The American Civil Liberties Union filed suit in Pittsburgh federal court today on behalf of a New Castle couple whose newborn daughter was seized and held for five days by Lawrence County Children and Youth Services (LCCYS) after the mother failed a drug test because she had eaten a poppy seed bagel before she was admitted.
According to the lawsuit, Jameson Hospital, where Elizabeth Mort gave birth to Isabella, uses a much lower threshold for a positive drug screening than federal guidelines, leading to a higher rate of false positives.
ACLU attorney Sara Rose says the day that Mort and her fiance Alex Rodriguez brought the baby home, 2 caseworkers and 2 police officers showed up with a court order to take the infant. Rose says CYS later admitted it was a false positive but still did not return the child for 5 days even though Mort denied ever using illegal drugs......
“No parent should have to go through what this couple did. This case is a tragic illustration of the harm that can result when the government removes a child based only on the accusation of a third party and without any independent investigation.”
The baby's mother said that when Isabella was gone the family was at a loss of words.....“I couldn't stop crying. Alex just didn't even know how to be himself. It felt like our heart was ripped in pieces. The most important person was missing, and we didn't know when we would see her again.”
Rose says it's a civil liberties matter because it's a county policy and not an isolated issue. She said the ACLU had a previous client who lost her child for 2 months and other lawyers have told them that this happens about a dozen times a year in Lawrence County.
Rose says the suit asks the court to declare Lawrence County's policy of automatically removing newborns from parents based solely on a prenatal drug test without any investigation violates parents' rights and they are asking for damages "whatever a jury thinks is appropriate."
Showing posts with label aclu. Show all posts
Showing posts with label aclu. Show all posts
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Permits No Longer Required for Expression in Parks
Pennsylvania’s Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) has suspended a rule requiring individuals to have permits before the “expression of views” or distribution of literature in state parks.
The suspension was in response to a request from the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania (ACLU), which recently received several complaints on the subject.
ACLU Legal Director Vic Walczak says over the past two weeks, DCNR rangers stopped two Green Party candidates for U.S. Congress from getting petition signatures in Point State Park. He says rangers prevented another man from making balloon art.
Point State Park is the only park in which this is an issue; Walczak says that’s because almost nobody passes out literature in rural parks.
Walczak says the ACLU had been dealing with the Pittsburgh Police on this issue, but when DCNR informed them of the regulation they asked them to stop requiring permits.
“It makes sense to do for a large demonstration that may result in blocking traffic. Then, yes, you can have a permit system, but you can’t have it for what the courts often call ‘the lone pamphleteer.’”
Although the law hasn’t been formally repealed yet, DCNR has stopped enforcing it.
The suspension was in response to a request from the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania (ACLU), which recently received several complaints on the subject.
ACLU Legal Director Vic Walczak says over the past two weeks, DCNR rangers stopped two Green Party candidates for U.S. Congress from getting petition signatures in Point State Park. He says rangers prevented another man from making balloon art.
Point State Park is the only park in which this is an issue; Walczak says that’s because almost nobody passes out literature in rural parks.
Walczak says the ACLU had been dealing with the Pittsburgh Police on this issue, but when DCNR informed them of the regulation they asked them to stop requiring permits.
“It makes sense to do for a large demonstration that may result in blocking traffic. Then, yes, you can have a permit system, but you can’t have it for what the courts often call ‘the lone pamphleteer.’”
Although the law hasn’t been formally repealed yet, DCNR has stopped enforcing it.
Friday, February 5, 2010
Disorder in the Court
Yesterday, two different federal appellate court panels issued conflicting rulings on school officials' right to discipline students for Internet postings made from home.
The cases are very similar, but the rulings are just the opposite, according to ACLU Legal Director Vic Walczak, who represents both students. Each student put mocking and sexually explicit material on the Internet with reference to a principal.
In the case from Mercer County, the appellate court upheld a lower court ruling that the school cannot limit a student's speech outside school. A different 3-judge panel upheld a student's suspension in Schuykill County.
Walczak says it's reasonable to restrict speech at school but not to limit a student's right to free speech outside school, where it's the parents' right to decide whether a child's behavior is appropriate or not.
Either side may seek further legal review.
The cases are very similar, but the rulings are just the opposite, according to ACLU Legal Director Vic Walczak, who represents both students. Each student put mocking and sexually explicit material on the Internet with reference to a principal.
In the case from Mercer County, the appellate court upheld a lower court ruling that the school cannot limit a student's speech outside school. A different 3-judge panel upheld a student's suspension in Schuykill County.
Walczak says it's reasonable to restrict speech at school but not to limit a student's right to free speech outside school, where it's the parents' right to decide whether a child's behavior is appropriate or not.
Either side may seek further legal review.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)