Amenment IV states, "the right of the people to secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized."
On, October 11, 2009 Ray Woodson, a father who has been fighting for custody of his two children has won that right, and is now suing the county’s Department of Human Services and a local hospital. Woodson and his children’s mother Carla Legates have been battling DHS for nearly two years and now both mother and father have filed federal lawsuits against the state agency. Their first child was removed in October 2007 at 2 months old. His sister was taken in August 2008 when she was only six hours old and still in the nursery at Claremore Regional Hospital. Legates had been previously involved with DHS and the court system concerning custody of her first child who was only a few months old when he entered a foster home in 2005. In May, Woodson won custody of the children after a 14-day jury trial, according to the filing. Now Woodson is claiming the state violated his civil rights.
During their battle for custody of their first child, Woodson and Legates gave birth to a second child in August 2008. But that child was taken into DHS custody straight from the hospital just six hours after birth. The state claimed the child was deprived, even though Woodson and Legates had not been given a chance to be parents to either of their children. DHS kept the child in custody for eight more months.
In Legates’ federal suit, she is claiming her Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution were violated when her children were taken into state custody. The Fourth Amendment guards against unreasonable searches and seizures and the Fourteenth Amendment requires states to provide substantial due process such as parental and marriage rights, which includes holding hearings before a person’s property interests can be taken away.
In Legates’ federal suit, she is claiming her Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution were violated when her children were taken into state custody. The Fourth Amendment guards against unreasonable searches and seizures and the Fourteenth Amendment requires states to provide substantial due process such as parental and marriage rights, which includes holding hearings before a person’s property interests can be taken away.
The lawsuit also states that the reason for taking the children were based on the case of Legates’ first son, who was taken in 2005. At that time, according to Legates, she was married to the child’s father and was allegedly being abused. Her recollection of that case involves authorities telling her to divorce her then husband, as she was pregnant with her first child at the time, or “they would take my son. And then they took him anyway.”
In her suit, Legates is suing Rogers County DHS, former director Maggie Box and child welfare workers Bergdorf, Pruitt and Priest. A settlement conference has been scheduled for Oct. 27, and according to a motion to strike the settlement conference filed by the defendants, Legates’ attorney filed a written settlement offer of $6.5 million. In their motion, the defendants stated the settlement demand, “involves no compromise and requires complete capitulation by the Defendants,” and that it is “a clear indication that the Plaintiff is not likely to participate in good faith in settlement discussions.”
Sources
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