On 2004-12-29 08:32:00, Mrs. Doubtfire wrote:
"Thank you, I will.
I have also heard that the County officials including States Attorney, Coroner and Law Enforcement are part of the cover up conspiracy? Is there any validity to these allegations?
I am appaled that they can believe a 6/4" - 200 lb boy from California can die from a Brown Recluse spider bite... particularly one that causes "drag marks" on his feet and multiple bruises on his body - must have been a very, large spider!!!
I am ready to go in with my own "Marines" and take my family member away from that Mormon cult!
Is there any central organization that gathers all this information and champions these children with a Federal Child Advocate Official?
Kidder/Thayer sounds like it is operated in a third world country. I am terrified for my family member and just can't stop crying."
Look, a lot of times the local officials do cooperate or collaborate, or whatever you want to call it, with these facilities.
The reason is obvious---all the kids in these places are stigmatized as "troubled youth" and bad kids and the locals are afraid of axe-murdering juvie psychos (which is how their fears build things up) getting loose in their neighborhoods.
What you need to do is get information from ISAC on suing for custody of your relative.
Pretty much the *only* thing that has been successful in getting *specific* kids out of these places without either the kid turning 18 or the parents deciding to let the kid go is for some blood relative to sue for custody of the kid and present information/evidence to the local family court judge that convinces the judge that the facility is a horrible place to be.
A lady named Paige who frequents this site got a girl, Amanda, who was not her blood kin (but was adopted and not the blood kin of the "parents" either) out of a facility in Mexico when the girl was 17, but you'd need to talk to her about the particular legalities. A judge didn't order it, apparently Paige just managed somehow to go and get her and because Amanda *wanted* to be with Paige, somehow the laws worked out so neither of them can be touched over it. The Mexican authorities have since shut down the facility where Amanda had been.
Don't quote me on it, but I *think* ISAC has some strategy of filing habeas corpus petitions or something with the courts (I don't know how they decide which state they need to file in) and make the facility or the parents or whatever actually physically *produce* the kid in court----and when the kid is produced, if the kid says, "I wanna live with Aunt Jenny" or whatever, usually the kid is old enough that the judge respects the kid's request and assigns custody to Aunt Jenny, who then declines to send the kid back to the facility.
In other words, while you don't *at present* have the legal right to take this kid out of there, as part of the kid's extended family, whether you are an actual blood relative or not, you may well have standing to *get* the legal right to take the kid out of there. ("Standing" means the court will at least think about it if your lawyer makes a good case for whatever it is you're asking for.)
Another possibility is if you can convince other members of yours and the kid's family that the kid's in danger, you may be able to pool your resources and sue together, and a good lawyer may be able to get a judge to sit up and take *very* close notice and even if the judge might not give custody to one of you, he might give it to another.
You don't have to be a non-custodial parent or grown sibling or grandparent or what have you---*cousins* have won custody of a relative in cases like yours, so pretty much *any* kinship to the kid will do for purposes of gettting into court---especially if you get the right judge.
Lawyers have a saying, "A good lawyer knows the law, a great lawyer knows the judge." :smile: Not that you *have* to know the judge---but most lawyers that practice in courtroom-type fields of law *do* know the judges in their area. When I got my divorce some stupid judge had ordered mediation for no reason at all--just blanket ordered it on every case that came in front of him. I was all ready to lose it and break down in tears and my lawyer just patted me on the back and told me to calm down and he'd take care of it. He went up and checked that a judge he knew was in, took me up to the judge's office, and bim-bang-bing, with a stroke of the judge's pen my divorce was final and the judge and my lawyer shook hands and exchanged a little smalltalk and we were done.
A sleazy lawyer in the hands of the other guy can be a nightmare.
A *good* lawyer working *for* you can work miracles.
Between ISAC and your local ACLU, you and other like-minded family members should have no trouble finding a *good* lawyer.
ACLU's resources are always overstretched and they won't be able to *pay* for it----but if it's their kind of case (and this is), they can do a great job at helping you *find* a good lawyer that you and your allies can pay. And if your side is willing to work with ISAC and do a lot of the legwork putting together supporting evidence for the lawyer, it may be much less expensive than you might be afraid it would be.
Don't give up. You have a good, solid chance of getting your relative back if you sink your teeth into this problem and hang on.
Timoclea
