Contact:
Desere' Howard
CPSWatch Legal Team
316 SE MLK Blvd
Stuart, Florida 34994
Phone 772.293.9632
Fax 772.382.6188
desere@cpswatchlegalteam.com
Cheryl@cpswatchlegalteam.com

Church, Parents Oppose Gag Order
Alamo Ministries and Parents Question DHS Motive for Secrecy

(MMD Newswire) April 23, 2009 -- In a response filed today by Alamo Ministries, the church claims that there is no need for secrecy and instead the DHS should defend themselves in an open court with public oversight.

Civil Rights attorney Phillip E. Kuhn states in the response, "Secret proceedings are the first symptom of power's fatal disease that slowly corrupts and eventually destroys the health of a free society. Frankly, there has already been too much officially imposed secrecy in the history of the Alamo litigation"

Last September, State Officials initiated an armed raid on homes of members of the Alamo Ministries. Thirty-six children were forcibly taken into custody by armed law enforcement. Additional children are being hunted down by DHS throughout the United States because their parents have at some point attended or been associated with the ministry.

"DHS has conspired with officials in other states, including the Texas State Actors who were responsible for the armed raid against the FLDS church last year and its members," states CPS Watch Legal Team Coordinator, Desere' Howard, "When state officials conspire to violate the Constitutional rights of an individual, the public needs to know about it, so that they can protect their own churches and families from similar actions."

Bert Krantz, a parent Plaintiff says, "I don't want to end up just another statistic of the abuses and deaths that have been suffered recently at the hands of Arkansas DHS. These atrocities are routinely swept under the rug of secrecy, while promises of internal improvements are made. Does anyone remember the four deaths and untold sexual abuses in DHS custody last year?"

The federal rules take the assumption that litigants are reasonable and thus require that the litigants first confer and attempt to reach an agreement regarding how to protect juveniles before asking the court to decide. The Department's premature filing of the motion without conferring with opposing counsel is indicative of their position that no person opposing them could ever be reasonable.

"The department's failure to abide by court rules is just another indicator of how they do business - with flagrant disregard for rules, law, and certainly, parental rights," said Cheryl Barnes, Litigation Specialist for the CPS Watch Legal Team. "Court rules require them to meet with us and come to a resolution. The way they ignored this rule is similar to the way they ignore the parent's right to choose the care, custody and control of their children; they assume everyone will make the wrong decision if they're not telling them what to do."

In addition to the non-compliance with court rules; a motion like this is normally requested during the discovery phase of litigation. The premature filing indicates that DHS is more concerned about being able to withstand public scrutiny than it is with protecting children.

"The filing of this single motion is a prime example of their tendency to overreact in every situation," Barnes said.

Copies of the DHS motion and the Churches response are available by sending a request to desere@cpswatchlegalteam.com

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