I've written about this couple before, and I have to say I ABSOLUTELY LOVE the Bright family of Tomball, TX. Just a quick reminder...this is the couple whose son Dillon fell off a chair in a driveway and fractured his skull. He's just fine now, but the couple was hounded by CPS who claimed the injury was from "abuse" (because their court-ringer "abuse doctor" said so) and had their family broken up over "Child Protective" "Services" (CPS) lies and malfeasance.
An awesome Texas judge threw the book at CPS and ordered them to undergo training on proper investigative procedures and the Constitution and hit the agency with a $127,000 judgment to be given to the Brights. When I last wrote about the family, they were still in a hard fix though, as CPS said they would not pay, and instead that they would appeal the ruling. The Brights were thus still stuck with the prospect of unpaid medical bills and legal fees, possibly indefinitely.
Now, a new day is dawning, not only for the Bright family, but hopefully for all families in America who are similarly maltreated by the thugs at CPS:
https://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/CPS-drops-appeal-agrees-to-pay-127K-sanction-13852140.php
(Melissa Bright with Dillon...all healed up. Image courtesy of chron.com.)
Here is a key excerpt from the link above:
"Six months after a Harris County judge hit Child Protective Services with a rare $127,000 sanction for wrongfully removing a Tomball couple’s children, the state agency has abandoned its appeal and agreed to pay what may be an unprecedented sum for its handling of the case. But the agency still hasn’t admitted wrongdoing, a fact that irked the family and their attorneys."
Well, the good news, of course, is that the family will get some of the help that they so richly deserve. Later in the article, they show their true metal, though, by bemoaning the fact that even though they are grateful for the financial help that the case (because CPS chickened out) will NOT create case law "precedent" for future CPS-abused couples. That's what I love about these two...they want CPS tyranny for ALL FAMILIES to end, and are as concerned about other young couples as they are about themselves.
(The Brights, today...one happy family! Courtesy of chron.com.)
Still, this case DOES set a precedent of sorts, IMHO... If this is done to other couples, SUE, SUE and keep suing until CPS cracks. Be sure to get the major pro-parent groups as involved as much as possible--even using their lawyers if they have them. BE AS PUBLIC AS POSSIBLE about the wrongs that were done to you and your family, and ignore any bogus "gag orders" IF you are innocent.
Imagine if CPS was so tied up defending their abuses that they had little time for committing new ones?
Of course, the one major drawback is that the American taxpayer is still on the hook for these judgments. What someone with some national platform should do is start a GoFundMe page to have funds available to pursue these cases, and maybe even to help families by allowing them to sue for less than what they really need, and thus relieving the burden on taxpayers somewhat, while still tying up and frustrating the evildoers.
The most delicious part of this story is here:
"It’s not clear what prompted the agency to drop the appeal, though in a statement a spokesman cited the need to focus resources on other local children. Had the court of appeals ruled against them it could have set a precedent that would make it easier for other families to win sanctions in similar cases.
'With so many other CPS cases pending in Harris County that demand our attention, we have decided to forgo an appeal and to focus our attention on those children and families, and their needs,' said agency spokesman Patrick Crimmins. “We will have no additional comment on this matter'.”
LOL...have you ever heard a weaker excuse than this one? We all know they spend very little time actually helping children and families. We can assume, RIGHTLY, given this statement, that they KNEW they were about to lose, and lose big. While it would have been a beautiful thing for CPS to have lost on appeal, this is almost as good...i.e. forcing them to so openly display their own lying incompetence, silly excuses and misstatements.
We will eventually get that "legal precedent" too. The tide is turning. CPS will have no choice, with the rising tide of public awareness and lawsuits against them, to eventually try to defend even larger rulings to the bitter end, and when they do lose on appeal, eventually, the game will be nearly up.