Posted on 03/25/2014 3:01:56 PM PDT by Morgana
A long-running child custody case took a dramatic turn Tuesday, when a Massachusetts juvenile court judge awarded permanent custody of teen-ager Justina Pelletier to the state Department of Children and Families.
The ruling by Judge Joseph Johnston leaves it up to the agency, not the court, to decide whether or when Pelletier should be returned to her West Hartford, Conn., home.
Its a huge ruling, said a person who had been briefed on the decision. Its a setback for the parents.
This person said the state, which has had temporary custody of Pelletier for more than a year, has no immediate plans to have the 15-year-old sent back home, or to a facility in her home state.
But a decision to award permanent custody can be revisited by the judge after six months, at the parents request. The judge made his order retroactive to late December, so a review could occur as soon as early summer.
Rev. Patrick Mahoney of the Washington D.C.-based Christian Defense Coalition, who has become the parents spokesman, said Tuesday that Lou and Linda Pelletier are outraged by the decision, though they have yet to get a written copy of it.
There is no reason Justina should not be returned immediately back to the parents, he said.
Mahoney said the parents continue to believe that their daughter is being treated as a pawn and piece of property.
Judge Johnston also denied a request by out-of-state lawyer Mathew Staver of Liberty Counsel in Florida to represent the girls parents.
(Excerpt) Read more at bostonglobe.com ...
It’s a final judgment and fully appealable.
I wonder if the dad puts out the call, if patriots would respond. Go and get your child.
I’m with you.
A precedent has been set. Mission complete. Beware of what lies ahead. It’s coming, folks.
Would be awesome if the SEALs intervened, but that would only get them assigned to a doomed helicopter ride in some remote place like Extortion 17 was.
The judge is a Republican, appointed by Governor Swift.
Republicans don’t do this, so he must be one IN NAME ONLY, like Boehner, Graham, McCain, blah blah blah.
Just seems like there has to be moment. A moment when citizens say enough is enough. Some sort of spark. Are only the people in Venezuela and Ukraine brave enough to take to the streets? I wish the dad would put out the call. Thousands of activists storming the hospital and rescuing this poor girl could be the start of something bigger...
Terry was made into a test case giving the Government the right to kill us if the government decides we have a low quality of life. Is this young girl some kind of test case too? Is this case for setting some kind of precedent to allow the state to arbitrarily decide to take the children away if the state disagrees with how the parents are raising their children.
I have some familiarity of the inner workings of both Children’s Hospital and the Floating Hospital for Children (Tufts). Obviously, CH cannot respond to the various accusations against them without violating HIPAA.
I think it is very, very, very unlikely that CH has this one wrong. For them to take the position they have taken, all the facts must have been reviewed by the service chiefs, by the board, by house and outside counsel, by HMS and by CRICO. It is impossible to believe that there is not compelling evidence of Munchausen’s by proxy.
Of course the first-line clinical staff could have gotten this wrong. But the further up the line it went, the more likely it is that error would have been corrected. The stakes, if they are wrong, are enormous. Institutions like CH do not support errors by first-line staff. They just don’t. There is too much at stake.
Mass DCYF, of course, has no credibility, nor should they. But they are not the drivers of this scenario, they are just along for the ride.
The state will also make the parents pay child support.
The judge seems to be shifting as much blame as he can onto CT DCF and the “uncooperative” parents.
...this court has found that Justina suffers from persistent and severe Somatic Symptom Disorder.
A court diagnosis?
Pinch me. Please.
“I think it is very, very, very unlikely that CH has this one wrong. For them to take the position they have taken, all the facts must have been reviewed by the service chiefs, by the board, by house and outside counsel, by HMS and by CRICO. It is impossible to believe that there is not compelling evidence of Munchausens by proxy.
Of course the first-line clinical staff could have gotten this wrong. But the further up the line it went, the more likely it is that error would have been corrected. The stakes, if they are wrong, are enormous. Institutions like CH do not support errors by first-line staff. They just dont. There is too much at stake.”
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Munchausen syndrome by proxy. So that is what you believe this to be? That might explain a kid who was ice skating about a year ago and is now in and out of the hospital.
The only other thing and I’ve seen this before is the kid has some rare genetic illness that that is extremely hard to find. I’ve read stories about this. They think the mom had Munchausens only to find some rare disease and it took some doctor either from across the US or across the world to find it.
I have no idea what the diagnosis is.
I don't have the records, I don't have the consultant reports, I don't have the Xrays, and I haven't examined the child.
Therefore, I have absolutely no basis whatsoever to have an opinion.
Do you?
The judge seems to be shifting as much blame as he can onto CT DCF and the uncooperative parents.
This decision reads like a gossip on a high schooler's Facebook page.
QUOTE: “The judge made his order retroactive to late December, so a review could occur as soon as early summer.”
I assume this is a State judge. State judges do endeavor to reduce the liability of the State, it’s their employer you know. So now with one sweeping decision all that has come to light recently...all that happened while the State had custody...boy that’s convenient -retroactively.
If you want to sue a State you need a civil rights claim that can be brought in a Federal court. When State officials see their home, car, boat and listed in a lawsuit then they run scared. And, for the next five years when they go to get that loan or insurance the standard question will appear: “Are you involved in any litigation?” To which they will have to respond: “Ah...well...there is this lawsuit for $3 mil, but don’t worry I work for the State and they’ll have to may for my incompetence”.
If you think you can take my guns from “my cold dead hands,” try taking my children and see how that works out for ya...
..........your post suggests you might know something about this “legal” malaise.
The judge ruled that the parents are guilty of “medical child abuse”...............can you explain that to all of us. I mean, if the parents were just off on a tangent and endangering the child that’s one thing. But, according to what I read, they have a pretty substantial team of doctors ON THEIR SIDE! If so, how the hell does the state butt in at all?
I’ve followed this case fairly closely and I’m still shaking my head.
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