Every American is supposed to be protected by the Constitution, yet when it comes to family courts and Child Protective Services (CPS) — which operate under different names in different states, such as DCYF, DFS, DCF, and DHHS — those rights cease to exist.  Parents lose their children without due process, without fair trials, and without proper legal representation.  The system operates on state statutes, many of which blatantly violate constitutional rights, yet no one challenges them.  The courts back them without question, and attorneys refuse to fight back.

CPS doesn’t operate under the same legal standards as criminal courts.  In a criminal case, you’re innocent until proven guilty.  In CPS cases, you’re guilty until proven innocent — if you even get a chance to prove yourself at all.

Many states have statutes that allow CPS to remove children without a warrant, without evidence, and based on nothing more than an anonymous tip.  These laws are blatantly unconstitutional, but because family courts are considered “civil” proceedings, due process is thrown out the window. 

In the CPS system, there’s no right to a jury trial.  Unlike criminal court, family courts don’t require a jury, allowing a single judge to decide the fate of your child.  There’s no presumption of innocence — CPS operates under the “preponderance of the evidence” standard, which means just 51% certainty is enough to remove your child.  And most family court cases are closed to the public, preventing transparency and making it nearly impossible to expose corruption.

Once CPS takes your child, you’re trapped in a bureaucratic nightmare, where every step is designed to keep you in the system, not reunite your family.  Parents are given case plans filled with arbitrary requirements, all while their children are placed in foster homes or institutions.  The state holds all the power, while parents are forced to comply or risk losing their children permanently.

Meanwhile, the very lawyers who are supposed to defend parents refuse to challenge unconstitutional statutes.  Instead of fighting on constitutional grounds, they play along with CPS’s game, advising parents to comply rather than resist.  The courts, in turn, operate based on the corrupt agencies’ regulations and state statutes — not the U.S. Constitution.

Where are the constitutional lawyers?  Where are the civil rights attorneys?  Why isn’t anyone challenging these laws in federal court?  Because the entire system is designed to avoid real legal scrutiny.  And no one in power wants to change it.   When a complaint is filed against the Judicial Oversight Board or the BAR, they just kick it out, because they are all on the same team.  It is the equivalent of a rape victim going to her rapist for help. 

Because of all this, CPS has become a rogue agency that answers to no one.  Families are destroyed, children are traumatized, and the legal system does nothing to stop it.  In fact, the legal system is the very cause.  If we truly value parental rights, due process, and the Constitution, we need to start challenging these laws in federal court.

It’s time for lawyers to step up.  It’s time for legislators to be held accountable.  And it’s time for the American people to demand an end to the tyranny of family courts and CPS criminality.

For generations, America’s family courts have been committing flagrant constitutional violations — unchecked, unchallenged, and unaccounted for.  The judges in black robes and the lawyers in suits who stand in those courtrooms know that what they are doing is unconstitutional.  They’re waging war against the Constitution.

They don’t care.

The Constitution is clear.  No American can be stripped of his property without due process and a jury trial.  Yet these people steal children from parents every single day without either.  This is not a legal system. This is a human-trafficking racket.

These judges are not above the law.  The lawyers enabling this corrupt system are not above the law.  The days of unaccountable courts and criminals in black robes violating the rights of the People without consequence are coming to an end.

The American-Made Foundation is watching.  The United Law Coalition is coming.  And justice will be served.

Maureen Steele is co-founder of the American Made Foundation, an organization that connects influential leaders and grassroots movements to drive real change. 

Image via Pxfuel.