14-Day Hearing: Over before it started
Jul 01, 2018OUTCOME: Child Returned Before (rescheduled) 14-Day Hearing
Mother and Father took newborn Baby to hospital because Baby was having problems breathing. Child was sent home without any clear answer. A couple of weeks later, Mother and Father took Baby back to ho ... spital for a separate issue. After Baby had an X-Ray, it was discovered she had broken ribs. Once the Mother and Father were told that Baby would be taken by CPS, Father admitted he may have squeezed Baby in frustration during a crying fit. Mother did not know about the incident, yet Baby was still taken. At the 14-day hearing, CPS and DA pushed to return Baby to Grandmother, but they wanted to keep Temporary Managing Conservatorship (TMC). This means that although Grandmother has possession of Baby, CPS keeps retains control. My partner and I made it very clear to CPS and DA that Mother did not hurt Baby nor did she know that Father squeezed her. CPS and DA then made a second offer with child being returned to Mother, but again, CPS would retain control/TMC. My partner and I made it clear that the only acceptable solution was for (innocent) Mother to have possession and control of Baby. We rejected the deal and told DA that we would not have an agreement and that she should prepare for a contested hearing. The sitting judge postponed the 14-day hearing because she was visiting while the normal judge was out, and she did not want to rule on a case before the court. She did order Mother to take a Hair-Follicle drug test. A week after our initial hearing, DA called my partner and told him that Mother's drug test came back negative (no drugs) and that DA would be dropping the case against her. Bottom Line: If Mother had not hired my partner and I, Baby would be living at Grandmother's and CPS would have control. Additionally, CPS would have been in Mother's life for many months to follow. Mother would be at the Mercy of CPS, EVEN THOUGH SHE WAS INNOCENT. In this case, Mother was as much of a victim as Baby, and only because Mother had attorney's who were willing to fight for her was Baby returned home.
