Tough Love Screening with Q&A to Follow

The Parental Defense Alliance of Utah is pleased to be sponsoring a screening of Tough Love from Emmy-nomiated filmmaker Stephanie Wang-Breal about two parents navigating the red tape of America's child welfare system as they fight to regain custody of their children.

WHERE:  The Gateway Megaplex

WHEN: Friday, June 5, 2015 from 1:00pm to 3:30pm

COST: FREE! 

(However you must register for tickets)

Following the screening the filmaker and one of the judges from the film will take questions from the audience.

For more information about the film visit www.toughlovefilm.com.

2.5 hours of CLE pending.

SHORT SYNOPSIS OF FILM

Offering a rare look at the inner workings of the American child welfare system, Tough Love chronicles the lives of two parents—one in Seattle and one in New York City—as each fights to be reunited with children taken out of their custody. Through intimate, verité footage of both families, we witness first-hand the complex and daunting bureaucracy of America’s family courts. Moreover, we come to understand the powerful role poverty and prejudice play in keeping parents and children apart— and the challenges parents must overcome in order to put their families back together.

Reasonable Efforts: A Judicial Perspective by Judge Leonard Edwards

We are so pleased that Judge Edwards will be keynoting our Annual Conference this year.

He has recently published a book called Reasonable Efforts: A Judicial Perspective.  You can learn more about the book HERE.

We were able to get copies of the book to give to the first 50 attorneys who registered for the conference.

For those of you who didn't get one you can request a hard copy by contacting:

The National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges
Attention: Cheryl Davidek
P.O. Box 8970
Reno, NV 89507

There is no charge for the book, but there will be a small charge for shipping and handling.

The book is also available for download in .mobi format for Kindle and .epub format for other eReaders.

From the Foreword by the Hon. Michael Nash, Presiding Judge of the Los Angeles Juvenile Court:

“As juvenile court judges, we must find that reasonable efforts have been made to prevent the removal of children from their families, that reasonable efforts have been made to give families a meaningful opportunity to reunify after the children have been removed, and that reasonable efforts have been made to secure permanency for children. These findings must be made within the context of every case, taking into consideration the individual strengths and needs of every family and its members. The issues are varied and often complex. …

New York Court Finds Mental Illness Does Not Constitute Neglect

A New York appeal court recently held that the state had failed to prove by a preponderance of evidence that there was a connection between a mother's mental illness and actual or potential harm to the child.  You can find the full opinion HERE.

Additional E-Filing Information

Wondering how to file documents electronically with the Juvenile Court?  There are two ways to find out more.

INFORMATION SESSIONS IN RURAL AREAS

On Friday April 10th @ 10:00 a.m. there will be information held via video conference for the 1st, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th Districts.

Attorneys that are interested should contact the local district contact person listed below if they are interested in attending.

​1st District- ​135 N 100 W in Logan, the contact person is Chris Jeppesen - chrisjj@utcourts.gov 

​5th District- ​206 W. Tabernacle, St. George, the contact person is Carolyn Bulloch- carolynb@utcourts.gov 

​6th District-​ 845 East 300 North​ in, Richfield​, the contact person is Keri Sargent - keris@utcourts.gov​
​7th District- ​ 149 E 100 S ​in ​Price​, the contact person is Kyleigh Thompson - kyleight@utcourts.gov 

8th District - 920 East Hwy. 40, Vernal, the contact person is Kelly Calder ​- kellyc@utcourts.gov

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ANNUAL CONFERENCE

Libby Wadley of the Administrative Office of the Courts will be joining us at the Zermatt on April 23, 2015 to answer questions about CARE and E-Filing.  Make sure you stop by her booth at the conference to get more information.

Article: "The Other Public Defenders"

The National Association for Public Defense recently published an article on their website called "The Other Public Defenders: Representing Parents Who Lose Their Children to Foster Care."

It's a nice article on the hard good work that you do.  Check it out!

Now Accepting Nominations for PDA Awards

As we have in years past, our Annual Conference is a time to honor parental defense attorneys for a job well done.  We hope you will nominate those attorneys who have made remarkable contributions and efforts this year.

The categories for the awards are:

• Rookies of the Year
• Excellence in Trial Advocacy
• Excellence in Appellate Advocacy
• Lifetime Achievement
• Special Award (for unique contributions)

There are two ways you can make your nominations.

1.  Through our website by using the following link HERE.

2.  By printing the form, found HERE, and submitting it to Aaron Bartholomew.

Please make all submission by 5 p.m. on April 8, 2015.

Disabled Massachusetts Mom gets her daughter back

We recently posted regarding the findings by the Department of Justice that Massachusetts had violated the civil rights of a disabled mother when her two day old baby was removed.  You can see the original post HERE.

Last week a judged granted the grandmother custody to the now two year old.  You can follow the story HERE.