Brickbat: Parental Rights

Former Iowa Department of Human Services social worker Chelsie Gray has been charged with three counts of felony perjury for her testimony in a case that recommended to a judge that he remove four children from their parents and terminate the parental rights of the mother and father. An assistant county attorney later spotted discrepancies in Gray's testimony (she said she had spoken with the children's teachers but had not) and alerted a judge, who overturned the ruling saying that Gray's "lies and misrepresentations" were key to the original decision. Despite that, Gray continued to work for the state and no criminal charges were filed against her until the Associated Press reported on the matter.

Comments

[Fist of Etiquette]

Providing false testimony of any kind is an unfathomable violation of the trust that the people in the State of Iowa place in their public servants and cast a dark and permanent shadow upon all of us...

Maybe the court should start fathoming it before separating families solely on the state's say so.

[Adans smith]

You mean do their JOB ! You jest?

[Fist of Etiquette]

DHS spokesman Matt Highland said Tuesday that the agency “does not tolerate false information being submitted to the court.”

...once the public finds out about it.

[Adans smith]

Gentlemen , we must protect our phony baloney jobs !

[Still Curmudgeoned (Nunya)]

Will, yeah, but they didn't know you cared or were watching. So... We're all good now, right?

[some guy]

Isn't it illegal to lie to when under oath? I feel like there's a word for it. It's on the tip of my keyboard... And it was relevant in the big news story of yesterday too. What is it...?

[SQRLSY One]

"Perjury", but it can only be committed by the little people. Those wielding the powers of Government Almighty (All Hail!) cannot, by definition, commit perjury, because their motives are pure, noble, and benevolent. Their "narratives" are "literally true" if the "overall narrative" is of the correct bent, fitting the proper script!

[Still Curmudgeoned (Nunya)]

I hear Michael Cohen has a new tell all about how not to get caught.

[Sometimes a Great Notion]

What are the odds that the assistant county attorney is fired after ratting out one of their own?

[Longtobefree]

The process worked as it should,” he said.

Yeah, right.
At least the kids have learned a valuable lesson about interactions with the government.

[I am the 0.000000013%]

In other news, government officials make up problems to solve so they can have a job.

[Kyfho Myoba]

Sorry to disappoint, but most states' definition of perjury is to testify conspiratorially. If one side of the contradiction is not under oath, it doesn't qualify.

Pity.