Alexis not Terminated

January 7, 2009 permalink

A judge has ruled in favor of the Stuth family in the case of granddaughter Alexis. He ruled that DSHS failed to give the grandparents an opportunity to adopt, and has allowed them to file an application for custody. In situations like this, DSHS rarely plays dead, so there may still be more tricky motions from them. Meanwhile, Alexis has been moved out of her foster home to a new location.

Had there been no publicity from senator Pam Roach, Alexis would have been lost by now. This case is an example of our advice that publicity is the best defense against child protectors, better than lawyers.

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Investigators: Stunning ruling opens door for grandparents

06:36 PM PST on Wednesday, January 7, 2009, By SUSANNAH FRAME / KING 5 News

SEATTLE -- There was a stunning decision Wednesday in a King County courtroom involving a custody battle the KING 5 Investigators have been following for months.

A judge has ruled a little girl taken from her home and put in foster care may be headed back to her grandparents.

The KING 5 Investigators first started looking into the custody battle because we couldn't understand why seemingly loving, stable grandparents weren't given the chance to care for the granddaughter they'd help to raise. Instead, she was put into foster care.

Wednesday, a judge agreed the relatives should have been given more consideration.

It was a defining moment in court for Doug and AnneMarie Stuth, who have been fighting for nearly two years to get their granddaughter out of foster care and back into their home.

King County Superior Court Judge Ronald Kessler ruled it may happen after all -- a move which shocked everyone in the court.

KING
A judge is expected to rule on the fate of Doug and AnneMarie Stuth's grandchild, pictured here. She is now 3 years old.

Doug Stuth was stunned, saying the ruling “couldn’t have been better."

The baby was taken from her mom--the Stuths’ teenage daughter, Lisa Lieberman-- as an infant. She'd let the baby get dangerously thin.

The Stuths stepped in to raise the little girl, but they fell out of favor with social workers and a different judge who ruled the Stuths were too controlling and selfish to do the job.

The child went into foster care.

At Wednesday’s trial, the state was trying to terminate the teen mom's parental rights permanently. But, the judge ruled the Department of Social and Health Services and the earlier judge on the case hadn't properly followed state law.

“The department and the dependency court in attempt to get Ms. Lieberman on track to parent failed to adequately to consider the legal obligation to consider relative placement. I understand the reason for it but I think it was in error,” said Kessler.

“I didn’t think that this was going to happen, that’s for sure,” said Lieberman, in tears. “So happy that it did.”

The judge said he was prepared to terminate the teenager's parental rights because the state proved their case. If he would have done that, it would have meant that neither she nor the grandparents would have ever seen the child again.

But because of this error--not adequately giving the grandparents a shot at keeping their grandchild--he's giving the Stuths one week to file papers requesting custody.

And there’s another surprising twist. DSHS apparently moved the toddler out of her foster home Tuesday and placed her in an emergency foster home. No reason was given for the removal.

Source: KING-5 TV Seattle

Addendum: In case the KING-5 video disappears, we have a local copy (flv).

CPS presented a lie to the judge. They claimed Alexis should remain in foster care because the girl had bonded with her foster mother. An accident revealed to the judge that Alexis had already been separated from that foster mother.

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CPS Lies To Judge Kessler And Gets Caught In Court

Sometimes you can do all you can and God just drops in and throws things a curve. I am talking a miracle. That is what happened today when a naive new CASA wasn't smart enough to keep a lie alive. And, boy, was King County Superior Court Judge Ronald Kessler mad when he figured it out.

Well, judge, as grateful as we all are for your decision today...I have to tell you that there have been a lot of lies by CPS before your court.

Yesterday, the state went full bore against the family. They just railed on the Stuths and the mother. They lied through their teeth. They testified that "Little Lisa" had bonded with the foster woman and it was in the best interest of the child to terminate parental rights and place Lisa with this woman who has an active restraining order against a former lover. And, at the same time, they knew that CPS was removing Little Lisa from the foster woman and placing her in "emergency" foster placement.

CAN ANYONE REALLY BELIEVE THIS OUTRAGEOUS BEHAVIOR? What will the Attorney General say about this big lie? What will AG Ms. Li say about this lie?

WILL THE ATTORNEY GENERAL PUNISH THESE TRAITORS TO THEIR OATH?

AND...JUST PLAIN FUNNY.....Today, the state argued for 15 minutes that KING5 TV and investigative reporter, Suzannah Frame, should not be in the courtroom! (...Ya gotta love how stupid it is to go after people who broadcast TV all western Washington!!!!)

The attorney general's attorney argued the judge could not let the press in the courtroom. They were abruptly set straight when....Judge Kessler finally dropped a big book on the bench and said, "According to this book I can ... and... I will!" I LIKE BOSTON LEGAL, TOO.

Nothing seemed to be going well. The judge told the mother she wasn't a good person. He went after the grandparents, he was just not a happy guy. He only knows what he is told or what comes out in court. The mother's attorney could certainly have found a way to bring the terrible medical records forward but did not.

THEN SOMETHING HAPPENED...SOMETHING THAT STUNNED THE JUDGE...SOMETHING THAT HORRIFIED CPS AND THE ATTORNEY GENERAL FOR THE STATE.

The new CASA mentioned that Little Lisa had been removed from the "loving" foster woman and placed in emergency housing last night. The woman just assumed the judge knew! She didn't know the rules on how to steal kids!

It was one big blunder committed by the new court appointed special advocate (CASA). She didn't understand that she was suppose to shut up about what had happened last night at the home of the foster woman... and it unfolded right in front of a very irritated judge!

While the state was testifying about all this "bonding" crap between the foster woman and Little Lisa...they were preparing to take the child on an emergency basis away from the foster home!

Apparently, the loving foster woman had her license pulled! (I will find out why!!!!) And, remember...she has an infant baby boy from the state who was just in the hospital...another emergency.

Posted by Pam Roach at 9:35 PM

Source: Pam Roach blog for January 7, 2009