Looking for an Attorney to Sue School District and DCF

[Mark (Basspig) Weiss]

'Been a while since I've been able to focus on life. Our autistic daughter was the victim of a system that's overzealous about taking children away. She said something at school that got the DCF and the police involved. Yet, it was normal fare for her to spew gibberish. However, poor teacher judgement and CYA attitude coupled with wanting to get rid of us because our daughter is special needs, resulted in an enormous amount of emotional damage to our family. For a while there, we were facing potential criminal charges, and loss of our daughter. My wife, who has cancer, is not taking this situation well. She's taken a turn for the worse since this all began. We are afraid to talk with our own daughter or have her overhear our conversations now, because her parroting in school got us in trouble.

However, the police have closed the criminal portion of the case, as they found no wrongdoing on our part and have enough common sense to see that our child is not normal. The DCF however, continues the witch hunt.

A friend and attorney from another state recommended we file a ten million dollar civil rights lawsuit against the school district and DCF.
The local attorneys don't have any balls. So I'm looking for a high profile one that will take this case, bankrupt the school district and make every head roll. I want these people crucified! I don't care if the attorney takes 90% of the proceeds. The purpose is punitive. These people need to learn that they need to have substantive evidence before unleashing the Leviathan against a poor family.

I need a law firm that can practice in CT and will take our case on contingency. I need to know that I can get compensation through LEGAL means and not have to take the law into my own hands to make these people pay for what they're ignorant and careless actions have done to our family. I hope someone can recommend an attorney to take our case.

 

[NorthStar]

Mark, this is the right time, the crucifixion.

 

[Mark (Basspig) Weiss]

Mark, this is the right time, the crucifixion.

I'm not quite sure what to make of that statement.

I need an attorney, not a religious ceremony. By 'crucified' I mean it in the same way that the Italian mother of a mafia guy who was gunned down by an opposing gang meant it when she said what she wanted done to the killer of her son.

 

[Barry]

Very sorry to hear what's happened. I think in most states school districts have sovereign immunity which limits legal action to very specific situations and may be why local attorneys don't want to take this on. I see there are a few autism advocacy groups in CT. They should be sympathetic to your situation. Would they be able to provide any legal contacts?

 

[NorthStar]

I'm not quite sure what to make of that statement.

I need an attorney, not a religious ceremony. By 'crucified' I mean it in the same way that the Italian mother of a mafia guy who was gunned down by an opposing gang meant it when she said what she wanted done to the killer of her son.

Sorry Mark. I can only understand how you and your family are feeling right now in facing this gross injustice. The crucifixion is only a symbol of that understanding.
So I can only share that suffering in my heart, the injustice of the world, the times we are living now in this Christmas eve...

Be strong. And best wishes of lights in the heart of all men, women and children.

They didn't know what they were doing; they are weak and they all need help. Justice by crucifixion. An eye for an eye. ...Karma.

P.S. I mixed up Christmas (Christ's nativity) with Easter (Christ's crucifixion). That tells you how advanced my knowledge is in Christ's history.
When we were kids we were hiding under our desks to not go to church for the confession and the communion.
- There is a film today about that, and about the priests and their bad deeds with kids (raping): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spotlight_(film)
I don't know if kids today are still taught those doctrines...

 

[Mark (Basspig) Weiss]

You would think that government would allow some legal backwash to prevent vigilantism though. But that's what all six local attorneys told me.
We're being murdered through death by a thousand cuts. But if Clock Boy can sue a Texas school for "emotional distress" for $15M after bringing a clock to school disguised to look like a bomb, why can't we sue our school district for falsely accusing us because we have a special needs child that says bizarre things?

 

[GaryProtein]

You would think that government would allow some legal backwash to prevent vigilantism though. But that's what all six local attorneys told me.
We're being murdered through death by a thousand cuts. But if Clock Boy can sue a Texas school for "emotional distress" for $15M after bringing a clock to school disguised to look like a bomb, why can't we sue our school district for falsely accusing us because we have a special needs child that says bizarre things?

The United States government, its state's governments and local governments are all corrupt, that's why.

Unfortunately there is little to nothing we can do about it.

A good friend of mine who is a dentist and a lawyer (he hates lawyers and practicing law) got sick and tired of the United States and the denial of its corrupt government (not just the "bad eggs" but the entire government), so twenty years ago, he moved with his family to Mexico. I asked why he moved to a country known for its corruption. He told me everybody there admits Mexico is corrupt. He can deal with the corruption because everyone is honest about it and works around it as needed. He and his family are very happy there.

 

[Gregadd]

These cases are hard and take lots of time. Most big firms have a pro bnoo committee. The case usually has to have a potential for publicity and to make groundbreaking law.

You should keep in mind the school probably has a legal reporting requirement and may enjoy some form of immunity..

If you decide to go forward be wary of any reporting or filing deadlines. Administrative deadlines are often differnt from statutory ones.

 

[Mark (Basspig) Weiss]

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[Folsom]

Mark I'm sorry to read that. I am not a lawyer, but I have to point out I imagine the legality is very much concerned with not the fact that you were essentially investigated, but how everything happened.

If I take out personal feelings on what I've read, all I get is "Daughter says father did X, school reports it to police" which is the correct thing to do, and lawfully required by the school employees. Unfortunately school employees are required to report things by law that arguably should not be. It's very unfortunate that the trust a student has in a teacher can be betrayed by this, whether it has any benefit to anyone to report it. A student can express they do not wish for a teacher to discuss a subject they consider private, but the teacher by law must. Fact is if it ever came to light the teacher knew and did not, they may never teach again or worse. This is basically verbatim information I learned in college, from an education program. (may vary some state to state)

You might have to accept that you have a better chance of suing the police than the school. There may be a chance they were not being lawful/procedural in some way. While the school is required to essentially report under all circumstances, the police have some discretion. But then there's questions like, did the school's report to the police describe the fact that your daughter is autistic and known to talk non-sense? A question like that to me holds some serious value in the situation. If the school is legally required to report, and they only report half the story, they're not fulfilling their legal obligation. Did the police talk with your daughter? What's the legality of police pursuing action with someone, if they haven't spoken to the reported victim (let alone seen them)? Maybe they did, I don't know, I'm just trying to give ideas about information that might help you describe to a lawyer the situation so that they can see value in it.

The argument of suing over false accusations repercussions is a hot topic that's so political it probably has something to do with why no one so far wants the case. But if Gregadd is correct (probably), this might actually be press worthy because of the type of heat this topic brings (rape).

I have to point out, no parties involved gave your wife cancer; they're not responsible for how she feels about this anymore than stubbing her toe. But if they did something clearly wrong (lawfully), then undue duress may qualify as something that amounts serious leverage against them given her condition.

Because I'm not a lawyer, I know out of everything I'm saying, this is the only thing I guarantee is important: It's much more important that you reduce the stress of this situation down to nothing, for your families sake. It could quite literally be better to let it go, if they can sense you're harboring such ill feelings. They need you to be the positive person that rubs positivity off on them. Ask yourself if the battle is worth it; especially knowing it won't make your wife better but maybe worse if it becomes stressful.

 

[wgscott]

The lawyers probably won't take your case simply because it doesn't have merit (in a legal sense of the term). For the sake of your wife and your child, put this behind you and move on. They need your time and energy more. Sorry this is not what you want to hear, but it is meant to be the best advice.

 

[Mark (Basspig) Weiss]

The whole situation is stupid. My daughter is obsessed with this character "Toothless" from a movie she saw "How to Train Your Dragon". The obsession has gone more than 19 months, but when she hit puberty, her fantasy turned sexual and it was the phrase "Toothless raped me" and "I wanna rape Toothless" that got the teachers to report this. Naturally, in their minds, "Toothless" is a proxy for "Daddy", so they assumed the worst. Fer chrissakes, I'm an old man diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2009. I just want to hang on long enough for my daughter to graduate school and maybe til she gets married.

I've tried contacting Laney & Bollinger, since they were willing to defend a boy who pulled a stunt in school making a clock to look like a bomb and they sued for $15M for 'emotional stress'. But so far they have not responded to my letter.

The whole matter has accelerated my desire to GTFO of this country before I wind up in prison on some trumped up charge down the road.

 

[wgscott]

This happened to a colleague of mine with a similar kid. The school has to report this kind of thing, and it has to be investigated. Unless I misunderstood it, the investigation cleared everyone. I do recognize the problem with the school trying to dump the kid, and that is unfortunately very common.

 

[Folsom]

They took a common character name as meaning you? WOW. Did they ask her to clarify, or did they literally hear that and then they pursued action?

 

[Mark (Basspig) Weiss]

They took a common character name as meaning you? WOW. Did they ask her to clarify, or did they literally hear that and then they pursued action?

They literally pursued it based on that character. Apparently the theory is that special needs children cannot lie, but they tell the 'truth' in parables.

 

[Folsom]

They literally pursued it based on that character. Apparently the theory is that special needs children cannot lie, but they tell the 'truth' in parables.

And did the police get a report that read the school's decision on meaning, or a full report of exactly what she said?

 

[Mark (Basspig) Weiss]

And did the police get a report that read the school's decision on meaning, or a full report of exactly what she said?

I don't know what the police received. I was kept out of the loop the entire time. They kept pounding on my wife, who's English comprehension is not that great, being a foreigner. All that I do know for a fact is that the police were present at the CAIT interview, along with the DCF officer and some psychologist.

 

[Folsom]

In my non-professional opinion the most important factor is what the school told the police. If they gave a verbate account then I suspect you'd just have to spend money to waste their money. If the school did not, and said anything else so the police had bad information, perhaps a rather talented lawyer could do some good with approaching the school.

I don't know much about what is or isn't ok for police to do. CAIT interview is a foreign term to me, was it with your wife and daughter? Did they charge you at some point? If they didn't I wonder what the legality is of denying information that would otherwise be avaliable in court/to attorney's is? They probably don't have to say a word. That makes me think you'd have to pay an attorney (file a case for something)outright to get the information to even find out if you have a case.

I think you have more things on your plate you should concentrate on (Japan, etc). But I totally understand how you feel. My thought for punitive measures is actually that you see if any local news places want to run the story; and I think already mentioned here, talk about it on forums for parents with autistic children.

Best wishes.

 

[Billy Shears]

I think you have more things on your plate you should concentrate on (Japan, etc). But I totally understand how you feel. My thought for punitive measures is actually that you see if any local news places want to run the story; and I think already mentioned here, talk about it on forums for parents with autistic children.

Best wishes.

I can also understand that you are screaming for blood after what you have been through. But i think Folsom hase given some very good advice here, as i worry that you will be left with financial damage if you try to pursue this in court. The legal System is supposed to be about justice. Unfortunately this is often not the case. You can be on moral high ground and have common sense on your side, but if they state that their action was standard procedure in a case like this and it would have been reckless of them not to act upon information the way they did, it will be very difficult to prove any misconduct.

 

[Gregadd]

There is something called a taint hearing. It is designed to determine if the child was influenced by those investigating the case.