Back to: How To Get Your Children Back In Juvenile or Family Court
CPS just took my kids. What should I do now?
They will make you come to a 72-hour hearing to determine where your child should stay while they can figure out how to trick you into pleading guilty.
The thing to understand at this point is that they will try to make you believe that you must prove your innocence. That is a lie. It is they that must prove their allegations.
What they do not tell you is that this hearing is the first chance that you get to CONTEST their petition. The judge will not tell you that you have a chance to do that at this hearing. The judge will make it appear that this is just the time to get your pleadings, assign attorneys, and set a trial date.
It is MUCH more than that!!!!! It is time to make the caseworker prove her allegations. YOU ONLY GET 3 DIFFERENT TIME TO DO THIS!!
- DO NOT SIGN ANYTHING FROM THEM!
- DO NOT SIGN ANY DOCUMENTS FROM ANY ATTORNEY!
- THAT INCLUDES YOUR OWN ATTORNEY!
- DO NOT sign a temporary case plan. It is a contract they will hold you to.
At your first hearing, you will not be assigned an attorney (usually).
You MUST KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT and do not admit to anything.
So, the court proceedings will go something like this:
The judge will make sure everyone is there.
The judge will ask the state (agency) to explain why they are there. The caseworker and their attorney will say a bunch of bad and mean things about you. You will see it is like a fine tuned machine. It is all formality.
They have done this a thousand times and you and your children are just a number and a means for them to make a living. They have NO feelings any different than your car does.They are a machine. Do NOT think that the judge will listen to your feelings. They ONLY will listen to the facts and the law from you. They will only listen to you if you communicate according to the RULES OF THE GAME.
If you do not bring up that you want to have the petitioner (caseworker) PROVE their allegations RIGHT NOW, you will miss your chance to do it and this hearing will be over in a minute.
You will have to prepare for this by doing a bunch of research on the internet into the laws of the state, agency, and court procedures. If you have not done that, you will not win this battle.
If you are NOT ready with your challenge and do not know what to say……
Tell the court that you cannot make a plea UNTIL YOU TALK TO COUNSEL
Then come back to this course and create a case to “contest” or challenge the petition.
You should have witnesses that can be asked questions and you should be able to ask the caseworker questions.
This course will teach you what laws to look for, What court rules to look for, and how to word your questions for the caseworker.
FUN FACT: You can have witnesses at this 72 hour hearing. They won’t tell you this because this is where they get you on the conveyor belt.
If the judge tries to assign you a court appointed attorney, tell the judge that you will be PRO SE or Pro per and will ONLY except an attorney as a STANDBY ATTORNEY or a LIMITED SCOPE REPRESENTATION attorney.