Legal Question in Family Law in California
False child abuse accusations... need help!
My mother-in-law was taking care of a 3 1/2 yr.-old ward of the court who was also a blood relative. She refused to give her up even though the child was constantly disrupting the family with turmoil, because she wanted to help the child. Last week, the child was sent home from school again for disrupting the classroom. Then, my m-in-law disciplined her with an open hand. Unfortunately, the child moved in the process and was scratched (about 2 inches long above her hip). The unruly child showed this to her teacher the next day, saying that she was beaten. The teacher called the social worker and when my m-in-law came to pick her up from school, she was arrested for inflicting corporal punishment on a child. When asked if she had hit the child, she said she couldn't recall the last time she spanked her because she was frightened of punishment because she was a foster child. So the officer got her in a lie and arrested her. We bailed her out last night and her court date is March 29th. What should we do?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: False child abuse accusations... need help!
You need to hire an attorney, or two. One to defend the criminal charges. One to deal
with the court in the dependency action.
Jed Somit
Jed Somit, Attorney at Law
1440 Broadway - Suite 910
Re: False child abuse accusations... need help!
As stated in the other response to this question hire an attorney to represent her in the criminal matter and the dependency matter.
Also your mother in law should not discuss the case with anyone, including family members. Any request by the police, or dependency case worker for a statement should be responded to with the statement that she wants to be represented by an attorney and will not make a statement without her attorney present.
If your mother in law is unable to hire an attorney she should request that an attorney be appointed to represent her.
Lyle Johnson
Lyle W. Johnson Attorney at Law
152 N. Third Street, Suite 510
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