CPS Sanctioned By Texas Judge for "Groundless" Removal of Child
Posted on Sep 7, 2016 12:10pm PDT
A Texas judge has sanctioned Child Protective Services (CPS) and ordered
the agency to pay just under $28,000 in attorney’s fees in relation
to the “groundless” 2014 removal of a child from her home
without a court order. Harris County Judge John Schmude issued a scathing
reprimand of CPS, claiming that the agency “deliberately misled
the Court” and based its decision to remove the child on “incorrect
assumptions which they made no effort to confirm.” In addition to
the sanctions, Schmude also ordered all involved CPS personnel to read
the United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights in the Texas Constitution
and submit a sworn statement of their future compliance.
This is not the first time that CPS has found itself in hot water over
abuse of power accusations, having been the subject of a 2014 class action
lawsuit and having been similarly penalized in 2011 by Judge Michael Schneider
in the 315th Juvenile Court. As a result of CPS’s history of infringing upon
the rights of families and parents from warrantless government intrusions
under the Fourth Amendment, it is estimated that at least eight separate
bills will be filed in the upcoming legislative session to reform the
agency’s powers.
Judge Schmude’s actions were the result of the work of Attorney Dennis
M. Slate, who filed the motion for sanctions on behalf of the child’s
father. Having been representing the rights of parents and families throughout
Houston for more than a decade, Attorney Slate has established himself as a highly
respected authority in all variety of CPS-related cases and custody disputes.
For more information on this story, visit the original article published by
Breitbart Texas.
Attorney Dennis M. Slate is a
Board-Certified Family Attorney providing premier-quality legal representation clients throughout Houston
and the surrounding areas. To find out more about how he can help you
with your pressing legal matter, call (281) 407-9254 or
schedule a confidential case review online today.