[FamilyProtection] The Legal Hourglass And The Sands Of Time.
Once upon a time, I have always pondered why some cases take forever to start and others start so reasonably and abnormally fast. I have seen lots of delays before caseworkers even start(by the court) a detention/shelter hearing and I have seen pretty fast ones as well. From numerous cases I have read about, heard about and personally experienced while assisting others, I have seen detention or other hearings range apart so widely in time frame.
The fastest I have seen so far for a detention hearing was the next day after caseworkers removed a child from his home(typically within 24 hrs), in contrast, I have seen a detention hearing being held 25 days after a child was removed from the comfort of her home. These varying times bugs my mind and I thought it was normal during the early stage of me being involved with CPS matters. As a matter of fact, the act of varying times is hugely unconstitutional and also unsupported by court rules. What troubles me more greatly aside its unconstitutionality, is that parents who are being preyed upon by CPS do not know the limit to the delays caseworkers can make, for the most part, such parents are hugely ignorant of their fundamental rights thereby being cheated and knocked off their right to so many things(e.g preparation for a case).
For a detention/shelter hearing, jurisdictional hearing or a dispositional hearing, the right to a "speedy hearing/trial" that is fundamental to a criminal case is also fundamentally grounding in CPS cases. This is what the Sixth Amendment Right treated. Caseworkers might want to argue this fact, but you can point out that this is also hard-nailed into the due process of law. One other dust that might arise is that of a case being "speedy". Caseworkers might want to argue what constitute a "Speedy hearing", and make you believe that they are legally permitted to vary the time as they deem fit. Yes!, the term "Speedy" is subject to varying time, but despite all that, the interpretation of the term is strongly contextual in the legal world.
Oh wait, when it comes to the world of CPS, the legal implication of "speedy hearing/trial" is well spelled out in black and white. The term speedy is guided by Court rules and even spelled out in State statutes. Even some CPS handouts contains the length of days before a detention, jurisdictional or dispostional hearing. It is well spelled out and they must keep to this statutes and court rules else they risk infringing on your right to a speedy trial or your entitlement to due process and risk being prosecuted.
Time Frames After Removal
Caseworkers MUST file a petition of child abuse within 48 hrs(2 days) after child removal and a shelter hearing MUST be held within the next court day. This is because your child can't be held without a ruling of detention for more than 72 hrs.
You have the right to have your trial/ jurisdictional hearing within 15 days of detention hearing if CPS won the detention hearing. But if your child remains under your care, you have the right to hold your trial hearing within 30 days of the shelter hearing.
A little deviation in the timing might be caused by court holidays or weekends. For example, invoking the right to a not-more-than 72 hrs before detention hearing would be void if this merges up with a weekend. When a child is taken on Monday, the detention hearing must take place not more than the end of the next court day after the 2 day period of petition filing, whereas, a child taken on a Thursday would mean a detention hearing would take place on Monday(More than 4 days!). The trick is that of "Next Court Day".
Why Do You Need To Be Conscious Of The Hourglass?
You might be wondering why you need to know all this!, while you might be asking these question, there are lots of parents that have escaped the claws of CPS just by knowing how the legal hourglass works. If you have or had a case with CPS before, you will recognize how much and how time is so valuable. Knowing all this gives you a sense of being in control of your own time. I have seen parents breakdown into tears and frustration because they couldn't get to see their children, most times the timing of CPS contributed to this. A mother i once discussed with told me she was deprived from contacting her kids for almost 9 days even when no detention hearing has been held. If she knew that the hourglass was at her disposal, she would have awakened a right that caseworkers would have listened to.
For the most part, the varying times might restrict or frustrate your preparation period for trials or hearing. A detention hearing happening 24 hours after your child was taken would definitely lead to a jurisdictional hearing, because you would be very unprepared to take on the accusations CPS would level against you. There are more to the hourgalss that I can't cover here.
No Longer Once-Upon-A-Time
So, it is no longer a 'once upon a time' issue, you are now aware of your Rights, so don't let any caseworker play strategic deceitfulness with you. I hope the content of this post would be of help if for any reason you need to exercise its content in the future(I really pray you don't encounter any scenario that would lead to you activating this right). For those with a case already, please don't forget you have the power to control the sands of time. Please, look forward to my next post that would be centered on the reason why caseworkers cheat parents off these rights, and why their cases are so time varying. There you have it!, you've got the power to control the sands of time, the hourglass is within your palm, stop being tossed about and around.
Fight For The True Interest Of Every Child Worldwide
Peace to you all,
MakeBloom
( @kryptocoin )
If you truly care and passionate about helping families and children worldwide facing CPS injustice, an healthy step is to JOIN the @familyprotection community.
thanks @kryptocoin. This is good and relevant information. The world so need a handbook with all the ins an outs, all the info for families to protect themselves from the CPS. This would be the bible for protection. I know I have mentioned and blogged this before, however reading your post, It so reminds me of this need and that your info should be in it. I hope @familyprotection can offer printed handbooks one day. Again thanks @kryptocoin.
We will get there soon, pretty soon I believe. Thanks for reading through and for the thoughtful comment
I only stumbled across the @familyprotection community this afternoon after reading a post from a good friend of mine on Steemit.
He is one of the most community minded Steemians I have so far had the great pleasure of stumbling across @averageoutsider so it was no surprise to me that this would be something that would pique his interest. His next post was a resteem of a post by @snowpea. She and her whole family are enduring a hideously harrowing and heart-rending ordeal. This ordeal is being conducted by state sponsored bullies at the hands of the oh-so-benevolent state conducted with taxpayers funds no less.
This is a topic that I have followed in my home nation (England) too. There are similar organisations who exist to highlight the plight of similar British families in a surreptitious and draconian system and offer them practical advice.
I have since read literally reams of posts by people in very difficult situations and find myself compelled to learn all about the @familyprotection initiative.
After reading your post I felt compelled to stop for a moment and commend you and say wow! This advice is extremely comprehensive and leaves zero room for interpretation. Can you imagine if more people were aware of the legal position that they are being vindictively attacked with? These renegades would no longer be able to make up rules as they go along.
That's gotta be a euphemism for something with a far more sinister label, right?
Anyway, as is often the case I have rambled quite enough already.
ThankYOU for leaving those going through a very difficult and desperate time with a better understanding of the time-frame they are up against and enabling them to claim some legal recourse against those who likely presume them ignorant of such matters.
This is what community is all about, take good care, may your journey be amazing, fruitful and full of meaning.
Oh, yeah, indeed mild! They much more sinister.
Families have been passing through a lot more Hadean banners, sadly, this is a world wide movement. There is always Light at the end of the tunnel. You have really said a lot dear friend, all very important. Thank you.
This is such important and great information for people to know before and when dealing with CPS.
You are doing an amazing job sharing how to fight back and our rights against CPS.
my friend worked there for 2 months and left it, it's really bureaucratic organization, sometimes they were getting papers with the wrong child name, so they had to spend additional day in a court to get just get the paper with the right child name
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What country/state do these rules apply in? Are these federal rules or state/province rules only?
It's not mentioned in the article, but would be helpful to know.
Somebody needs to keep a catalog of posts like these for reference purposes. :)
Hello @miklkent,
Based on my encounter, Discussion with lawyers and research, this rule permeates all states here in the US. Checking the proceedings and legal statutes relating to CPS operations, all state embraces this. It is well spelled out. But the problem is, most people don't know this.
Also, for CPS to receive funding from the federal government, they have to comply to this timeframes(well that is what is written), so I won't be far off if I concluded that it is a Federal Regulation, and a parent can sue CPS if they act otherwise. Thank you.
Great! Thank you! So, where can people in the US go look this up? It would be helpful to post the links of where you found this. I'm only harping on this, because this is such VALUABLE information you posted that the links/resources need to be published as well.
Knowledge is a wonderful weapon. Checks and balances are wonderful too. I LOVE THIS!
In fact, maybe you could create another post with the links and then showing us how you found that information so we can duplicate it? It would let those who might be uncomfortable doing that kind of research follow along for practice. It would increase their confidence to do it again, and again and again. Who knows how many lives and cases you be changing the course of just by doing this?
Pretty please? Pretty please with sugar on top?
I would love to see this and I know the community would as well.
I'm dancing in anticipation...