E-mail sent to TCFR supporters July, 27 2003
Should Every Family Understand Its 4th Amendment Rights?
Should every family understand its 4th Amendment rights? As a history major and graduate of law school, I would say YES! On the other hand, as a normal American law-abiding citizen I might be tempted to wonder why that is necessary.
4th Amendment
The right of the people to be secure in their persons,houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
Perhaps Gary Gates felt no need as a law-abiding citizen also...until February 11, 2000.
After a disagreement with Lamar Consolidated School District over discipline of one of his children, the Sheriff’s Department and Children’s Protective Services (CPS) entered his home that afternoon without a warrant and without his consent to interview his children. Later that night all eleven of his thirteen children who were still at home were herded into a "jail wagon" (the sheriff’s term) for an emotionally traumatizing start to three days in CPS custody. CPS already had his two other children in custody.
Child abuse expert Richard Wexler, an Assistant Professor of Communications at Penn State University, testified before a Senate Subcommittee on Children and Families on May 25, 1995 that Two out of three reports alleging child abuse are false reports. America’s children are victimized by false allegations of child abuse more than two million times every year.
He goes on to cite research commissioned by the National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect (NCCAN) that while some parents have wrongly been labeled innocent, workers are two to six times more likely to wrongly label innocent parents guilty.
In other words a lot of innocent parents and families are subject to the traumatizing effects of a CPS investigation. Based on traditional American jurisprudence and these staggering statistics, anyone under investigation ought to be presumed innocent unless proven guilty, not vice versa.
But since they are not, you’d better understand your 4th Amendment rights. Your family may only be a phone call, (perhaps anonymous), away from a CPS investigation. It may come from an angry neighbor, disgruntled employee, or feuding family member. Based on our experience, CPS does not investigate the caller’s motive, only you.
When Gary’s family was investigated, CPS enjoyed a window of freedom thinking it was outside the limits of the 4th Amendment when investigating child abuse. Nationwide, for the most part, CPS received a judicial wink of the eye after violations of 4th Amendment searches and seizures.
However, recent decisions in various parts of the United States and the "Keeping Children and Families Safe Act of 2003" signed by President Bush last month have made it much more clear: CPS must abide by the 4th Amendment!
We applaud the Home School Legal Defense Association, a kindred organization, for its efforts to assure the inclusion of requirements in that recent legislation for CPS workers to be trained in the 4th Amendment in order for states to receive funding. No CPS social worker can anymore claim ignorance of that requirement.
But while CPS is required to abide by it, social workers at your door are not required to explain it to you. Since an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, learn now...before it is necessary.
Gary’s 4th Amendment rights were violated that Friday night three years ago. After spending $17,000 to hire three attorneys to represent him in court on the following Monday, his children were returned. The trauma inflicted upon his children, including a mentally retarded daughter who was completely separated from her family for the first time, may last a lifetime. Attorneys associated with TCFR are representing Gary in federal court.
If you would like a speaker to come share with your group the good and bad sides of CPS, what to do when CPS comes knocking at your door, and 4th Amendment rights, feel free to contact us.
Respectfully,
Peter Johnston
President
Texas Center for Family Rights
