Court rules social workers must follow the U.S. Constitution regardingprivacy and parental rights

Court rules social workers must follow law

Agencies, cops can't threaten to take kids away from parents asserting

rights

http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=58338

A federal court has ruled that social workers have to respect the U.S.

Constitution regarding privacy and parental rights, and if they don't

they may be held liable.

The ruling comes in an Arizona case in which social workers, accompanied

by Maricopa County deputy sheriffs, made unsupported threats to place a

family's children in custody and arrest the parents if they were not

allowed to make what ended up being an allegedly illegal search of the

family's home.

U.S. District Judge Earl H. Carroll ordered that a lawsuit by the family

against the social workers and sheriff will be allowed to continue,

because the social workers' concerns were based on "an anonymous tip

that the � Loudermilk children were being neglected and that plaintiffs'

home was uninhabitable."

However, the judge said that under federal law, an anonymous tip,

"without more, does not constitute probable cause."

(Story continues below)

The case is being publicized by the Home School Legal Defense

Association because of the involvement of the organization's members,

the family of John and Tiffany Loudermilk.

"Social workers and sheriff's deputies had come to the home � demanding

entry based on a six-week-old anonymous tip that the newly constructed

home was unsafe for children," the organization said.

"The Loudermilks declined consent, as was their right under the Fourth

Amendment. After an escalating confrontation at the front door that

lasted 40 minutes, the social workers, backed by no fewer than four

deputies, threatened to take the Loudermilks' children into custody and

place them in foster care if the Loudermilks continued to deny them

entry� An assistant attorney general repeated this threat to HSLDA

attorney Thomas Schmidt, who was assisting the Loudermilks during the

confrontation," the HSLDA report said.

Under duress, the family allowed the social workers and deputies inside,

who found nothing wrong, the report said.

But as a result of the search, the family sued the social workers and

others citing the violation of their Fourth Amendment rights in the

search, and violations of their 14th Amendment rights to privacy and

family integrity because of the threats.

The judge, acting on motions submitted by the defendants to escape

liability, agreed with the family.

"Defendants persisted in their threats to remove the children if

Plaintiff Parents did not consent to the search, stating that [they]

could arrest or handcuff the Parents in front of the children," the

judge said.

"Based on the allegations set forth in the Amended Complaint, viewed in

Plaintiff's favor, no reasonable official would have believed that his

or her conduct was authorized by state or constitutional law."

Even the assistant attorney general was cited for exerting "coercive

pressure" through threats.

"The ruling in this case makes it clear that threatening to remove

children to gain a parent's cooperation is unconstitutional," said James

Mason, senior counsel for the HSLDA. "We hope that this ruling will

change this common tactic used by investigative caseworkers all over the

country."

"There you have it, [social agencies and workers] cannot threaten

parents with court orders or the removal of children because parents

assert their Fourth and 14th Amendment rights and refuse to cooperate,"

added Thomas Dutkiewicz, of the Connecticut DCF Watch organization.

"Parents do not have to cooperate with DCF whatsoever and DCF employees

have to go away when parents deny them access to their home and

children," he said. "DCF workers here in Connecticut are trained and

instructed in this unconstitutional practice in order to conduct an

unreasonable search and seizure of the home and child. They are to lie

and threaten any way they can. All parents who were threatened should

file a federal lawsuit against DCF, their workers, their supervisors and

the police."

Now proceeding will be the lawsuit against Maricopa County Sheriff Joe

Arpaio, deputies Joshua Ray, Joseph Sousa, Richard Gagnon and Michael

Danner, social workers Rhonda Cash and Jenna Cramer, and Assistant

Attorney General Julie Rhodes.

The judge noted that the social workers misrepresented that they had a

court order for an inspection of the home, but refused to provide it. He

also noted the deputies were uncooperative, refusing to provide the

family their cell telephone number so the HSLDA attorney could talk to them.

The claim against Rhodes stemmed from her advice to the family that the

social workers were not bound by the Fourth Amendment in their intent to

search the home.

The judge said verbal threats generally are not actionable in a federal

civil rights proceeding, but in this case, "courts have held that a

threat constitutes an actionable constitutional violation in certain

circumstances, including 'when the threat is so brutal or wantonly cruel

as to shock the conscience�'"

CURRENTLY CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES VIOLATES MORE CIVIL RIGHTS ON A

DAILY BASIS THEN ALL OTHER AGENCIES COMBINED INCLUDING THE NSA / CIA

WIRETAPPING PROGRAM....

CPS Does not protect children...

It is sickening how many children are subject to abuse, neglect and even

killed at the hands of Child Protective Services.

every parent should read this .pdf from

connecticut dcf watch...

http://www.connecticutdcfwatch.com/8x11.pdf

http://www.connecticutdcfwatch.com

Number of Cases per 100,000 children in the US

These numbers come from The National Center on

Child Abuse and Neglect in Washington. (NCCAN)

Recent numbers have increased significantly for CPS

Perpetrators of Maltreatment

Physical Abuse CPS 160, Parents 59

Sexual Abuse CPS 112, Parents 13

Neglect CPS 410, Parents 241

Medical Neglect CPS 14 Parents 12

Fatalities CPS 6.4, Parents 1.5

Imagine that, 6.4 children die at the hands of the very agencies that

are supposed to protect them and only 1.5 at the hands of parents per

100,000 children. CPS perpetrates more abuse, neglect, and sexual abuse

and kills more children then parents in the United States. If the

citizens of this country hold CPS to the same standards that they hold

parents too. No judge should ever put another child in the hands of ANY

government agency because CPS nationwide is guilty of more harm and

death than any human being combined. CPS nationwide is guilty of more

human rights violations and deaths of children then the homes from which

they were removed. When are the judges going to wake up and see that

they are sending children to their death and a life of abuse when

children are removed from safe homes based on the mere opinion of a

bunch of social workers.

CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES, HAPPILY DESTROYING THOUSANDS OF INNOCENT

FAMILIES YEARLY NATIONWIDE AND COMING TO YOU'RE HOME SOON...

BE SURE TO FIND OUT WHERE YOUR CANDIDATES STANDS ON THE ISSUE OF

REFORMING OR ABOLISHING CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES ("MAKE YOUR CANDIDATES

TAKE A STAND ON THIS ISSUE.") THEN REMEMBER TO VOTE ACCORDINGLY IF THEY

ARE "FAMILY UNFRIENDLY" IN THE NEXT ELECTION...