One of the issues we have raised on a number of occasions here in our articles, is the unbridled freedom that CPS workers have, coupled with a startling lack of oversight when dealing with parents and families. Which is why we would like to share this particular case with you, that deals with whether or not it is acceptable for a caseworker to lie in court in order to achieve what they believe is the “right” result in a case.
The case in question has been ongoing in Orange County, California for years. Court records show that the situation began during a custody battle between Deanna Fogarty-Hardwick and her husband. The couple has two daughters, and courtesy of Orange County CPS, it took this mother six and a half years to get her daughters back.
The two Orange County Social Services social workers that Fogarty-Hardwick had problems with are Marcie Vreeken and Helen Dwojak. Court records show that Vreeken told Fogarty-Hardwick that if she didn’t “submit to her will”, she would never see her children again. In addition, the pair also tried to coerce Fogarty-Hardwick to sign papers stating that she was a bad parent, by threatening to remove her children.
She refused to sign the papers, and the two girls were removed from their home and placed in Orangewood Children’s Home under the care of the state. They were later placed in foster care. In the hopes of protecting her daughters from being taken away from their parents, Fogarty-Hardwick agreed to give her ex husband full custody, and accepted only twice monthly supervised visits with her daughters. Four years later, after a great deal of fighting, she finally won 50-50 custody.
The first time Fogarty-Hardwick sued Orange County in 2002, she lost.
That time, the grounds for her lawsuit were that the county had violated her civil rights. But the jury ruled against her. She came back again with another lawsuit however, this time arguing that the county had violated her fourth and Fourteenth amendment rights.
In her second lawsuit, Fogarty-Hardwick claimed that Vreeken and Dwojak held back evidence and filed falsified reports in an effort to keep her from regaining custody of her children. She also accused them of interviewing her daughters without a parent present, removing them without making a finding of imminent danger or serious physical injury, and holding them without cause.
In 2007, a jury voted in Fogarty-Hardwick’s favor, and awarded her $4.9 million in compensation. But the county appealed the decision. In the end, the case ended up before the U.S. Supreme Court, where the Justices decided that Fogarty-Hardwick indeed deserved to be fully compensated by the county for the injustices she suffered.
They upheld the $4.9 million in damages and compensation, as well as the $1.6 million in attorneys fees. However, the county and the two social workers named in the lawsuit are responsible for paying the interest that has accumulated over the last four years, which raises the awarded amount to almost $9.3 million.
The story doesn’t end there. Join us next time as we continue our discussion of this unbelievable example of CPS overreach, and look at what this mother has been up against for years. Until then, if you or a loved one have been the victims of CPS workers intoxicated with their own power, then you need a highly skilled and experienced defense attorney. Call The Kronzek Firm today at 866 766 5245, and speak with a CPS defense attorney right now.