Not really, if it weren't being done as a condition for return of the children, she indeed has the power under Texas law to restrict the parents and children to a fixed geographic area, via a court order supported by evidence...Except that doing it "en masse" would be just as problematical as ordering the children into CPS custody en masse in the first place.
Both the judge and CPS just can't seem to get into the notion that justice is dealt out to individuals, rather than groups. Sounds like Communists, Socialists and DemonRats doesn't it?
Any wonder why our party is so fractured?
When do they have to show cause for these restrictions!
I would not sign a dang thing to get back my children if I were accused.
The Judge should be “hearing” the evidence and should act in the “best” interests of the rights of all parties.
It seems to me that this Judge has a horse in this race.
That is not impartial and that is not justice.
The children who are in danger should be dealt with separately from the children who are not.
This cannot be treated as an en masse prosecution and I believe that is what the higher court had a problem with.
Judge Walther apparently does not agree.
Both the judge and CPS just can't seem to get into the notion that justice is dealt out to individuals, rather than groups. Sounds like Communists, Socialists and DemonRats doesn't it?
I think the issue is different than that.
If the "Judge" can get the parents to agree to these restrictions "voluntarily", then she can enforce them, and it is very difficult to get them overturned.
If the parents do not "voluntarily" agree, she can order the restrictions, but then they are subject to review by an appeals court. The "judge" has already gotten slapped down once, and doesn't want that to happen again.
I think the families have the upper hand here, the judge has been told what to do and evidently there is a Monday deadline. Lawyers for the families know this and all they have to do is hold out until Monday.
My guess is that the "Judge" will order the restrictions involuntarily on Monday, the families will appeal and the "Judge" will again be put in her place.
The real problem CPS has is that they don't have enough lawyers, or enough evidence to give each child an individual hearing. The state doesn't have enough judges, courtrooms, or money to have individual hearings. And, they have a horrible problem if different judges give different rulings with essentially the same set of facts for individual children. There are enough lawyers in Texas to represent the families.
If CPS had done a proper investigation and only gone after girls who were in real danger (if there were any) the whole issue would never have come up.
CPS is now really over a barrel. If the families agree to any supervision or restrictions it helps CPS justify their actions. But if the families can just hold out for a few days, CPS, and the "Judge" are both in deep yogurt.
Just out of curiosity, is the "Judge" also liable for federal civil rights violations? She may well be trying to cover her own rather exposed rear end, by getting "voluntary" agreements on restrictions. She certainly can't argue that she didn't know the law.