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I am not sure if I have a case or not and thought I would send you an
email and you could tell me. This started a couple of weeks ago when
it was found out that my mother had cancer. I was living with my
daughter, new wife and mother at her house. Two weeks ago, my sister
called me on my cell phone and told me I need to move out. I told her
we were planning on it at the end of September. My sister told me, we
need to move out faster than that, in less than three weeks. When I
told her that was not possible, she started to insult me. Rather than
listen to this, I hung up my cell phone. She continued to call me, so
I shut it off. She continued to call me all day Sunday and Monday
leaving me voice mails. In fact she called 28 times in a 24 hour
period. When I arrived home on Monday night she spoke to my daughter
and told her to tell me, that if I did not speak to her immedately,
she would call my wo rk and get me fired. I spoke to her briefly and
said we would move out in the time frame she required and hung up the
phone.
Later, my mother told me she would speak to my sister and tell her
that we could stay until the end of the month like it was requested.
I thought that was the end of that. On Friday, my daughter told me
she was going to my sisters house. I asked her to be home on Saturday
night since we has lots of packing to do. On Saturday, I called my
sister to speak with my daughter. Her husband answered and told me
she was at my cousin's house. I called her there and she told me she
was not coming home until Sunday. I called on Sunday and she said she
was coming home on Monday, Labor day. On Labor day, I called her
again and she told me that she was going to spend the night at my
cousins house and go to school from there. I told her, no and to come
home now. She told me she could not. I then told her that I was
going over to her to pick her up. She told me that she would call
back in two minutes. ; I waited 15 minutes and called back, no
answer. I changed my clothes ready to head of to my cousins house.
Just as I walked out the door, a woman approached me and identified
herself as with CPS.
She informed me that I was being served and that my daughter was in
protective custody. It was alleaged that I sexually abused my
daughter. Since this was a Holiday, I had no one to call to find out
more information. I made no attempt to contact my child for the next
72 hours. I did contact her half sister to let her know what is
happening. She contacted my daughter to see if she was all right. On
Tuesday she was contacted by my sister who told her that she was going
to get a court order forbidding the two of us from contact each other.
My sister also told her all of the alligations that I was accused of.
I spent Tuesday looking for an apartment and trying to contact CPS
to find out what I needed to do. I had to make almost a dozen calls
and speak with 6 different people before I found out what was
happening. I was told that my daughter was going to be interviewed on
Wednesday and that I should know something by 12 noon. I was called
at 10 am and told that there was no case against me. I had to leave a
message with CPS for my daughter to call me back. She finally did
that night. I was not allowed to pick her up until I talked with a
representative from CPS on Thursday. I had my daughter taken from me,
while I did nothing.
I was told be CPS the following:
1.) The Case supervisior told me that the alligations were "stupid"
2.) She also told that if the report had been made during the week,
instead of during a holiday weekend, CPS would have interviewed us
and the case would have been over. Instead, since they were
short handed, they had to do an emergency court order.
3.) The case work confirmed that I am now in the system, even
though I did nothing.
I believe the following to be true:
1.) My family are the ones who accused me of this. I believe that
My mother, base on her knowledge of the courts system, my sister, base
on her reaction and what she told others, and my cousin's
husband all had a hand in this.
2.) I am sure my sister is telling other members of my family what
happened.
3.) My family acted this way because I would not move out in the
time frame they gave me
4.) They claim that they did it because they were afraid I was not
going to let them see my daughter.
How this effects me:
1.) My wife is in the process of immigrating and is scared this
will effect her papers
2.) We are both ashamed to tell anyone what has happened
3.) Everytime a car comes down the street, I wonder who it might
me.
I do not know if I have a case, could you let me know?
Thank you
HS
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hans_sulu@yahoo.com (hans_sulu) wrote in message news:<e6953e1f.0409131528.4604018e@posting.google.com>...
I am not sure if I have a case or not and thought I would send you an
email and you could tell me.
[long story made short]
Just as I walked out the door, a woman approached me and identified
herself as with CPS.
She informed me that I was being served and that my daughter was in
protective custody. It was alleaged that I sexually abused my
daughter.
[snip]
I do not know if I have a case, could you let me know?
You are up against a strong law shielding reporters of suspected child
abuse in Arizona. ARS 13-3620(J) provides that any person making a
report to the proper authorities of suspected child abuse is immune
from civil or criminal liability, unless he or she acted with malice.
Assuming you can show the report to be false, you still have the
problem of proving malice. Dicta in one of the few cases to reach an
appeals court in Arizona [Schmitz v. Aston, 197 Ariz. 264, 3 P.3d 1184
(Ariz.App. Div. 2000), online at
http://biotech.law.lsu.edu/cases/privacy/schmitz_v_aston.htm] indicate
that the courts would require a showing of "actual malice" by clear
and convincing evidence, similar to what would be required for a libel
case against a journalist.
There's a discussion of what "actual malice" amounts to in Arizona,
which is the state of the important case Dombey v. Phoenix Newspapers,
150 Ariz. 476, 487, 724 P.2d 562, 573 (1986). To oversimplify, ill
will alone is not enough for "actual malice"; there has to be actual
knowledge that the defamation complained if is false, or conscious
(not just "reckless", but deliberate) disregard of its truth or
falsity. See http://www.brownbain.com/article_details.asp?which=93 for
details.
So you'd have to prove that she made her complaint knowing it to be
false or deliberately disregarding whether it was true or false.
Knowing that is one thing. Proving it is something quite different,
and you should consider the effort and cost you will be put to for
doing so, the risks that more dirty laundry will be aired in public,
and the possibility that you will not win.
See a lawyer who handles defamation cases. This is not a
do-it-yourself effort.
--
Not a lawyer,
Chris Green
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