Articles on court hearings

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Articles on court hearings

Postby Marina » Tue Nov 20, 2007 3:45 pm

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http://www.stargazettenews.com/apps/pbc ... /311190015

Preliminary hearing set for mother charged with killing son

November 19, 2007
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Star-Gazette




A preliminary hearing was set for Teressa Penird, a 25-year-old Elmira woman charged with killing her 2-month-old son.

The hearing was set for 1 p.m. Tuesday in Elmira City Court.

Chemung County Public Defender Nancy Eraca-Cornish was assigned to Penird, who is being held in Chemung County Jail on second-degree murder charges without bail.

About 3 a.m. Friday, Elmira police, fire and Erway ambulance personnel were sent to 438 Broadway on a report of an unresponsive child.

The child, identified as Tysere Boles, was taken to Arnot Ogden Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.

The subsequent investigation led police to Penird's home at 429 Balsam St., where they interviewed the infant's father, who has not been identified, and Penird's two elementary school-aged children.

As a result of the investigation, Penird was charged in the infant's death.

Chemung County District Attorney John Trice said there was no telephone at the Balsam Street home, so the infant's father took the child to its grandmother's home on Broadway to call the 911 emergency line.

At this time, Trice said, Penird is the only suspect in the case.

He also said police and his office are awaiting the results of the autopsy, scheduled for Saturday in Rochester, and smothering is one cause of death being investigated.

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Postby Marina » Tue Nov 20, 2007 3:53 pm

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http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/89135.php

Get Your Child Vaccinated Or We Will Lock You Up,

Maryland, USA

Main Category: Immune System / Vaccines News
Article Date: 17 Nov 2007 - 10:00 PST



Parents of children who go to Prince George's County (school) are to appear at a special court hearing. Their choices are stark, either have their child (children) vaccinated there and then or face imprisonment or fines. This county still had 2,300 kids who had not been vaccinated and drastic measures have been put into force to make sure they are.

Rarely have such drastic measures been taken in America to make sure children get their vaccinations.

According to school officials and prosecutors, parents have had plenty of warnings over the last twelve months. They stressed that this drive is aimed solely at protecting children, and not locking up parents.

John White, representing the local school system, said "How can you in good conscience allow your child to miss school and their education for no particular reason?"

A temporary clinic is being set up adjacent to the courthouse, where the children can receive their shots. Parents will, however, have an opportunity to put their case forward before a judge if they want exemptions for their children - these can be granted for religious or medical reasons.

Fines and jail terms could be handed out for those who do not comply and did not offer the judge a valid excuse (and still did not comply). Fines may amount to up to fifty dollars each day. The parents would be prosecuted under truancy laws.

Authorities have told parents they cannot just sit on the fence. Their choices are clear׃

1. Get an exemption
2. Get your kid(s) vaccinated
3. Face jail or fines

Many are concerned that under such menacing pressure parents cannot make an informed decision. Apparently, even the judge did not seem too keen on bringing loads of parents into court under these circumstances

Some parents have reacted to this threat. One week ago there were 2,300 children listed as not having received their shots - the number now stands at 1,100.

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Postby Marina » Tue Nov 20, 2007 3:59 pm

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http://www.ajc.com/services/content/met ... 7&cxcat=13

Gag order issued in alleged rape case

Boys remain in detention: The age of the accused participants presents prosecutors with inherent difficulties.

By YOLANDA RODRIGUEZ , TOM OPDYKE
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Published on: 11/20/07

The parents of three young boys accused of raping an 11-year-old playmate last week left a hearing in Cobb County Juvenile Court on Monday without their children.

Reporters were not allowed in the courtroom during the hearing. They were allowed inside briefly to argue for access.



The courtroom was packed with relatives. The small boys were in blue jail jumpsuits, their hands in restraints. The youngest, an 8-year-old, his blond hair in a bowl cut, had bags under his eyes. One of the 9-year-old boys sat with his elbows on the defense table. The other 9-year-old boy sat back in a chair, dwarfed by his attorney.

Juvenile Court Judge A. Gregory Poole issued a gag order in the case. The boys' parents and their lawyers left the courthouse without speaking to reporters.

Acworth police charged the boys Sunday night after the girl told her parents of the alleged assault. Police Capt. Wayne Dennard said the alleged rape occurred Thursday. It was reported to police late Saturday night, he said.

The girl told investigators that she had been playing with the boys earlier. The three boys "pulled her into [a] wooded area, where one of the boys raped her," Dennard said Monday morning.

Police charged them with rape, kidnapping, false imprisonment and sexual assault and took them to the Marietta Regional Youth Detention Center.

In Acworth, a north Cobb County city of 19,500 people, most people own their homes. But the alleged assault occurred in an apartment complex near I-75.

"I have never seen anything like this," Dennard said before the gag order was issued.

Cobb District Attorney Pat Head said because the boys are under 13, they cannot be charged as adults or with felonies.

Children under 13 are legally charged with "delinquent acts," Head said outside the hearing Monday. "I want the community to understand this is an isolated case. This is not something that needs to raise their concern for their own safety."

The age of the alleged participants presents prosecutors with inherent difficulties in handling the case.

"We have a lot of conflict about how to treat younger juvenile offenders," said state Rep. Mary Margaret Oliver (D-Decatur), who is involved with a state bar association drafting proposed revisions as to how juveniles are treated under criminal law.

"Research tell us that children as young as 8 and 9 do not have sufficient capacity to form criminal intent, in the way adults do," she said.

How the alleged crime is viewed, whether the suspects should be treated as juveniles or adults, is particularly problematic for alleged sex offenders.

"The younger the child is and the more horrible the facts, the more confused our policies are," said Oliver, a lawyer.

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Postby Marina » Tue Nov 20, 2007 4:07 pm

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http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/law/11/20/ch ... nnSTCVideo

updated 12:59 p.m. EST, Tue November 20, 2007

Child-on-child rape case stuns small Georgia town

NEW: Father of one of accused boys says girl made up story to cover own misdeeds

Girl, 11, tells police she was raped by trio of boys, 8 and 9

Accusation stuns small Georgia town 30 miles north of Atlanta

Alleged rape took place in a lot behind an apartment complex




VIDEO

ACWORTH, Georgia (AP) -- They could barely see over the courtroom table, and their legs were too short to reach the floor: An 8-year-old and two 9-year-old boys, accused of raping an 11-year-old neighbor.


A girl, 11, says three boys, ages 8 and 9, raped her in a field behind this Acworth, Georgia, apartment complex.

The case sent shockwaves through this community some 30 miles north of Atlanta, particularly in the working class apartment complex where the children live.

"It's just hard to understand," said Chris Ware, who has lived in the complex three years.

The boys are accused of forcing a girl they were playing with into a litter-strewn wooded area behind the complex Thursday. She said she was threatened with a rock, and that one of the boys raped her, according to Acworth Police Chief Mike Wilkie.

Authorities said the girl waited until Saturday to tell her family, who then reported it to police. Watch the girl describe what happened to her »

But the father of one of the boys told WGCL-TV that the girl made up the rape allegations to cover her own behavior.

"She's trying to cover her own butt by getting everyone else in more serious trouble," the station's Web site quotes the father as saying.

Reporters were briefly allowed in the courtroom where the tiny suspects sat Monday in restraints and navy blue jumpsuits.



Juvenile Court Judge A. Gregory Poole ruled against media requests for access, then closed off the hearing to determine whether there was probable cause to hold the boys. Poole also issued a sweeping gag order instructing participants in the case not to talk to the press.

Cobb County District Attorney Pat Head said the boys could not be charged with felonies because of their age but could be tried for alleged delinquent acts that could place them in a juvenile facility for up to five years. The next step will be for the court to schedule a hearing to determine how to proceed, Head said.

Wilkie also said the investigation is "far from over," and investigators are looking into claims that after the alleged attack, the girl talked about it with her friends at a slumber party.

The girl's mother told WGCL, "They do need to be taught a lesson because if they do it to her, they could do it to somebody else. And who knows when they become teenagers what they can do to other girls."


Police in this town of about 17,000 along the shores of Lake Allatoona said they have never investigated rape allegations where all the parties were so young.

"This wouldn't be normal anywhere, but especially not Acworth," police Capt. Wayne Dennard said.

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Postby Marina » Tue Nov 20, 2007 4:16 pm

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http://www.macombdaily.com/stories/1117 ... t001.shtml

PUBLISHED: Saturday, November 17, 2007

Dad not guilty of felony child support charge


Jury says prosecution failed to provide enough evidence during trial


By Jameson Cook
Macomb Daily Staff Writer


A jury found a 36-year-old Eastpointe man not guilty of felony child support for late payments following a 2-day-trial in Macomb County Circuit Court.
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Corey Flener wiped away tears after the jury delivered the verdict Thursday afternoon and said he felt relieved to have the burden of a potential felony conviction lifted. If convicted, he would have faced a sentence of up to four years in prison and a fine levied by Judge Tracey Yokich.

"I try too hard. I'm not a felon," Flener said following the verdict. "I can deal with owing the money."

The case was prosecuted by the state Attorney General's Office as part of its escalated campaign in recent years to crack down on parents who fail to pay child support.

Assistant Attorney General Tim Flynn pointed to five months between September 2003 and September 2006 that Flener failed to make payments to three of his children. His monthly support payments were $1,005 plus $400 for past-due bills.

Defense attorney Thomas Nunley acknowledged to jurors that while his client may not have paid those months, he overpaid other months to partially offset the arrearages. He paid most months, even if he underpaid.

The jury forewoman said outside the courtroom that the prosecution simply didn't supply sufficient evidence.

"We were all in agreement there wasn't enough information to make a (guilty) decision," she said.

Nunley said: "I'm glad the jury saw fit to see the totality of what I argued instead of the minute offenses the Attorney General was trying to convict him on."

Nunley argued that Flener actually had overpaid more than he owed during the 3-year period by about $8,000, plus $10,000 in credit for a retroactive reduction of the payment.

Flener still owes $60,000 but claims he was behind $45,000 in 2000 before he realized he owed any money because he was unaware his now ex-wife, Tammy, filed for divorce. The amount has climbed also because of accumulating interest.

Flener is self-employed, working in remodeling, so his income fluctuates, he said. Work has been spotty in recent years due to the area's lagging economy, he said.

He admitted he has only paid about $1,200 since last May and partly attributed it to bouts with depression stemming from the child-support case. He faces a Nov. 28 civil show-cause hearing in front of Yokich for failure to pay two $2,300 lump-sum payments ordered by Yokich in September.

Tammy Flener, who testified and attended the trial, said before the verdict that her ex-husband has downplayed his lack of payments and only pays when forced to do so. She said the most he has paid in one year is $14,000 and never made a $9,000 alimony payment.

"It's been a struggle," said Tammy Flener, who lives in Ithaca.

Their three children are aged 9, 11 and 13. Flener is remarried and has two other biological children, ages 5 and 7, with his second wife, plus two stepchildren, age 12 and 15, and an adopted 17-year-old daughter from a third woman.

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Postby Marina » Tue Nov 20, 2007 5:44 pm

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http://news.yahoo.com/s/kgtv/20071116/lo_kgtv/14611358

Couple Accused In Son's Death Talk To 10News

Thu Nov 15, 11:05 PM ET



It is his faith and photos of his deceased child that has carried Thomas Boettger through.


Already teething, son Thomas Jr. also had colic, and Thomas and his wife, Lorrie, turned to over-the-counter medications to help ease his pain.

The 6-month-old boy died on Oct. 25, 2006.

Thomas and Lorrie face charges of second-degree murder and have been painted by the prosecution as giving the boy "a drug cocktail."

"We were very careful with everything we were doing and in no way did we think these medications hurt our son," said Thomas.

The couple never had time to grieve, he said, before they were locked up.

The couple's attorney, Merle Schneidewind, said, "To compound losing your child by being arrested and being held apart in jail, it's just devastating to this couple."

Meanwhile, shackled to a desk in a visitor's room, Lorrie said in her wildest dreams could she have ever envisioned this.

Deputy District Attorney Matthew Greco told 10News, "A reasonable person would have known not to give their child Unisom, Benedryl, Motrin, Zantac in a drug cocktail."

Lorrie said, "No such thing ever happened."

She said, "When people hear that, it's like they think we gave our child heroin or something."

Lorrie, like her husband, carries a picture of Thomas Jr. with her everywhere. "I could lose my house, I could lose anything, but not losing one of my kids and that by itself was indescribable," said Lorrie.

On top of that, Lorrie said she also lost custody of another child from a previous marriage.

Since her arrest, the Food and Drug Administration recommended no over-the-counter medicines containing antihistamines be given to children under age 6.

It is too little too late, Lorrie said.

"I'm certain (we) were not the first people this has happened to and that's really sad to me," she said.

Thomas and Lorrie Boettger are each being held on $1 million bail.

The couple said they hope to change the amount at a bail review hearing next week.

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Postby Marina » Tue Nov 20, 2007 5:47 pm

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http://www.komotv.com/news/local/11421826.html

Couple claim innocence in son's overdose death

Lorrie Boettger speaks from jail during an interview.




YouNewsTV™Story Published: Nov 15, 2007 at 11:11 PM PST

Story Updated: Nov 16, 2007 at 12:17 PM PST
By KOMO Staff

SAN DIEGO, Calif. --

The Shelton couple charged in the death of their infant son are speaking up in jail, claiming the charges against them are unfounded.

Lorrie and Thomas Boettger's son, Thomas, Jr. died while the family was visiting relatives in San Diego last year. The 6 month old, who suffered from colic, died on Oct. 25 after consuming a cocktail of over-the-counter medications given to him by his parents.

In February the Boettgers were arrested in Washington and extradited to California one month later. They're currently being held in the San Diego County Jail on charges of second-degree murder.

Months into her indefinite jail sentence, Lorrie opened up about her baby boy while shackled to a desk in the jail's visitors' room.

"My whole life I've always said I can handle anything that came as long as nothing happens to one of my kids," she said.

Prosecutors argued that the Boettgers should have known better than to feed their child unisom, benadryl and zantac all at the same time as Thomas is an emergency medical technician and Lorrie was a midwife for many years.

But Thomas insists he believed the cocktail would help ease the baby's pain.

"We were very careful with everything we were doing. And we don't believe in any way, shape or form that these medications hurt our son and here we are," he said.

Accusations of child abuse have stunned the Boettgers, who say they gave they never imagined the dose of medication they fed their son was lethal.

Since their arrest, the Food and Drug Administration has set a new guideline, recommending that no over-the-counter medicines containing antihistamines be given to children under 6.

But Lorrie says the warning is too little, too late.

"I'm certain that we're not the first people this has happened to and that's really sad to me," she said.

The Boettgers said they carry a picture of their son wherever they go.

Their attorney claims the couple didn't even have time to grieve before they were locked up.

"I could lose my house, I could lose anything. I can handle anything but not losing one of my kids. That by itself was indescribable," she said.

The Boettgers are each being held on $1 million bail. The couple hopes to reduce the amount at a scheduled bail review hearing on Monday.


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Postby Marina » Thu Nov 29, 2007 8:01 pm

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http://www.greeleytrib.com/article/2007 ... 6/-1/rss02

Judge agrees to wait for doctor's report before hearing about child abuse charges



Staff report
November 29, 2007


Weld County Court Judge Marcelo Kopcow rescheduled the disposition hearing of a Greeley man facing child abuse charges Thursday due to a pending report from Children's Hospital in Denver.

Police arrested Brain Haley on May 26 on suspicion of child abuse after hospital workers called police saying that they thought a 3-month-old child's injuries were non-accidental.

The defense asked to reschedule the disposition because Children’s Hospital will release a doctor’s report Monday. With no objection, Judge Kopcow scheduled the disposition for 11 a.m. Dec. 11.

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Postby Marina » Wed Apr 23, 2008 6:38 pm

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http://www.lansingcitypulse.com/index.p ... d=99999999

'Frankie' moving forward
Written by Administrator
Wednesday, 16 April 2008

In a court hearing Tuesday, the aunt of a boy allegedly abused by his mother took the stand on the mother’s behalf. At stake was the mother’s custody of her child; the state wants to take him away. The mother and her family, however, feel otherwise.


“I think she could handle being a parent on her own if she was given half the chance,” said Angela Symonds. “It’s in (the boy’s) best interest to stay with family.”


Tuesday was the third hearing over “Frankie,” a boy whom a Lansing police officer reported she had heard being slapped hard repeatedly by his mother last summer. (Criminal charges were dropped.) The state is seeking to take custody away from the mother because of the abuse allegation, but also because the rest of her children — eight, including Frankie — were taken from her in the past and placed in foster care.


Three of the children were at Tuesday’s hearing, saying that they were unfairly taken from their mother — and that this most recent bid to take Frankie away is also unfair.


Two of the mother’s daughters (the mother, Frankie, and her children’s names are not being used because of the abuse allegations) said that they were sexually abused by their father, and then forced to tell child services workers that it was their mother who abused them. The girls, who were 5 and 6 at the time, said lies are why they were taken from their mother.


“We need justice because we were hurt too,” said one of the daughters. Frankie "is very fragile, mentally. He wants his mother.”


Tuesday’s hearing ended with Symonds’ testimony and a decision by Ingham County Circuit Court Judge George Economy ruling that Frankie and his mother be observed together by a psychologist before a custody decision is made.


City Pulse first reported Frankie’s story Sept. 26. A Nov. 28 and a Jan. 30. story and two others on the trial are available at www.lansingcitypulse.com.


Frankie’s family members allege that their brother was abused while in foster care; this was before the August 2007 incident with his mother when he lived for 4 1/2 years with a foster family in St. John’s. Symonds testified that the family sexually abused Frankie, and called him racist names, among other offenses.


Frankie was taken from his mother July 31, 2007, and placed with Symonds after a Lansing police officer heard the mother allegedly slapping Frankie and yelling profanities at him. Officer Kasha Lowe testified that while at the mother’s apartment building on July 31, while making an unrelated arrest, she heard from one floor below the sound of slapping, and a woman yelling, “Get the fuck back in here! Get the fuck back now before I beat yo ass! I’m going to fuck you up!”


Lowe said that she heard a child’s voice reply, “Please momma, don’t hit me.”


In her report, Lowe wrote that she had heard “3 or 4 more loud slaps come from the residence and the child crying harder and yelling, ‘I’m sorry, momma! I’m sorry! Please, no, no stop!”


Symonds said Tuesday that she did not believe the mother is capable of hitting her children. As well, Dorothy Ann Cooks, a friend of 26 years to the mother testified that she had never witnessed any abuse.


“I never heard (the mother) speak like that to (Frankie),” said Cooks. “I’ve never seen her mistreat her children.”


The court also heard testimony from Diontwanette Mack, a foster care worker with the Ingham County Department of Human Services. Mack has been the caseworker for Frankie and his mother since August 2007. Mack told the court that allegations that Frankie was sexually abused while in foster care are under investigation.


Ingham County Assistant Prosecutor James Pettibone asked Mack, point blank, whether she thought Frankie should be taken from his mother.


“I believe parental rights should be terminated,” Mack told the court, citing the mother’s history of having seven of her other children taken away.


But simply handing Frankie — whose been said to have emotional and disciplinary problems, and needs permanence — off to a foster family, said Mack, is not the best the court can do for the boy.


“The best the court can do is place him in an environment that’s supportive,” she said.


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Postby Marina » Sat Aug 30, 2008 6:19 pm

http://www.statesman.com/news/content/n ... 7&cxcat=52

COURTS

Judge briefly jails child welfare workers, volunteers in juvenile case
Meurer says she wanted them to know what detention is like before recommending it for 14-year-old girl
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By Steven Kreytak

AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF


Saturday, August 30, 2008

A group of advocates for childrenand a 14-year-old defendant's mother were ordered into Travis County juvenile court holding cells this week after state District Judge Jeanne Meurer grew frustrated with them during a hearing.

Meurer said she told the six people to spend 20 minutes in the cells after they recommended that the girl, who is accused of punching her mother, be held in detention while awaiting trial.

"I told them that before you make these things (a recommendation to the court on whether detention is warranted), you go spend time in a jail cell," Meurer said during an interview in her office.

The longtime juvenile court judge, who is not seeking re-election this year, is known as a passionate advocate for children who does not tolerate excuses. She said she wanted the group to get a taste of what it's like to be in detention, which she believes takes an emotional toll on youths and, at $166 per day, is costly. She called the jailing a "learning opportunity" akin to a "site visit" and said that if the people had objected, they would not have been forced into the cells.

But that is not how two state Child Protective Services employees who were jailed saw it, according to a CPS spokesman.

"The judge is the final arbiter of our cases, and when the judge tells you to do something, you do it," Chris Van Deusen said. "It was not a voluntary thing."

Meurer declined to give the names of those jailed. Van Deusen said the two CPS employees were caseworker Rushmi Karim and supervisor Wendy Sonnenberg. The state Department of Family and Protective Services, which oversees CPS, does not plan to pursue any complaints about the incident, but Karim and Sonnenberg may do so on their own, Van Deusen said.

"I don't know what they learned sitting in a cell for a few minutes," he said. "This is not something that we want to see happen again."

In addition to the CPS workers and the girl's mother, Meurer said the others put in the holding cells were a worker for the reintegration project of the Casey Family Foundation, a volunteer mentor to the girl and a volunteer with Court Appointed Special Advocates.

Assistant Travis County District Attorney LaRu Woody, chief of the family justice division, which is prosecuting the case, declined to comment.

Meurer said the teenage defendant spent a year in foster care before being returned to live with her mother last month. On Monday, the girl punched her mother after her mother kicked the family dog, Meurer said. The mother called police, and the girl was arrested and spent Monday night at the Gardner Betts Juvenile Justice Center in South Austin.

At the Tuesday hearing at Gardner Betts, Meurer, as is her custom, asked those present to recommend whether the teen should remain detained. Some said the girl needed a psychiatric evaluation, was having a hard time getting one through a state program and should be detained until she could get one, Meurer said. Later, Meurer said, they explained that they wanted her detained because the mother did not want her at home.

"I was not happy with that," she said. "Detention is not a parenting tool; it's not a mental health tool."

Van Deusen said the recommendation was unclear because the girl's mother was not sure whether she would take her back into her home. "It's clearly better for this child in this situation to be at home," he said.

Meurer said those jailed were placed two people per cell in three holding cells. Their belongings were not taken, and the doors were not locked, she said.

When the six people got out, the group was unanimous: The girl should be allowed to live at home until the trial. Van Deusen said the shift occurred because the mother changed her mind.

"They came back in, and I discussed that this was not to punish," Meurer said, "this was not to do anything but a site visit.

"These were professional people that I care about, and I am very sorry they would take it in any way but a positive experience."

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Postby Marina » Sat Nov 01, 2008 10:15 am

http://www.dailyregister.com/news/x1348 ... n-Lay-case

Court, attorneys ponder way to hold hearing in Lay case


By Eric Fodor
Daily Register
Tue Oct 21, 2008, 01:26 PM CDT


County Courthouse -
Attorneys and Judge Todd Lambert are setting the groundwork for how to hold a hearing on terminating the parental rights of the parents of the late Kalab Lay without the parents actually being present in court.

Authorities in Indiana are unwilling to bring Terry and Amanda Brooks Lay to Saline County for a termination hearing. The Lays are accused of murder -- Kalab, their 3-year-old son, died in March of what Indiana authorities call extensive child abuse. Both are in Vanderburgh County, Ind., jail awaiting trial on the murder charges.

State's Attorney David Nelson has petitioned to terminate parental rights regarding three of the Lays' five surviving children.

The termination hearing here will include witnesses called by Nelson; the parents' court-appointed attorneys, Nathan Rowland and Todd Bittle; and Jason Olson, who is appointed to represent the interests of the children.

The court's problem involves how to balance the need for a hearing, the rights of the parents to participate in the hearing and Indiana's decision not to bring the parents to Illinois for the hearing.

Lambert decided to hold the hearings without the parents present, but to prepare transcripts for the parents to read after the hearings. If the parents want any witnesses questioned or want to call any witnesses of their own, they will be able to do so after reading the transcripts and talking with their attorneys. Their attorneys will be present at all the hearings.

The first hearing is a final pretrial set for 9 a.m. Dec. 2.

Lambert said it is important for the termination hearings to go forward instead of waiting until the murder cases in Vanderburgh County are concluded.

"I don't want these children to hang in the balance until that trial," Lambert said.

If the motion to terminate parental rights is granted, three of the Lays' five surviving children would be put up for adoption. Two of the children are in the custody of Indiana courts.
The children were placed in foster care after an active methamphetamine lab was found by police in the Lays' Eldorado home in 2004. After a period of imprisonment, the Lays moved to Evansville, Ind.

Terry and Amanda Brooks Lay were granted an extended visit with Kalab Lay and his twin sister in December by Lambert. The extended visit in Evansville began Jan. 3, and it ended in tragedy -- Kalab died in late March and his parents were arrested.

The circumstances surrounding Lambert's decision to grant an extended visit are the subject of controversy. The Evansville Courier-Press reported July 16 the visit was against the recommendations of the Indiana Department of Child Services and the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services.

However, a May 13 hearing in Saline County Circuit Court painted a different picture.

A Lutheran Social Services caseworker told Lambert she recommended an extended visit between the twins and parents at an earlier hearing in November 2007. She testified sending the children back to their parents two at a time would allow Lutheran Social Services to stay in the case and see how things are working. She also testified DCFS was not involved in the case when the visit was ordered.

Indiana authorities in 2007 denied an agreement under the Interstate Compact for Placement of Children that would have allowed extended visits, citing Terry Lay's criminal history, according to a June 25 Evansville Courier-Press article. The denial was one of the reasons the same LSS caseworker recommended foster care and possible termination of parental rights in August 2007, the Courier-Press reported. But the LSS caseworker appears to have reversed herself by the November hearing when she recommended an extended visit

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Postby Marina » Fri May 22, 2009 9:27 pm

http://www.wlbt.com/Global/story.asp?S=10392518

Madison 05/19/09
Reporter questioned in judge's chambers

Posted: May 19, 2009 10:55 PM EDT

Updated: May 19, 2009 10:55 PM EDT

MADISON, MS (WLBT) - A Madison youth court judge hearing a child abuse case, questioned a WLBT reporter Tuesday in his chambers.

Judge Ed Hannon wanted to know who told WLBT News about the hearing and why WLBT was there. He then asked the grandmother of the 16 year old involved in the case to leave the courtroom.

Those WLBT talked with say she was asked to leave because Judge Hannon said she had given the station information on the case.

WLBT has learned the teenager in question has been removed from her home by the Department of Human Services several times. The hearing continued late Tuesday evening and included testimony from the teenager.

John Reeves who represented late Jackson Mayor Frank Melton is the attorney for the child's grandmother. He said he could not talk to media because the judge issued a gag order in the case.


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