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Bayne Appeal
March 24, 2011 permalink
The Baynes will be appealing the decision of judge Crabtree leaving their children under MCFD supervision.
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Hope Couple Appealing Judge's Decision
Chilliwack/Victoria, B.C. - Paul and Zabeth Bayne are going back to court. Tuesday they are appealing Judge Thomas Crabtree's decision that their three kids stay in the care of the Ministry of Children and Family Development for another six months.
Three years ago, the Hope couple’s then youngest daughter was diagnosed with shaken baby syndrome. On March 2nd, Justice Crabtree rejected that diagnoses, but said the kids weren't allowed to go home until the Bayne's proved to the Ministry that they were good parents.
Speaking from his office in Victoria, the Bayne's lawyer Doug Christie says that is none sense. “Although he didn’t find that the baby was deliberately harmed in anyway. He still found the children in need of protection and withheld them from their parents for another six months in which they are supposed to satisfy him that they are able to look after this family of three children.” He says “So we’re actually appealing this judgment because as we see it, it puts too high a standard of proof on the parents…to prove the children were properly cared for.
“Other than the shaken baby syndrome there was no evidence they were not cared for. And if you don’t find substance in that allegation, then our view is the children should be returned.”
Christie says he has asked the Ministry what the Baynes need to do to prove that they are good parents. However he says they still haven't heard back yet.
Christie says the appeal is going in Tuesday, but adds it won’t be heard for at least another six months. He says if the children are returned the Ministry can make any determination at that point. He says the problem is they don’t know if the kids will be returned within the next six months.
However the Baynes’ fourth child was born in February and put in Ministry care days after. Christie says even if the first three kids go back to mom and dad, they will have to go back to court to get the baby back as well.
Christie says is so fed up with how the Ministry operates, that he expects a class action suit by parents against the Ministry. He says he is involved in the discussions, but couldn’t say when or if it would happen.
Source: Chilliwack News
