PDF Version of TRLA’s Response
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 23, 2008
Contact: Cynthia Martinez, Communications Director
512.374.2764
cmartinez@trla.org
FLDS MOTHERS CONTINUE LEGAL BATTLE AGAINST CPS
Mothers Respond to Latest Legal Developments & Victories
AUSTIN, Texas – FLDS mothers fighting Child Protective Services (CPS) for the return of their children are continuing their legal battle despite the organization’s appeal to the Texas Supreme Court regarding yesterday’s decision by the Third Court of Appeals. Continuing the success achieved yesterday, a court in San Antonio has ruled that twelve children will be temporarily returned to their parents.
Represented by Texas RioGrande Legal Aid (TRLA), the largest provider of legal aid in Texas, the remaining mothers are taking the next necessary legal steps to fight CPS with the hope that they will be reunited with their children in the near future.
“TRLA remains committed to supporting these women and representing them in their legal battles to bring these families back together,” said TRLA attorney Kevin Dietz who is leading the team of attorneys working on the case. “We are going to put up a fight at every step of this process.”
Earlier today CPS went to the Texas Supreme Court to appeal yesterday’s decision that stated that the organization did not have evidence that warranted removing the children from their families. The state’s main argument is that it cannot return children to their homes because it is unable to match children with their parents until DNA testing is complete.
Attorney Amy Warr, an attorney with Alexander, Dubose, Jones, & Townsend who has volunteered her time to work with TRLA on its case, added, “This is a desperate argument on behalf of the state.”
TRLA filed a response to the appeal this afternoon arguing that its clients have cooperated with the state’s investigation at every opportunity – including providing birth certificates, driver’s licenses, and DNA samples. In its own family service plans and visitation schedules, CPS clearly links each child with a set of parents.
In its response, TRLA also reiterates its arguments that the children should never have been removed from their families. The court decision yesterday clearly stated that these parents do not pose any danger to their children. But the harm of keeping children away from their families is undeniable.
Also this afternoon, a San Antonio court agreed that several of the mothers will have their children returned to them until June 9. Among the mothers who will be reunited with their children is TRLA client Lori Jessop, a mother of three who is trained as an Emergency Medical Technician and whose son turned 1 year old last week.
TRLA remains optimistic that all of the mothers are having their voices heard as the legal process continues and that these families will soon find justice.
Added Dietz, “After yesterday, our clients have a new sense of hope and belief that the court system is working. They are not giving up and neither are we.”
Established in 1970, Texas RioGrande Legal Aid, Inc. (TRLA) is a nonprofit organization that provides free civil legal services to low-income and disadvantaged clients in a 68-county service area. TRLA’s mission is to promote the dignity, self-sufficiency, safety and stability of low-income Texas residents by providing high-quality legal assistance and related educational services.
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May 27, 2008 at 8:30 am
I am so thankful that there is someone who can finally be a voice for all of us mother’s and concerned citizens. I have been so shocked by the actions of the CPS and the grounds for why they took all these children. The main concern seems to be that these children have been protected from a society that doesnt influence them with television, video games and the freedom to strip off their clothes like all the other free-willed kids. If this is the beginning of religious persecution in America then everything that we stand for has been taken away.
I appreciate all the hard work that the TRLA is doing to protect the rights of these families.