In Federal Court, Oral Arguments Commence in Minnesota Child Protection Services "Kidnapping" case
Legal Battle Rages in Minnesota Federal Court in the First Civil Rights Case to Challenge the Statues Defining Minnesota's Child in Need of Protection or Services. The association "Stop CPS from Legally Kidnapping Children" Seeks to Overturn Laws They Believe are Unconstitutional and Unnecessarily Separate American Children from Their Families and Place Them in Foster Care When There Was No Harm to The Child.
ST. PAUL, Minn., Oct. 07, 2018 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- For the first time in modern history, an association of Minnesota parents brought a civil rights lawsuit against state and county agencies enforcing Minnesota's child protection laws on April 24, 2018. Dwight Mitchell and the group Stop Child Protection Services from Legally Kidnapping Children, a 501(c)(3) association of 4,800+ parents, allege that Minnesota's child protection laws are unconstitutionally vague and overbroad, triggering unnecessary investigations and putting children at risk for being removed from their homes unnecessarily based solely on allegations and social worker discretion. This is the first civil rights lawsuit to challenge the statues and definition of a Child in Need of Protection or Services (CHIPS). 200 Parents with matching t-shirts and signs will gather at the federal building from 8:00 am to Noon to show support during the oral arguments.
To demonstrate these allegations, the founder, Dwight Mitchell said, "we selected one member, provided free legal aid services, and won our inaugural case against Minnesota Child Protection Services on September 11, 2018. The Judge ruled "disinformation" was used, ordered the return of the innocent mother Amanda Weber's son after CPS unnecessarily removed him from the family home when he was 10-months old and retained him in foster care for 4-months when there was no harm to the child." [Minnesota District Court Case # 49-JV-18-786] (See Fox News 9 Broadcast)
The lawsuit details how Minnesota's child protection standards illegally put children in the category of "child in need of protection or services" and place them in foster homes. The lawsuit also goes into detail that based on the Minnesota Out-of-Home Care and Permanency Report date October 2017, compared to white children, based on child population estimates: American Indian children were 17.6 times more likely to experience care. Children identified as two or more races were 4.8 times more likely to experience care. (59.2 percent identified at least one race as African-American/Black and 56.0 percent identified at least one race as American Indian), and African-American children were over 3.1 times more likely to experience care.
Attorney Erick Kaardal, who is representing Mitchell, his children and Stop Child Protection Services from Legally Kidnapping Children, lays the blame for the breakdown of the family in Minnesota squarely at the feet of the government. "Minnesota's child protection statutes authorize child protection services - not fit parents - to raise their children. It is an outrage," he explained. "It's not just fathers like Dwight Mitchell who are being railroaded. Minnesota is also using its unconstitutionally low standards to seize all children, both black and white, from their single mothers. Therefore, the plaintiffs sue in federal court to stop child protection services from continuing its serial abuse of Minnesota's families. It is clear that Minnesota's child protection services is currently broken and can't be fixed with the current unconstitutional statutes that are in place."
WHAT: Oral Argument on Stop Child Protection Services from Legally Kidnapping et al v. Dakota County Social Services et al, a lawsuit against Minnesota state and county agencies over illegal and unconstitutional removal of children from their homes
WHEN: Tuesday, October 9, 2018, Parent Gathering 8:00 am, Photo Op 8:30 AM, Court Hearing 9:00 am (Central)
WHERE: Warren E. Burger Federal Building & United States Courthouse, 316 North Robert Street
100 Federal Building, St. Paul, MN 55101, Courtroom 7A (STP), 7th Floor, before Judge Wilhelmina M. Wright.
MAP: https://goo.gl/maps/z3YrX5tTTDA2
WHO:
- Erick Kaardal, Esq., partner at Mohrman, Kaardal & Erickson, P.A and attorney representing Mitchell and Stop Child Protection Services from Legally Kidnapping
- Dwight Mitchell, parent whose children were removed from his home and plaintiff in the lawsuit
- SCPSLKC Members, parents whose children were removed from their homes and plaintiffs' in the lawsuit
ONSITE CONTACTS:
- Dwight Mitchell, 732.208.9950
- Erick Kaardal, 763.486.5435
Read the full complaint, Stop Child Protection Services from Legally Kidnapping et al v. Dakota County Social Services et al, filed April 24, 2018, in United States District Court – District of Minnesota, by attorney Erick Kaardal on behalf of Dwight Mitchell, his children and Stop Child Protection Services from Legally Kidnapping. (Read Full Complaint)
About Family Preservation Foundation, Inc. 501(c)(3) and its program "Stop Child Protection Services from Legally Kidnapping Children"
The Family Preservation Foundation was forged out of necessity in 2017 to provide free legal assistance and support, while defending the rights of children and families that were being traumatized by the government due to family separation. Everyone, especially the less fortunate and low-income who could not afford legal representation, were being unwittingly and unconstitutionally caught in the clutches of child protection services when there was no harm to their children because of unconstitutionally vague, overbroad and not narrowly defined statutes which are affecting children's and parent's rights alike. FPF also works to educate Minnesota communities and professionals about child protection matters, and advocates for state and federal policies which respect the universal rights of children and their families. The foundation started a fundraiser to hire staff lawyers in their effort of expanding their free legal services to minority and low-income families. Studies show that parents and families fair better, children remain out of and/or spend less time in foster care with good attorneys. (See Fundraiser Page)
Throughout the United States, children are needlessly removed from parents for "infractions" that have traditionally been accepted practices in many homes. In Minnesota, unconstitutional enforcement has disproportionately targeted Native American and African-American families, dragging them through years of legal action without attorney representation and parental nightmares. The program Stop Child Protection Services from Legally Kidnapping Children seeks legal reform and restitution for victimized families.
For more information contact Dwight Mitchell at ddm(at)familypreservationfoundation(dot)org
SOURCE Family Preservation Foundation, Inc.
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