evaluation Survey conducted by the Review-Journal, involve knowledge and application of the law and facts.
The report card from hundreds of attorneys -- who win and lose in court for a living -- provides insight into those on the bench who are the brightest, the above average, the acceptable and the ill-equipped for the job.
Of the 25 judges in Clark County District Court, Judges Jessie Walsh, Stefany Miley and Michelle Leavitt received the worst scores on those core questions.
Each declined to comment on their ratings after nearly half, or more, of the attorneys who responded rated them "less than adequate," with the remainder rating them either "adequate" or "more than adequate."
The questions involved the judges demonstrating familiarity with the case before them, making appropriate rulings in it, properly applying law and court rules and making it clear why they ruled as they did.
Other judges who scored poorly on those survey questions, and who also declined to discuss their grades publicly, included Family Court Judge Cynthia Dianne Steel, Las Vegas Municipal Court Judge George Assad and Nevada Supreme Court Justice Nancy Saitta.
Judges who received some of the best ratings on those questions were District Court Judges David Wall and David Barker, Family Court Judges Frank Sullivan and Gloria Sanchez, Justice of the Peace Joseph Sciscento, Las Vegas Municipal Court Judge Bert Brown and state Supreme Court Justice Mark Gibbons.
Mary M. Cheh, a law professor at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., whose specialities include criminal law and procedure, said such surveys are helpful in states that elect judges.
After all, voters aren't as familiar with them as attorneys. However, for attorneys responding anonymously who have had a particular judge rule against them, such a survey may be more of a popularity contest than a measurement of ability, she said.
"Lawyers are the first line, but they also have an interest in the outcome" of cases, Cheh said. "The judges should take the survey results to heart, but it may be that lawyers are responding to judges being hard on them."
CLARK COUNTY DISTRICT COURT
Walsh had the worst score of District Court judges, followed by Miley and then Leavitt, on questions involving knowledge and application of the law.
Attorneys also were allowed to make anonymous comments, some more crude and candid than others. With each of the three judges, the criticism was harsh and flattering comments were few.
The 8th Judicial District Court is the largest general jurisdiction court in Nevada and serves all of Clark County. The court presides over more than 90,000 criminal and civil cases a year.
For Walsh, who did not return calls, comments included "Unknowledgeable and often lost in her own thoughts on the bench" and "Judge completely disregarded applicable law and decided case on how she felt it should turn out."
For Miley, who declined to comment after seeing the survey results, criticisms included "She's just too stupid. She's a person who has gotten through life on good looks and a little smarts" and "Dumb as a rock, but sexy as hell" and "The facts don't seem to matter and the law is not followed. As a Family Court judge she was a disaster. She is quickly proving as a District Court judge to be an even greater disaster." Positive comments about Miley included "Very pleasant" and "She is a fair, open and honest judge. I respect her."
With regard to Leavitt, who did not return phone calls, negative comments included "She is not smart and she does not work hard. That's a dangerous combination" and "This judge has also been inclined to make her rulings fit the way she wants them to come out." The few positive comments included Leavitt "is one of the bravest judges on the bench. She is willing to make difficult decisions."
Wall and Barker, both former Clark County prosecutors, received the best scores among the 25 District Court judges on the four survey questions involving knowledge and application of the law.
For Wall and Barker, 10 percent or fewer respondents rated them "less than adequate" on each of the four issues.
"It's gratifying. To me, it's a department-wide score. Everybody (from my office) who comes in contact with the attorneys ... is as responsible for that (score) as I am," Wall said. "We strive to be prepared and to do the best job we can. It's good to know people appreciate that."
Approximately 300 attorneys responded to questions about Wall. Anonymous comments were predominantly positive, such as, "His rulings and analysis are above the norm. He can handle complex civil arguments and offers well-reasoned rulings."
Barker said he believes attorneys like the fact he is decisive.
"The worst thing for a judge to do is fail to make a decision," he said.
Positive comments from the approximately 260 attorneys who graded Barker included, "He gives a great deal of thought to most of the decisions he makes and generally uses his long experience as a prosecutor in a good, fair way."
CLARK COUNTY FAMILY COURT
Of the 18 Clark County Family Court judges, Cheryl B. Moss received the worst scores on the four key questions. She was followed by Steel and Kenneth Pollock, who is running for a newly created District Court seat even though he has served only one year in Family Court.
Family Court oversees cases involving divorce, annulments, child custody, visitation rights, child support, spousal support, community property division, name changes, adoption, and abuse and neglect .
More than half of the approximately 130 attorneys who responded rated Moss "less than adequate" on two questions (ruling appropriately and applying laws and rules properly), while about 45 percent rated her "less than adequate" on demonstrating familiarity with her cases and explaining her decisions.
Moss said she was perplexed by the scores, and that her track record suggests she is a better judge. Moss said she reads every case twice to familiarize herself, and that the state Supreme Court has overturned her rulings only five to 10 times during her decade on the bench.
"If I was continually misapplying the law, wouldn't I have more reversals and more appeals?" Moss said. "They (respondents) maybe have a different impression because I am judge who asks a lot of questions and some attorneys don't like that."
Moss said she regularly attends the Judicial Education Conference, where judges from around the country learn new practices, and that state records show she has taken more than 500 hours of judicial education classes.
Criticisms included, "Continually demonstrates a lack of ability to grasp the facts of the matter. ... Lacks both the temperament and capability to be on the bench." Even positive comments were seasoned with criticism, such as "Judge Moss seems to be very dedicated and genuinely cares about being a good judge, she just does not have a firm understanding of the law."
Steel, who didn't return phone calls after receiving the survey results, has not scored well in past judicial surveys. Nearly half the respondents or more rated her "less than adequate" on three of the questions, and 41 percent rated her "less than adequate" on the fourth.
Criticisms included "She makes up her own law and applies that to cases instead of the published laws she should be following" and "Judge Steel either doesn't know the law or she ignores it. She injects her own beliefs and feelings into almost every ruling she makes, ignoring the law and demeaning the litigants and the attorneys when she speaks." The positive comments about Steel included "Cares very much about everyone in her courtroom."
For Pollock, 54 percent of respondents rated him "less than adequate" on two of the core questions and 41 percent rated him "less than adequate" on the other two questions.
He said his poor scores are more about campaign politics than performance. With only 98 attorneys rating Pollock, he says it's possible that those who gave him poor scores are supporters of Susan Scann, his opponent in the upcoming District Court election.
A better measurement of performance, Pollock said, is 2009 data that shows he heard more motions than any other Family Court judge, that he ranked second in the number of bench trials and evidentiary hearings heard and second in case management conferences heard.
"There seems to be a disconnect between perception and reality," Pollock said. "I aggressively manage the docket, which may upset some attorneys because it means I am taking control of the case rather than them."
Criticisms of Pollock from attorneys far outweighed the positive. They included "Does not have a clue. This is a typical 'can't practice law, so I'll be a judge' kinda guy" and "Sometimes I cannot tell if he is plain dumb or if he overthinks things. He makes up policy that is particular only to his courtroom. Frankly, he does not know what he is doing in Family Court."
Positive comments included "A big reason that Family Court is improved -- vast improvement over Lisa Brown" and "New to the bench, but growing quickly; takes great pains to consider all sides."
Judge Frank Sullivan and Clark County Family Court Presiding Judge Gloria Sanchez were the Family Court judges who scored best on the four survey questions measuring knowledge and application of the law.
"I don't think I'm a brilliant guy," Sullivan said. "The key to doing a good job is patience and compassion. If you make a bad decision, it should never be for lack of preparation. ... I think it makes attorneys comfortable that I know a lot about issues."
Positive comments about Sullivan include, "He is very thoughtful and takes time to understand and apply the law to the facts," and "Judge Sullivan worked as a master for juvenile neglect and abuse cases for a long time prior to be voted in as a family court judge. He is truly one of the best." One of the few criticisms of Sullivan was, "Needs to be much tougher on the party who violates court orders, lies and/or does not comply with the rules."
As presiding judge over Family Court, Sanchez said she oversees informal meetings every six weeks, at which all the Family Court judges are invited to meet with family law attorneys to discuss common concerns. The meetings may focus, for instance, on the court's interpretation of recent state Supreme Court rulings, Sanchez said.
"I am very thrilled. I work really hard. I read every case and every brief ... and I try to give everybody their say," Sanchez said of her positive survey results.
Comments were predominantly positive, such as "Judge Sanchez is a shining star of the Family Court bench. She is extremely knowledgeable of the law and is consistent and thorough in her rulings."
CLARK COUNTY JUSTICE COURT
Of the 18 justices of the peace in Las Vegas, Henderson and North Las Vegas, Las Vegas Justice of the Peace Karen Bennett-Haron had the poorest score on the four questions involving knowledge and application of the law.
While they were much better than the poorest scores in District Court and Family Court, 30 percent to 40 percent of the approximately 165 respondents graded Bennett-Haron "less than adequate" on the four survey questions involving knowledge and application of the law.
Las Vegas Justice of the Peace Eric A. Goodman had the second worst scores, followed by Las Vegas Justice of the Peace Nancy Oesterle.
Clark County Justice Court administers criminal probable cause reviews, arraignments and preliminary hearings, as well as trials for misdemeanor and traffic cases. The court's civil jurisdiction includes small claims, and other civil cases for values up to $10,000, eviction proceedings and traffic violations.
Bennett-Haron said her scores are not a true reflection of her ability, and the results are skewed because prosecutors and public defenders are more likely to respond to the survey than are attorneys in other areas of the law.
"It is something I have always wanted to do ... to be of service to the community," Bennett-Haron, the first black woman appointed to Justice Court said when asked why she became a judge. "When you can bring diversity to a diverse situation, that impacts people from all walks of life and that is a good thing."
Criticisms included "Likely the least intellectually capable judge sitting on the bench today. That she has the authority to sentence people to jail scares the hell out of me" and "She does not know the law as well as she thinks she does and her decisions are often motivated by what she thinks the end result should be, rather than what the law says."
Las Vegas Justice of the Peace Joseph Sciscento had the best score followed by Henderson Justice of the Peace Rodney Burr, Henderson Justice of the Peace Stephen George and Las Vegas Justice of the Peace Melanie Andreas-Tobiason.
"I think it's generally true that lawyers who have a lot of experience appearing in Justice Court make good Justice Court judges," Sciscento said. "From my experience, I know what it takes to run an efficient courtroom."
Positive comments about Sciscento's performance include "Very prepared, very straightforward, very humorous, very smart" and "Plays it fair" and "Does the right thing on the right cases."
CLARK COUNTY MUNICIPAL COURTS
Of the 11 municipal judges rated, Las Vegas Municipal Court Judge George Assad and Henderson Municipal Court Judge Diana Hampton scored far worse than others on four questions involving a judge's knowledge of the law and the cases.
The judge with the best scores was Las Vegas Municipal Court Judge Bert Brown. He was followed by Judges Martin D. Hastings and Cedric A. Kerns, also of the Las Vegas Municipal Court, which has jurisdiction over misdemeanor criminal offenses committed within city limits.
For Assad, two-thirds of approximately 115 respondents rated him "less than adequate" on two of the four questions, and more than half rated him "less than adequate" on the other two.
Criticisms included "Two words, nut case" and "ruthless dictator who tramples over the Constitution and people's rights."
For Hampton, half or more of the respondents rated her "less than adequate" on the four questions. She said attorneys are tougher in ranking judges like her because "In Municipal Court, we do everything. We're judge, jury, and executioner, if you will. Because we are all three of those things, I think people tend to be much harsher on Municipal Court judges if they don't get a ruling that goes their way."
Criticisms from the approximately 55 attorneys who responded on Hampton included "Power has gone to her head. No sense of fairness" and "So mean. So bad. Married to a cop and plays cop on the bench." Among the relatively few comments about Hampton, none was positive.
STATE SUPREME COURT
Of the seven state Supreme Court justices, two judges from Southern Nevada had by far the best and worst scores on the four knowledge-based questions. Former District Court Judge Mark Gibbons had the best scores, and former District Court Judge Nancy Saitta scored far worse than any other.
Of the approximately 315 respondents on Saitta, between 41 percent and 46 percent rated her "less than adequate."
Criticisms included "Wouldn't make her a judge of a pie eating contest let alone the NV S. Ct." and "Completely unqualified for the job. Her own colleague at the Supreme Court recently reversed one of her rulings as a District Court judge calling her actions a 'manifest abuse of discretion.' " Positive comments include "Saitta is motivated to do the right thing."
Meanwhile, Gibbons received "less than adequate" ratings from no more than 13 percent of respondents on any of the attributes rated for Supreme Court justices. About 300 attorneys weighed in on each question.
"I try to do my best as a judge in applying the law and in following the general precedents," Gibbons said.
Positive comments about Gibbons far outweighed the negative. They included "May not always agree with conclusions he reaches but no question about the fact that he arrives at his conclusions after thorough, thoughtful deliberation."
Criticisms of Gibbons include "Shows a marked lack of interest in criminal cases."
Contact reporter Frank Geary at fgeary@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0277. Reporter Alan Maimon contributed to this report.
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Copyright (c) 2010, Las Vegas Review-Journal
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
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CHILD ‘PROTECTIVE’ SERVICES DESTROYED MY FAMILY
CHILD ‘PROTECTIVE’ SERVICES DESTROYED MY FAMILY
State and federally funded Child Protective Service agencies are seizing children from non-abusive homes in the absence of evidence or realistic cause to believe that the child is in danger of harm, and in gross violation of their own protocols, State and Federal regulations, and the Constitution of the United States. Children failed by the system have died while in the protective custody of the State, in the care of CPS and in foster care.
Each child in your family has a 1 in 25 chance of being the subject of a child abuse/neglect investigation this year. The chance of getting a flat tire on the family car is 1 in 70 (including Firestones).
Many children are taken from fit and loving parents solely based upon false allegations reported anonymously to a hotline, or as a result of a caseworker’s own personal judgment, or even by someone with a vendetta as in our case.
The State gains entry into private homes following the filing of a report of suspected child maltreatment. This report may be filed anonymously by anyone: a vindictive neighbor, a teacher, a day care provider, or an unstable busybody. You can lose your children from an anonymous phone call, with NO involvement from law enforcement, and NO charges of any wrong-doing. CPS controls the courtroom and employs the tactic of delay and “hide the ball” to keep families separated. This can go on for months and even years while children are separated from their families.
Actual acts of child abuse or severe neglect are not the primary allegations used to seize children from their families, meaning deliberate acts, willfully committed with the intent to harm – contrary to public assumption. CPS employs a method known as the “Clinical Model”, in which the behaviors of the child are used to claim that there is some sort of obscure psychological abuse in the home that has traumatized the child.
“Child protection is one of the biggest businesses in the country. We spend $12 billion a year on it. The money goes to tens of thousands of state employees, collateral professionals such as lawyers, court personnel, court investigators, evaluators and guardians, judges, and CPS contracted vendors such as counselors, therapists, more evaluators, junk psychologists, residential facilities, foster parents, adoptive parents, MSPCC, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, YMCA, etc.”
Nev Moore, Founder of Justice for Families.
Service providers, called vendors, hold multi-million dollar contracts with CPS. Families are ordered to engage in “services” with these contracted vendors, all of whom bill Medicaid at enormously inflated rates for “services” that are often inappropriate, unnecessary, and completely irrelevant to the families situation, or to child maltreatment.
Behind the money is the socialist ideology that children should be raised by the state. This agenda was promoted by Dr. C. Henry Kempe (author of the Battered Child Syndrome) in the 1970’s. An open supporter of the Communist party, he stated “We must remove children from the crude influence of their families and, frankly, nationalize them.” Dr. Kempe emphasized the need for a “stealthy, incremental approach” to implementing the agenda to make families obsolete.
Families are coerced into participating by intimidation and the threat of losing their children. In return for fraudulently collected profits, the contracted vendors provide manufactured “evidence” of child maltreatment to support the claim that they need to keep the child in foster care. In return for this they receive more federal funding. Now this is truly job security.
Nothing in our life experience is more devastating than the abrupt, brutal, and unwarranted forced separation by strangers. The parent-child bond is our strongest instinct, superceding all else. To have this bond severed by state agents who possess unhindered power, and give no thought or consideration to the fear, anxiety, and trauma that their actions cause, is a crime against humanity. This is happening to 4,600 children per day, right here in the United States of America.
The law states that a child can only be removed from their home as a last resort, and only when the child is at imminent risk of serious harm, but CPS does not follow established law and policy, and nobody makes them.
I home schooled 7 children and raised them in the Christian faith. My middle daughter Bijou—who calls herself Jewel, (then 19 years old) walked across the street in January 2006 and told neighbors Carol Evans and Carrie Roper that she was sexually molested with power tools, beaten with crow bars and burned alive. This all supposedly took place between the ages of 8 to 16 years. Never mind that there is no physical evidence of any of this (because it never happened). Not one of these neighbors bothered to come to my door to ask me if these things were true. My husband was arrested but subsequently released on bond.
The ‘protective’ order drafted by Jewel disarmed us for 2 years. We live out in the country where predators threaten our livestock. None of us has ever pointed a gun at a human being, yet, Jewel “dreamed” that her father pointed a shotgun at the family and told them to get on the floor or he would kill us all. Jewel later mentioned that the dream seemed “so real”. Yes, it was real enough to make sure we wouldn’t even be allowed to have ONE bullet in the home without fear of arrest.
My 2 youngest children (Beaujolais and Colette) were taken away from me without a warrant. CPS actors MariJo Shearin and Lisa Moore just walked in…and took them—NOTHING was done to keep them in the home. REMOVAL was the first and only choice of CPS. The law states that a child can only be removed from their home as a LAST resort, and only when the child is at imminent risk of serious harm. Removal of my two daughters, non-abused children, from their home was perceived by them to be an act of emotional and psychological terrorism. CPS does not follow established law and policy. They face no consequences for their illegal behavior. Law enforcement routinely submits to the whims of social workers as they did in our case when Caldwell County officials David Brent and Ms. Amaya accompanied CPS into the home and told everyone to get out of the house so CPS could “interview” me alone.
Normal, innocent people do not tend to be suspicious and defensive, so they usually cooperate when social workers knock on their door. This mother offered no resistance, foolishly believing that truth and justice would prevail and that we had done nothing illegal and therefore had nothing to hide. Citizens should NOT be removed from their homes and family members based on nothing more than hearsay.
Federal statistics say that there are approximately 3 million reports of suspected child abuse and neglect each year. The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services documents 900,000 as “substantiated”, leaving over 2 million families per year FALSELY ACCUSED. Of the “substantiated” cases, 68% do NOT involve child maltreatment, according to the federal authorities. This figure is escalating at an alarming rate each year as over zealous reporting and frivolous intervention by CPS spins out of control.
Here in Texas, we have a similar rate of unsubstantiated cases of child abuse. “In 76.4 percent of investigations, investigative caseworkers either rule out abuse or neglect, or are unable to determine whether it occurred.” (Protecting Texas Children, Health and Human Services Commission, CPS Reform Recommendations 1.5 Screen Out Unnecessary Investigations…page 22 January 6, 2005)
The case dragged on with Jewel feeding CPS all kinds of lies…and they believed her. I asked her HOW did she come up with these horrifying events that she told the authorities about. She responded that she did research on the internet and read case histories of sexual abuse. Then she said she “fantasized about it” to “make it more real…more believable”. Well, her lies, fantasies and dreams destroyed our lives. And she has been rewarded for it as well. She is going to school to become a social worker so she can join the ranks of CPS and “save abused children”: her words, not mine.
Jewel even perjured herself multiple times during our trial but there were NO consequences. At least they arrested Rozita Swinton for making false calls that resulted in the FLDS raid in April 2008. There were also NO consequences when Jewel failed to show up for the final day of our trial, even though she was under a subpoena. A legal system that tolerates perjury and the subornation of perjury can NOT produce justice.
Judges should not blindly go along with CPS and allow them to control court process, but fulfill their judicial canons by insisting that due process is followed, laws adhered to, and that procedural error is not tolerated. Parents are subjected to a highly irregular “civil” proceeding that makes a complete mockery of our judicial system. They are often told they may not speak or present exculpatory evidence as we tried to at the June 21, 2006 hearing regarding anonymous e-mails sent to our CPS caseworker Kristin Thompson.
The case degenerated into an exercise in character assassination and slander by neighbors who we have never met. Actual acts of child abuse or neglect that place the child at “imminent risk of serious harm” were not even discussed. Vague, obscure, and distorted allegations about our personalities and hearsay comprised the bulk of the “evidence”, including our “being in denial” and “anger problems”.
Our family was put under a powerful, and distorted, microscope. Social workers asked bizarre and invasive questions. We were asked whether or not we had “explosives and missile launchers”, whether I intended to “run the pick up truck thru the public school, kidnap my daughters and take them to New Mexico and drink poisoned Kool-Aid and commit suicide”. One neighbor that we’ve never met, Barbara Huff, even wrote on a police statement that I come from a long line of devil worshippers. Perhaps this is why I was asked by the prosecuting attorney for CPS during the trial on the merits in June 2007, “did you ever drink blood?” I’d laugh my head off if this weren’t so serious…but unfortunately TRUE!
Under the CPS microscope every word, inflection, and action is attributed with the most bizarre and outlandish “meanings.” If you have ever bounced a check, you have a “criminal record”; if your child is shy, they are “fearful and withdrawn”; if they are outgoing and active, they are “acting out due to the trauma.”
Do the parents ever argue? Do they ever raise their voices? This is then documented as “domestic violence.” The majority of the funding for domestic violence programs is channeled through CPS so this was no revelation to us. If parents deny domestic abuse or child abuse, they are told that they are “in denial”, and this is all “part of the syndrome.” Admitting – confessing – is one of the requirements. Truth and reality are not important. Saying the right things to keep federal funding flowing, is.
Federal law gives CPS 15 months to seek Termination of Parental Rights and have the child adopted out (and collect hefty adoption incentive bonuses—did we mention the money?) So, children are being put up for adoption based on the timeline, even when parents have not had a chance to answer the initial allegations, and in the absence of any evidence or charges that they have harmed their child. Social workers routinely perjure themselves under oath without ever facing any penalties or admonishment.
Meanwhile, children who have been removed from their grieving families are placed in state contracted foster homes and institutions which receive federal benefits. Residentials and other institutions hold multi-million dollar contracts with the social service agencies. Children are drugged, restrained, put in straight-jackets, some are sexually, physically, and emotionally abused. In Texas, 12,000 foster youth received psychotropic drugs in 2004. Each child averaged 21 psychotropic drug prescriptions a year. ALL are tormented by a system out of control.
One of my daughters CPS took from me “aged out” and returned home in April 2007. At one minute after midnight on her 18th birthday, she was driven by her Attorney Ad Litem Karen Langsley, to the parking lot of a grocery store where we gratefully received her back into our arms. No one from CPS came out to our house to make sure it was “safe” for her to return. The day before she turned 18, she wasn’t even allowed to receive a phone call from us. The day after she turned 18, none of them cared. They don’t care because the Federal funding ceased when Colette turned 18. Her 16 year old sister Beau is not allowed to receive or make phone calls to us either. I am “allowed” a one hour a week, heavily supervised (by CPS) visit. She is not allowed contact with her brothers and sisters at all with the exception of Colette (the sister who was abducted along with her back in January 2006 and returned home to us recently).
If social workers “care” so much for children, I have 2 questions for them:
1. Would you work without pay and sacrifice for the child? I did. No one paid me to be a mother, to carry the child for 9 months under my heart, to be there many sleepless nights when they had teething pain or were sick, prayed for them, taught them right from wrong, fed them, clothed them, educated them, gave up my time, and put off buying things for myself because I always put them first, just to name a few things that come to mind.
2. If a life-or- death situation arose, would you give your life for the child? I would. No questions asked.
Which of us REALLY has the “best interests of the child” at heart: parents or Social Services?
The financial incentives for shredding families, warehousing children until the barriers to adoption (parents) can be eliminated and children adopted out, are lucrative. CPS is part of a $14. billion dollar a year, tax payer fueled, child abuse industrial complex which provides jobs for caseworkers, judges, lawyers, bailiffs, various court personnel, psychotherapists, foster homes, pharmaceutical vendors and a host of others.
This is a HUGE growth industry that provides private profit through Medicaid. Service providers (vendors) hold multi-million dollar contracts with the social service agencies. Families are ordered to engage in “services” with the contracted vendors, all of whom bill Medicaid at inflated rates for “services” that are often inappropriate, unnecessary, onerous, and completely irrelevant (not to mention unconstitutional) to the families situation, or to child maltreatment.
This writer is 57 years old and has been married to the same man (the biological father of our 7 children) for 32 years. I am a registered nurse, do not drink, smoke, never did drugs, don’t even have a traffic ticket. I have never abused my children nor has my husband sexually molested any of my children. My husband has worked for the State of Texas since 1979. WHY is this happening to us?
Do you, dear reader, have any idea WHAT it feels like to have a child taken away for NO reason? Can you imagine the pain and anguish that comes in unrelenting waves as you try to figure out why this is happening? How would you like to be falsely accused of child abuse with your name smeared all over public records for horrific events that NEVER OCCURRED? What would it feel like to have your reputation destroyed? How would you like it if neighbors driving by your house slowed down and stared…and took pictures of your house? And every time you walk in the gas station or the feed store where the ranchers gather for coffee, they suddenly stop talking and stare at you? Did it ever occur to any of you to come to my door and ASK me if these things were true? Or was it more fun to gossip and believe the madness because it’s more exciting than reality? Now, we’re just collateral damage in the war against children, just another family chewed up and spit out by the State.
Families are coerced into participating by intimidation and the threat of losing their children. In return for these fraudulently collected profits, the contracted vendors provide manufactured “evidence” of child maltreatment to support CPS claims that they need to keep the child in foster care. In return for this they receive more federal funding. Now this is truly job security.
On May 21, 2007 the CPS trial on the merits began in the Caldwell County Judicial Center in Lockhart, Texas with Associate Judge Karin Bonicoro presiding. It consisted of 6 days of persecution and mockery of my lifestyle and personal beliefs and made a complete travesty of our judicial system. Their “evidence” consisted of hearsay and e-mails allegedly authored by Jewel. Constitutional violations were rampant throughout this ordeal.
The Guardian Ad Litem, Phillip Wilson, testified that it wasn’t “safe” for my daughter to return home “(even if the father were removed)” because she would “suffer thru abuse rather than report it”—“even if she continued going to public school because when she got back home, her mother would deprogram her.” WHAT abuse? “DEPROGRAM”? Does CPS normally “deprogram” it’s victims by telling them—as they told my daughters– “your mother doesn’t love you”, “she abandoned you”, “your mother chose her husband over you”, “it’s all because of your parents that you are here in this emergency shelter now”, “your parents aren’t cooperating, it’s not our fault you are here”, “why don’t you pray to your God—see if He will answer your prayers and get you out of this place.” Your tax dollars at work. . .
Harvard psychiatrist Chester M. Pierce stated that “Every child in America entering school at the age of 5 is mentally ill because he comes to school with certain allegiances to our founding fathers, toward our elected officials, toward his parents, toward a belief in a supernatural being, and toward the sovereignty of this nation as a separate entity. It’s up to you as teachers to make all these sick children well by creating the international child of the future.” I guess the State of Texas and the public schools are just “making my sick daughter well”.
We USED to be Christian home schoolers. Evidently, the State of Texas has a resocialization program underway to destroy my daughter’s belief system since it’s a crime to be a Christian and to home school. It is socialist ideology that children should be raised by the State. Dr. C. Henry Kempe, author of the Battered Child Syndrome and an open supporter of the Communist party stated: “We must remove children from the crude influence of their families and, frankly, nationalize them.”
Home School Legal Defense Association was not able to represent us in court because we were hailed before the Judge because of allegations of sexual abuse, not home schooling. Warning Dads: put your porn magazines away. Possession of a porn magazine by a so called “Christian” father—my husband, was the reason Jewel flipped out in the first place as she wanted to “teach” her Dad a lesson and “bring him to repentance” for his porn magazine.
On June 26, 2007, after 6 days of “trial”, I was adjudicated as an unfit mother in spite of NO evidence of abuse and with the civil court’s full knowledge that “the criminal charges against my husband (which were fabricated by Jewel) would be dismissed any day now because of lack of evidence”. Indeed, criminal charges WERE conveniently dismissed June 28, 2007–2 days AFTER CPS court rendered their decision. This is CYA (cover your afterburner) in operation.
SOMEBODY in this universe needs to investigate the corruption going on in CPS.
Beau will remain in permanent managing conservatorship of the State and continue to reside in foster care against her will and despite her telling the judge, Guardian Ad Litem and all the rest of these people–on multiple occasions since her wrongful abduction by State actors known as CPS on January 11, 2006, –that she was never abused and just wants to return home. It doesn’t matter how many times you tell CPS there was no abuse, they just tell you that you are in “denial” and “not cooperating”. Children should NOT be held as indentured servants or held in thrall to others for acts they have not committed.
My daughter in CPS custody (Beau) has not been allowed to see her brothers and sisters since their visits were cut off during a court hearing in February 2007. Before that, they were allowed a one hour a week visit. No phone calls were ever permitted and still are not to this day. We tried to get permission to have some phone contact with her but the Judge denied it again as recently as August 1, 2007. The reason the siblings’ visits were cut off was that the CPS caseworker told the court that 2 of the siblings were passing notes to my daughter. Yes, my son passed her a $20. Federal Reserve note because she needed money to buy school supplies and clothes for school. Evidently, Caldwell County doesn’t have enough money to buy what she needs. When we home schooled, there was always food, clothes and supplies for the children.
My husband is not allowed to have a visit with Beau because he refuses to take sex offender therapy. He refuses to take it because he is not a sex offender. In retaliation for not cooperating with the court, the Judge is punishing him by cutting off his visits. CPS has gone above and beyond to punish us. The weekly one hour visit is held at CiCi’s Pizza, a highly public area next to the Army, Navy and Air Force Recruiting Stations. Apparently, the Judge thinks that my husband may leap over the pepperonis and molest our daughter, with a CPS agent sitting right next to us and 3 branches of America’s finest next door. He is however, allowed to be around my 15 year old grandson (same age as my daughter). The only difference between them is…my grandson was not incarcerated by CPS and pimped out to obtain federal funds.
After our trial, Judge Bonicoro said that “REGARDLESS of the outcome of the criminal case, my husband has to take sex offender therapy” and Beau can’t come back home unless recommended by THEIR CPS contracted, bought and paid for, psychologist, Dr. Matthew Ferrara. We tried to offer another expert opinion (Dr. John Watterson) to testify that it was safe for her to come home, but the Judge practically RAN him out of the court room. They don’t want to hear anything that doesn’t agree with their paradigm. They certainly aren’t interested in the truth. Citizens should NOT be censured by public officials for crimes they have not committed.
I’d like to know how Caldwell County even GOT an indictment in the first place. All the so called “evidence” is whatever my daughter told them. There is no physical evidence of “sexual molesting with power tools, beatings with crowbars and burning in the fireplace”…. BECAUSE IT NEVER HAPPENED. My husband’s criminal lawyer told us the “grand jury rubber stamps indictments presented to them by the District Attorney”. Maybe that’s why this D.A. (Chris Schneider) was voted out of office and replaced in January 2007 by Trey Hicks. This former D.A. indicted several people during the same time span (that my husband was indicted) that also never should have been indicted. One particular, well known individual that comes to mind, put an ad in the Luling Newsboy newspaper apprising the people of Caldwell County that his charges were dropped by the D.A.’s office.
My husband and I took all the court ordered parenting classes required by the State of Texas and attended weekly psychotherapy sessions thru CPS contracted vendors. These sessions consist of nothing more than coercive persuasion designed to interrogate, break down your will and cause you to believe the unbelievable. In the end, it’s all for nothing. CPS tells you that you’re “in denial” and being “uncooperative”. It feels more like Nazi Germany and the Soviet gulags every day.
Think I’m being too harsh comparing CPS to Nazis? Homeschooling was a basis for child endangerment charges under Hitler. The German High Court (Hamburg) ruled in 1936 that “Custody rights shall be terminated for parents who, as fanatical Bible students, cannot rear their children in accordance with today’s State and because this endangers the mental wellbeing of the children, who are thereby prevented from participating in the national community.”
CPS routinely employs unconstitutional actions, fraud, extortion, deceit, kidnapping, and conspiracy in an ongoing criminal enterprise designed to cheat the public and destroy families of the United States of America for profit, for agrandizement and to delude the public into thinking their actions are for the general welfare of this nation. Unconstitutional summary judicial proceedings designed to perpetrate for-profit crimes against humanity, family dismemberment and human trafficking, and to defraud the Federal Government for Social Services Agency operational funds have been perpetrated upon many families in America.
Child Protective Services, in taking children who do not meet the statutory definition of abuse or neglect from loving homes is creating more throwaway children than they are legitimately saving. CPS actors merely decide that children are “at risk” and that abuse or neglect may occur in the FUTURE. These are POLICE STATE TACTICS that are routinely deployed against citizens of totalitarian regimes. What happened to due process? What happened to the Constitution of the United States of America? Where is the Bill of Rights? Dismembering families and creating artificial orphans by means of fraud and/or deceptive trade practices is NOT legitimate government business.
CPS engages in for-profit crimes against humanity consequent to the unlawful dismemberment of families to create human trafficking victims from which the County earns Federal funds with which to fund it’s operations. The exploitation of men, women and children for financial gain is the definition of human trafficking, which the U.S. Secretary of State Condolleza Rice states is a modern day form of slavery. http://usinfo.state.gov/gi/global_issues/human_trafficking.html
Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, in Fiscal 2003, 30 foster children died in our state’s care; in Fiscal 2004, 38 foster children died; and in Fiscal 2005, 48 foster children died. Data shows that while the number of foster children in our state’s care increased 24 percent from 26,133 in Fiscal 2003 to 32,474 in Fiscal 2005, the number of deaths increased 60 percent.
Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn Statement On Foster Care Abuse given Friday, June 23, 2006 in Austin, Texas
DFPS statistics themselves underscore the fact that my 16 year old daughter is in FAR GREATER DANGER in the custody of CPS than she is in the care of her falsely accused biological parents. The State of California published the following statement: called the “perverse incentive factor,” States and counties earn more revenue by having more children in the system – whether it is opening a case to investigate a report of child abuse and neglect or placing a child in foster care.” Facts-at-a-Glance, Child Welfare in California, 09-09-2003 www.dss.cahwnet.gov/pdf/facts.pdf
At the end of FY 2003, Texas DFPS had legal responsibility for 22,346 children. Of that total, 15,414 children resided in foster care. In the same time period, there were 6,932 children in the Department’s legal custody who were not residing in foster care. Texas, as does California, PROFITS FROM HUMAN TRAFFICKING, which is a deplorable manner by which to fund County operations.
Some statistics from the State and County where I live:
In FY 2003, CPS conducted 131,130 investigations of abuse and/or neglect in Texas and confirmed abuse and/or neglect in 32,792 cases. In FY 2004, the number of child abuse and/or neglect investigations is expected to increase by 10 percent over FY 2003. In FY 2005, the percentage is expected to increase by four percent over FY 2004. http://www.hhs.state.tx.us/StrategicPlans/HHS05-09/final/pdf/Chapter08.pdf
In 2005, the child population in Caldwell County was 10, 258. There were 510 intakes alleging abuse/neglect, 448 cases were assigned to CPS caseworkers, 329 completed cases alleging abuse/neglect, 539 alleged victims in completed cases, 101 confirmed cases, 153 confirmed victims, and 131 cases opened for in home services. (Source: The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services) www.capco.state.tx.us/Documents/inthenews/Caldwell_County_Community_Plan.pdf
CALDWELL COUNTY FY 2007 – 2008 COMMUNITY PLAN FOR COORDINATION OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND RELATED ACTIVITIES
In 2006, the number of child sexual abuse clients served at Roxanne’s House (a program of the Hays-Caldwell Women’s Center) was 73. 30 were from Lockhart, 17 from Luling, 4 from Maxwell, 5 from Martindale and 17 from other Caldwell County areas. 26% of the child abuse clients served at Roxanne’s House were from Caldwell County in that year. (Source: Hays-Caldwell Women’s Center 2006 Annual Report). www.capco.state.tx.us/Documents/inthenews/Caldwell_County_Community_Plan.pdf
CALDWELL COUNTY FY 2007 – 2008 COMMUNITY PLAN FOR COORDINATION OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND RELATED ACTIVITIES
Two of my daughters are statistics in the 2006 report. NEITHER were EVER abused in any way, shape or fashion until they were abducted by the State of Texas. This was emotional TERRORISM and TORTURE of the highest magnitude, conducted under the pretense of keeping my daughters “safe” from imaginary “risk”.
It’s all about the money. And there’s no money in family reunification and returning my daughter home. We appealed the lower court’s decision and on Thursday, May 8, 2008, the Third Court of Appeals in Austin, Texas handed down it’s decision affirming the lower court’s injustice to us due to a technicality—we didn’t have a trial transcript. Obtaining one, at a cost of $50. per hour and $5. a page to transcribe will run approximately $14,000. How much “justice” can YOU afford? WE LOST OUR APPEAL.
For information about CPS, drugging foster children for profit, and the social engineering of our nation’s children, please check out my site at: http://texasroadrunner.spaces.live.com/
Citizens should NOT be more afraid of social workers than they are of criminals. To this end, I have uploaded several thousand documents in PDF format for your edification and enlightenment in the Public Folders section of my site (scroll down to the bottom of the page and you’ll see them).
My CPS horror story can also be read on MySpace at: http://www.myspace.com/texasroadrunner
Knowledge is power. Empower yourself so you don’t become the next victim of America’s SS (social services).
Thank you for your time,
Carmen Rodriguez B.S.N., R.N.
* * *
http://www.mykidsdeservebetter.com/public-school-menace/child-protective-services-destroyed-family
State and federally funded Child Protective Service agencies are seizing children from non-abusive homes in the absence of evidence or realistic cause to believe that the child is in danger of harm, and in gross violation of their own protocols, State and Federal regulations, and the Constitution of the United States. Children failed by the system have died while in the protective custody of the State, in the care of CPS and in foster care.
Each child in your family has a 1 in 25 chance of being the subject of a child abuse/neglect investigation this year. The chance of getting a flat tire on the family car is 1 in 70 (including Firestones).
Many children are taken from fit and loving parents solely based upon false allegations reported anonymously to a hotline, or as a result of a caseworker’s own personal judgment, or even by someone with a vendetta as in our case.
The State gains entry into private homes following the filing of a report of suspected child maltreatment. This report may be filed anonymously by anyone: a vindictive neighbor, a teacher, a day care provider, or an unstable busybody. You can lose your children from an anonymous phone call, with NO involvement from law enforcement, and NO charges of any wrong-doing. CPS controls the courtroom and employs the tactic of delay and “hide the ball” to keep families separated. This can go on for months and even years while children are separated from their families.
Actual acts of child abuse or severe neglect are not the primary allegations used to seize children from their families, meaning deliberate acts, willfully committed with the intent to harm – contrary to public assumption. CPS employs a method known as the “Clinical Model”, in which the behaviors of the child are used to claim that there is some sort of obscure psychological abuse in the home that has traumatized the child.
“Child protection is one of the biggest businesses in the country. We spend $12 billion a year on it. The money goes to tens of thousands of state employees, collateral professionals such as lawyers, court personnel, court investigators, evaluators and guardians, judges, and CPS contracted vendors such as counselors, therapists, more evaluators, junk psychologists, residential facilities, foster parents, adoptive parents, MSPCC, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, YMCA, etc.”
Nev Moore, Founder of Justice for Families.
Service providers, called vendors, hold multi-million dollar contracts with CPS. Families are ordered to engage in “services” with these contracted vendors, all of whom bill Medicaid at enormously inflated rates for “services” that are often inappropriate, unnecessary, and completely irrelevant to the families situation, or to child maltreatment.
Behind the money is the socialist ideology that children should be raised by the state. This agenda was promoted by Dr. C. Henry Kempe (author of the Battered Child Syndrome) in the 1970’s. An open supporter of the Communist party, he stated “We must remove children from the crude influence of their families and, frankly, nationalize them.” Dr. Kempe emphasized the need for a “stealthy, incremental approach” to implementing the agenda to make families obsolete.
Families are coerced into participating by intimidation and the threat of losing their children. In return for fraudulently collected profits, the contracted vendors provide manufactured “evidence” of child maltreatment to support the claim that they need to keep the child in foster care. In return for this they receive more federal funding. Now this is truly job security.
Nothing in our life experience is more devastating than the abrupt, brutal, and unwarranted forced separation by strangers. The parent-child bond is our strongest instinct, superceding all else. To have this bond severed by state agents who possess unhindered power, and give no thought or consideration to the fear, anxiety, and trauma that their actions cause, is a crime against humanity. This is happening to 4,600 children per day, right here in the United States of America.
The law states that a child can only be removed from their home as a last resort, and only when the child is at imminent risk of serious harm, but CPS does not follow established law and policy, and nobody makes them.
I home schooled 7 children and raised them in the Christian faith. My middle daughter Bijou—who calls herself Jewel, (then 19 years old) walked across the street in January 2006 and told neighbors Carol Evans and Carrie Roper that she was sexually molested with power tools, beaten with crow bars and burned alive. This all supposedly took place between the ages of 8 to 16 years. Never mind that there is no physical evidence of any of this (because it never happened). Not one of these neighbors bothered to come to my door to ask me if these things were true. My husband was arrested but subsequently released on bond.
The ‘protective’ order drafted by Jewel disarmed us for 2 years. We live out in the country where predators threaten our livestock. None of us has ever pointed a gun at a human being, yet, Jewel “dreamed” that her father pointed a shotgun at the family and told them to get on the floor or he would kill us all. Jewel later mentioned that the dream seemed “so real”. Yes, it was real enough to make sure we wouldn’t even be allowed to have ONE bullet in the home without fear of arrest.
My 2 youngest children (Beaujolais and Colette) were taken away from me without a warrant. CPS actors MariJo Shearin and Lisa Moore just walked in…and took them—NOTHING was done to keep them in the home. REMOVAL was the first and only choice of CPS. The law states that a child can only be removed from their home as a LAST resort, and only when the child is at imminent risk of serious harm. Removal of my two daughters, non-abused children, from their home was perceived by them to be an act of emotional and psychological terrorism. CPS does not follow established law and policy. They face no consequences for their illegal behavior. Law enforcement routinely submits to the whims of social workers as they did in our case when Caldwell County officials David Brent and Ms. Amaya accompanied CPS into the home and told everyone to get out of the house so CPS could “interview” me alone.
Normal, innocent people do not tend to be suspicious and defensive, so they usually cooperate when social workers knock on their door. This mother offered no resistance, foolishly believing that truth and justice would prevail and that we had done nothing illegal and therefore had nothing to hide. Citizens should NOT be removed from their homes and family members based on nothing more than hearsay.
Federal statistics say that there are approximately 3 million reports of suspected child abuse and neglect each year. The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services documents 900,000 as “substantiated”, leaving over 2 million families per year FALSELY ACCUSED. Of the “substantiated” cases, 68% do NOT involve child maltreatment, according to the federal authorities. This figure is escalating at an alarming rate each year as over zealous reporting and frivolous intervention by CPS spins out of control.
Here in Texas, we have a similar rate of unsubstantiated cases of child abuse. “In 76.4 percent of investigations, investigative caseworkers either rule out abuse or neglect, or are unable to determine whether it occurred.” (Protecting Texas Children, Health and Human Services Commission, CPS Reform Recommendations 1.5 Screen Out Unnecessary Investigations…page 22 January 6, 2005)
The case dragged on with Jewel feeding CPS all kinds of lies…and they believed her. I asked her HOW did she come up with these horrifying events that she told the authorities about. She responded that she did research on the internet and read case histories of sexual abuse. Then she said she “fantasized about it” to “make it more real…more believable”. Well, her lies, fantasies and dreams destroyed our lives. And she has been rewarded for it as well. She is going to school to become a social worker so she can join the ranks of CPS and “save abused children”: her words, not mine.
Jewel even perjured herself multiple times during our trial but there were NO consequences. At least they arrested Rozita Swinton for making false calls that resulted in the FLDS raid in April 2008. There were also NO consequences when Jewel failed to show up for the final day of our trial, even though she was under a subpoena. A legal system that tolerates perjury and the subornation of perjury can NOT produce justice.
Judges should not blindly go along with CPS and allow them to control court process, but fulfill their judicial canons by insisting that due process is followed, laws adhered to, and that procedural error is not tolerated. Parents are subjected to a highly irregular “civil” proceeding that makes a complete mockery of our judicial system. They are often told they may not speak or present exculpatory evidence as we tried to at the June 21, 2006 hearing regarding anonymous e-mails sent to our CPS caseworker Kristin Thompson.
The case degenerated into an exercise in character assassination and slander by neighbors who we have never met. Actual acts of child abuse or neglect that place the child at “imminent risk of serious harm” were not even discussed. Vague, obscure, and distorted allegations about our personalities and hearsay comprised the bulk of the “evidence”, including our “being in denial” and “anger problems”.
Our family was put under a powerful, and distorted, microscope. Social workers asked bizarre and invasive questions. We were asked whether or not we had “explosives and missile launchers”, whether I intended to “run the pick up truck thru the public school, kidnap my daughters and take them to New Mexico and drink poisoned Kool-Aid and commit suicide”. One neighbor that we’ve never met, Barbara Huff, even wrote on a police statement that I come from a long line of devil worshippers. Perhaps this is why I was asked by the prosecuting attorney for CPS during the trial on the merits in June 2007, “did you ever drink blood?” I’d laugh my head off if this weren’t so serious…but unfortunately TRUE!
Under the CPS microscope every word, inflection, and action is attributed with the most bizarre and outlandish “meanings.” If you have ever bounced a check, you have a “criminal record”; if your child is shy, they are “fearful and withdrawn”; if they are outgoing and active, they are “acting out due to the trauma.”
Do the parents ever argue? Do they ever raise their voices? This is then documented as “domestic violence.” The majority of the funding for domestic violence programs is channeled through CPS so this was no revelation to us. If parents deny domestic abuse or child abuse, they are told that they are “in denial”, and this is all “part of the syndrome.” Admitting – confessing – is one of the requirements. Truth and reality are not important. Saying the right things to keep federal funding flowing, is.
Federal law gives CPS 15 months to seek Termination of Parental Rights and have the child adopted out (and collect hefty adoption incentive bonuses—did we mention the money?) So, children are being put up for adoption based on the timeline, even when parents have not had a chance to answer the initial allegations, and in the absence of any evidence or charges that they have harmed their child. Social workers routinely perjure themselves under oath without ever facing any penalties or admonishment.
Meanwhile, children who have been removed from their grieving families are placed in state contracted foster homes and institutions which receive federal benefits. Residentials and other institutions hold multi-million dollar contracts with the social service agencies. Children are drugged, restrained, put in straight-jackets, some are sexually, physically, and emotionally abused. In Texas, 12,000 foster youth received psychotropic drugs in 2004. Each child averaged 21 psychotropic drug prescriptions a year. ALL are tormented by a system out of control.
One of my daughters CPS took from me “aged out” and returned home in April 2007. At one minute after midnight on her 18th birthday, she was driven by her Attorney Ad Litem Karen Langsley, to the parking lot of a grocery store where we gratefully received her back into our arms. No one from CPS came out to our house to make sure it was “safe” for her to return. The day before she turned 18, she wasn’t even allowed to receive a phone call from us. The day after she turned 18, none of them cared. They don’t care because the Federal funding ceased when Colette turned 18. Her 16 year old sister Beau is not allowed to receive or make phone calls to us either. I am “allowed” a one hour a week, heavily supervised (by CPS) visit. She is not allowed contact with her brothers and sisters at all with the exception of Colette (the sister who was abducted along with her back in January 2006 and returned home to us recently).
If social workers “care” so much for children, I have 2 questions for them:
1. Would you work without pay and sacrifice for the child? I did. No one paid me to be a mother, to carry the child for 9 months under my heart, to be there many sleepless nights when they had teething pain or were sick, prayed for them, taught them right from wrong, fed them, clothed them, educated them, gave up my time, and put off buying things for myself because I always put them first, just to name a few things that come to mind.
2. If a life-or- death situation arose, would you give your life for the child? I would. No questions asked.
Which of us REALLY has the “best interests of the child” at heart: parents or Social Services?
The financial incentives for shredding families, warehousing children until the barriers to adoption (parents) can be eliminated and children adopted out, are lucrative. CPS is part of a $14. billion dollar a year, tax payer fueled, child abuse industrial complex which provides jobs for caseworkers, judges, lawyers, bailiffs, various court personnel, psychotherapists, foster homes, pharmaceutical vendors and a host of others.
This is a HUGE growth industry that provides private profit through Medicaid. Service providers (vendors) hold multi-million dollar contracts with the social service agencies. Families are ordered to engage in “services” with the contracted vendors, all of whom bill Medicaid at inflated rates for “services” that are often inappropriate, unnecessary, onerous, and completely irrelevant (not to mention unconstitutional) to the families situation, or to child maltreatment.
This writer is 57 years old and has been married to the same man (the biological father of our 7 children) for 32 years. I am a registered nurse, do not drink, smoke, never did drugs, don’t even have a traffic ticket. I have never abused my children nor has my husband sexually molested any of my children. My husband has worked for the State of Texas since 1979. WHY is this happening to us?
Do you, dear reader, have any idea WHAT it feels like to have a child taken away for NO reason? Can you imagine the pain and anguish that comes in unrelenting waves as you try to figure out why this is happening? How would you like to be falsely accused of child abuse with your name smeared all over public records for horrific events that NEVER OCCURRED? What would it feel like to have your reputation destroyed? How would you like it if neighbors driving by your house slowed down and stared…and took pictures of your house? And every time you walk in the gas station or the feed store where the ranchers gather for coffee, they suddenly stop talking and stare at you? Did it ever occur to any of you to come to my door and ASK me if these things were true? Or was it more fun to gossip and believe the madness because it’s more exciting than reality? Now, we’re just collateral damage in the war against children, just another family chewed up and spit out by the State.
Families are coerced into participating by intimidation and the threat of losing their children. In return for these fraudulently collected profits, the contracted vendors provide manufactured “evidence” of child maltreatment to support CPS claims that they need to keep the child in foster care. In return for this they receive more federal funding. Now this is truly job security.
On May 21, 2007 the CPS trial on the merits began in the Caldwell County Judicial Center in Lockhart, Texas with Associate Judge Karin Bonicoro presiding. It consisted of 6 days of persecution and mockery of my lifestyle and personal beliefs and made a complete travesty of our judicial system. Their “evidence” consisted of hearsay and e-mails allegedly authored by Jewel. Constitutional violations were rampant throughout this ordeal.
The Guardian Ad Litem, Phillip Wilson, testified that it wasn’t “safe” for my daughter to return home “(even if the father were removed)” because she would “suffer thru abuse rather than report it”—“even if she continued going to public school because when she got back home, her mother would deprogram her.” WHAT abuse? “DEPROGRAM”? Does CPS normally “deprogram” it’s victims by telling them—as they told my daughters– “your mother doesn’t love you”, “she abandoned you”, “your mother chose her husband over you”, “it’s all because of your parents that you are here in this emergency shelter now”, “your parents aren’t cooperating, it’s not our fault you are here”, “why don’t you pray to your God—see if He will answer your prayers and get you out of this place.” Your tax dollars at work. . .
Harvard psychiatrist Chester M. Pierce stated that “Every child in America entering school at the age of 5 is mentally ill because he comes to school with certain allegiances to our founding fathers, toward our elected officials, toward his parents, toward a belief in a supernatural being, and toward the sovereignty of this nation as a separate entity. It’s up to you as teachers to make all these sick children well by creating the international child of the future.” I guess the State of Texas and the public schools are just “making my sick daughter well”.
We USED to be Christian home schoolers. Evidently, the State of Texas has a resocialization program underway to destroy my daughter’s belief system since it’s a crime to be a Christian and to home school. It is socialist ideology that children should be raised by the State. Dr. C. Henry Kempe, author of the Battered Child Syndrome and an open supporter of the Communist party stated: “We must remove children from the crude influence of their families and, frankly, nationalize them.”
Home School Legal Defense Association was not able to represent us in court because we were hailed before the Judge because of allegations of sexual abuse, not home schooling. Warning Dads: put your porn magazines away. Possession of a porn magazine by a so called “Christian” father—my husband, was the reason Jewel flipped out in the first place as she wanted to “teach” her Dad a lesson and “bring him to repentance” for his porn magazine.
On June 26, 2007, after 6 days of “trial”, I was adjudicated as an unfit mother in spite of NO evidence of abuse and with the civil court’s full knowledge that “the criminal charges against my husband (which were fabricated by Jewel) would be dismissed any day now because of lack of evidence”. Indeed, criminal charges WERE conveniently dismissed June 28, 2007–2 days AFTER CPS court rendered their decision. This is CYA (cover your afterburner) in operation.
SOMEBODY in this universe needs to investigate the corruption going on in CPS.
Beau will remain in permanent managing conservatorship of the State and continue to reside in foster care against her will and despite her telling the judge, Guardian Ad Litem and all the rest of these people–on multiple occasions since her wrongful abduction by State actors known as CPS on January 11, 2006, –that she was never abused and just wants to return home. It doesn’t matter how many times you tell CPS there was no abuse, they just tell you that you are in “denial” and “not cooperating”. Children should NOT be held as indentured servants or held in thrall to others for acts they have not committed.
My daughter in CPS custody (Beau) has not been allowed to see her brothers and sisters since their visits were cut off during a court hearing in February 2007. Before that, they were allowed a one hour a week visit. No phone calls were ever permitted and still are not to this day. We tried to get permission to have some phone contact with her but the Judge denied it again as recently as August 1, 2007. The reason the siblings’ visits were cut off was that the CPS caseworker told the court that 2 of the siblings were passing notes to my daughter. Yes, my son passed her a $20. Federal Reserve note because she needed money to buy school supplies and clothes for school. Evidently, Caldwell County doesn’t have enough money to buy what she needs. When we home schooled, there was always food, clothes and supplies for the children.
My husband is not allowed to have a visit with Beau because he refuses to take sex offender therapy. He refuses to take it because he is not a sex offender. In retaliation for not cooperating with the court, the Judge is punishing him by cutting off his visits. CPS has gone above and beyond to punish us. The weekly one hour visit is held at CiCi’s Pizza, a highly public area next to the Army, Navy and Air Force Recruiting Stations. Apparently, the Judge thinks that my husband may leap over the pepperonis and molest our daughter, with a CPS agent sitting right next to us and 3 branches of America’s finest next door. He is however, allowed to be around my 15 year old grandson (same age as my daughter). The only difference between them is…my grandson was not incarcerated by CPS and pimped out to obtain federal funds.
After our trial, Judge Bonicoro said that “REGARDLESS of the outcome of the criminal case, my husband has to take sex offender therapy” and Beau can’t come back home unless recommended by THEIR CPS contracted, bought and paid for, psychologist, Dr. Matthew Ferrara. We tried to offer another expert opinion (Dr. John Watterson) to testify that it was safe for her to come home, but the Judge practically RAN him out of the court room. They don’t want to hear anything that doesn’t agree with their paradigm. They certainly aren’t interested in the truth. Citizens should NOT be censured by public officials for crimes they have not committed.
I’d like to know how Caldwell County even GOT an indictment in the first place. All the so called “evidence” is whatever my daughter told them. There is no physical evidence of “sexual molesting with power tools, beatings with crowbars and burning in the fireplace”…. BECAUSE IT NEVER HAPPENED. My husband’s criminal lawyer told us the “grand jury rubber stamps indictments presented to them by the District Attorney”. Maybe that’s why this D.A. (Chris Schneider) was voted out of office and replaced in January 2007 by Trey Hicks. This former D.A. indicted several people during the same time span (that my husband was indicted) that also never should have been indicted. One particular, well known individual that comes to mind, put an ad in the Luling Newsboy newspaper apprising the people of Caldwell County that his charges were dropped by the D.A.’s office.
My husband and I took all the court ordered parenting classes required by the State of Texas and attended weekly psychotherapy sessions thru CPS contracted vendors. These sessions consist of nothing more than coercive persuasion designed to interrogate, break down your will and cause you to believe the unbelievable. In the end, it’s all for nothing. CPS tells you that you’re “in denial” and being “uncooperative”. It feels more like Nazi Germany and the Soviet gulags every day.
Think I’m being too harsh comparing CPS to Nazis? Homeschooling was a basis for child endangerment charges under Hitler. The German High Court (Hamburg) ruled in 1936 that “Custody rights shall be terminated for parents who, as fanatical Bible students, cannot rear their children in accordance with today’s State and because this endangers the mental wellbeing of the children, who are thereby prevented from participating in the national community.”
CPS routinely employs unconstitutional actions, fraud, extortion, deceit, kidnapping, and conspiracy in an ongoing criminal enterprise designed to cheat the public and destroy families of the United States of America for profit, for agrandizement and to delude the public into thinking their actions are for the general welfare of this nation. Unconstitutional summary judicial proceedings designed to perpetrate for-profit crimes against humanity, family dismemberment and human trafficking, and to defraud the Federal Government for Social Services Agency operational funds have been perpetrated upon many families in America.
Child Protective Services, in taking children who do not meet the statutory definition of abuse or neglect from loving homes is creating more throwaway children than they are legitimately saving. CPS actors merely decide that children are “at risk” and that abuse or neglect may occur in the FUTURE. These are POLICE STATE TACTICS that are routinely deployed against citizens of totalitarian regimes. What happened to due process? What happened to the Constitution of the United States of America? Where is the Bill of Rights? Dismembering families and creating artificial orphans by means of fraud and/or deceptive trade practices is NOT legitimate government business.
CPS engages in for-profit crimes against humanity consequent to the unlawful dismemberment of families to create human trafficking victims from which the County earns Federal funds with which to fund it’s operations. The exploitation of men, women and children for financial gain is the definition of human trafficking, which the U.S. Secretary of State Condolleza Rice states is a modern day form of slavery. http://usinfo.state.gov/gi/global_issues/human_trafficking.html
Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, in Fiscal 2003, 30 foster children died in our state’s care; in Fiscal 2004, 38 foster children died; and in Fiscal 2005, 48 foster children died. Data shows that while the number of foster children in our state’s care increased 24 percent from 26,133 in Fiscal 2003 to 32,474 in Fiscal 2005, the number of deaths increased 60 percent.
Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn Statement On Foster Care Abuse given Friday, June 23, 2006 in Austin, Texas
DFPS statistics themselves underscore the fact that my 16 year old daughter is in FAR GREATER DANGER in the custody of CPS than she is in the care of her falsely accused biological parents. The State of California published the following statement: called the “perverse incentive factor,” States and counties earn more revenue by having more children in the system – whether it is opening a case to investigate a report of child abuse and neglect or placing a child in foster care.” Facts-at-a-Glance, Child Welfare in California, 09-09-2003 www.dss.cahwnet.gov/pdf/facts.pdf
At the end of FY 2003, Texas DFPS had legal responsibility for 22,346 children. Of that total, 15,414 children resided in foster care. In the same time period, there were 6,932 children in the Department’s legal custody who were not residing in foster care. Texas, as does California, PROFITS FROM HUMAN TRAFFICKING, which is a deplorable manner by which to fund County operations.
Some statistics from the State and County where I live:
In FY 2003, CPS conducted 131,130 investigations of abuse and/or neglect in Texas and confirmed abuse and/or neglect in 32,792 cases. In FY 2004, the number of child abuse and/or neglect investigations is expected to increase by 10 percent over FY 2003. In FY 2005, the percentage is expected to increase by four percent over FY 2004. http://www.hhs.state.tx.us/StrategicPlans/HHS05-09/final/pdf/Chapter08.pdf
In 2005, the child population in Caldwell County was 10, 258. There were 510 intakes alleging abuse/neglect, 448 cases were assigned to CPS caseworkers, 329 completed cases alleging abuse/neglect, 539 alleged victims in completed cases, 101 confirmed cases, 153 confirmed victims, and 131 cases opened for in home services. (Source: The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services) www.capco.state.tx.us/Documents/inthenews/Caldwell_County_Community_Plan.pdf
CALDWELL COUNTY FY 2007 – 2008 COMMUNITY PLAN FOR COORDINATION OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND RELATED ACTIVITIES
In 2006, the number of child sexual abuse clients served at Roxanne’s House (a program of the Hays-Caldwell Women’s Center) was 73. 30 were from Lockhart, 17 from Luling, 4 from Maxwell, 5 from Martindale and 17 from other Caldwell County areas. 26% of the child abuse clients served at Roxanne’s House were from Caldwell County in that year. (Source: Hays-Caldwell Women’s Center 2006 Annual Report). www.capco.state.tx.us/Documents/inthenews/Caldwell_County_Community_Plan.pdf
CALDWELL COUNTY FY 2007 – 2008 COMMUNITY PLAN FOR COORDINATION OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND RELATED ACTIVITIES
Two of my daughters are statistics in the 2006 report. NEITHER were EVER abused in any way, shape or fashion until they were abducted by the State of Texas. This was emotional TERRORISM and TORTURE of the highest magnitude, conducted under the pretense of keeping my daughters “safe” from imaginary “risk”.
It’s all about the money. And there’s no money in family reunification and returning my daughter home. We appealed the lower court’s decision and on Thursday, May 8, 2008, the Third Court of Appeals in Austin, Texas handed down it’s decision affirming the lower court’s injustice to us due to a technicality—we didn’t have a trial transcript. Obtaining one, at a cost of $50. per hour and $5. a page to transcribe will run approximately $14,000. How much “justice” can YOU afford? WE LOST OUR APPEAL.
For information about CPS, drugging foster children for profit, and the social engineering of our nation’s children, please check out my site at: http://texasroadrunner.spaces.live.com/
Citizens should NOT be more afraid of social workers than they are of criminals. To this end, I have uploaded several thousand documents in PDF format for your edification and enlightenment in the Public Folders section of my site (scroll down to the bottom of the page and you’ll see them).
My CPS horror story can also be read on MySpace at: http://www.myspace.com/texasroadrunner
Knowledge is power. Empower yourself so you don’t become the next victim of America’s SS (social services).
Thank you for your time,
Carmen Rodriguez B.S.N., R.N.
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http://www.mykidsdeservebetter.com/public-school-menace/child-protective-services-destroyed-family
JUST FOLLOW THE GOD DAMNED MONEY!
JUST FOLLOW THE GOD DAMNED MONEY!
EVERYONE!!! I was just notified on Tuesday that KVC (private contractors) will be adopting my 6 year old (birthday yesterday) grandson, Caleb Winters, to a foster home that was turned in for physical abuse less than a month of receiving him. I have dates of about 20 times that I have seen him when he has had black eyes, swollen lips, pink eye without taking him to the doctor, bruises on his spine, bruising on his face, knots on forehead (I have picture of this when KVC said it wasn’t there) and KVC is allowing this foster family to adopt him. Foster family won’t even let Caleb eat with me when I bring him happy meals. The foster father has said to me that Caleb is their son now even before the adoption is final.
When KVC told me two years ago that they were going to adopt Caleb out, I asked to adopt him and they said no, because of my age and disability (I am 59 and have a disability through the Police Dept.). Caleb lived with me for 16 months and EVERY report to the court was positive regarding my care of Calelb. Then when they decided to adopt Caleb to a foster home, all of a sudden I was a "bad grandma!". Today, they won’t tell me why I cannot adopt my grandson, Caleb, and have stated to me that they (KVC) will not discuss it with me any further.
I am devastated to say the least. I’m still not going to give up. I have filed a federal lawsuit and plan to file an "injunction" to delay the adoption until my lawsuit is over. The adoption is not final and I won’t give up…..NEVER!
My last one hour a month visit with Caleb is Wednesday. Pray for me that I can bear it and don’t lose control. I want him so much to know that I want him but KVC won’t let me have him. I’ve worked for my government for almost 20 years and have no criminal record. This should be criminal….and it is but SOME Kansas legislators won’t do anything about it. Please check with your legislators before you vote this November and even look up how they voted regarding SRS/CPS and private contractors and then vote how your heart tells you to vote. God bless the many legislators that are supporting our cause for family preservation such as Mike Kiegerl, Lance Kinzer, and Jerry Moran here in Kansas.
I will keep fighting for all of us. Pray for my family….it is so hard to accept that me or his other biological family may never see him again. I have not had the nerve to tell some of my family about it yet. Caleb has grandparents, great-grandparents, uncles and aunts (I have 6 sisters), cousins who were like siblings, four brothers and sisters who will miss him terribly. It is like a death in the family but it is not and we cannot seem to get over the grieving of the loss and will NEVER have closure. Caleb is loved deeply by his biological family. God giveth and CPS/SRS and private contractors taketh away.
Please pray for me and my family that we can get through what comes ahead!!!
Stay strong…God is on our side.
Kathy Winters
THE NEXT TIME SOMEONE TELLS YOU THAT CPS AND CASA "DO GOOD WORKS", THINK OF KATHY.
http://www.flds.ws/2010/05/13/just-follow-the-god-damned-money/
EVERYONE!!! I was just notified on Tuesday that KVC (private contractors) will be adopting my 6 year old (birthday yesterday) grandson, Caleb Winters, to a foster home that was turned in for physical abuse less than a month of receiving him. I have dates of about 20 times that I have seen him when he has had black eyes, swollen lips, pink eye without taking him to the doctor, bruises on his spine, bruising on his face, knots on forehead (I have picture of this when KVC said it wasn’t there) and KVC is allowing this foster family to adopt him. Foster family won’t even let Caleb eat with me when I bring him happy meals. The foster father has said to me that Caleb is their son now even before the adoption is final.
When KVC told me two years ago that they were going to adopt Caleb out, I asked to adopt him and they said no, because of my age and disability (I am 59 and have a disability through the Police Dept.). Caleb lived with me for 16 months and EVERY report to the court was positive regarding my care of Calelb. Then when they decided to adopt Caleb to a foster home, all of a sudden I was a "bad grandma!". Today, they won’t tell me why I cannot adopt my grandson, Caleb, and have stated to me that they (KVC) will not discuss it with me any further.
I am devastated to say the least. I’m still not going to give up. I have filed a federal lawsuit and plan to file an "injunction" to delay the adoption until my lawsuit is over. The adoption is not final and I won’t give up…..NEVER!
My last one hour a month visit with Caleb is Wednesday. Pray for me that I can bear it and don’t lose control. I want him so much to know that I want him but KVC won’t let me have him. I’ve worked for my government for almost 20 years and have no criminal record. This should be criminal….and it is but SOME Kansas legislators won’t do anything about it. Please check with your legislators before you vote this November and even look up how they voted regarding SRS/CPS and private contractors and then vote how your heart tells you to vote. God bless the many legislators that are supporting our cause for family preservation such as Mike Kiegerl, Lance Kinzer, and Jerry Moran here in Kansas.
I will keep fighting for all of us. Pray for my family….it is so hard to accept that me or his other biological family may never see him again. I have not had the nerve to tell some of my family about it yet. Caleb has grandparents, great-grandparents, uncles and aunts (I have 6 sisters), cousins who were like siblings, four brothers and sisters who will miss him terribly. It is like a death in the family but it is not and we cannot seem to get over the grieving of the loss and will NEVER have closure. Caleb is loved deeply by his biological family. God giveth and CPS/SRS and private contractors taketh away.
Please pray for me and my family that we can get through what comes ahead!!!
Stay strong…God is on our side.
Kathy Winters
THE NEXT TIME SOMEONE TELLS YOU THAT CPS AND CASA "DO GOOD WORKS", THINK OF KATHY.
http://www.flds.ws/2010/05/13/just-follow-the-god-damned-money/
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