My court appointed attorney pled me guilty without even telling me what I was charged with?

Marie Gray

New Member
Jurisdiction
Tennessee
I was appalled by the fact that DCS could go to my 8 year olds school and question her, or lead her, into telling them this grand story of how we have wild parties and she cut her hand open on a beer bottle. Ok, she had cut her hand on a beer bottle when she was 3 trying to help pick up glass when her Nana had dropped the bottle by accident. She had just got home from work so no she wasn't inebriated, but none the less it did happen and there is a visible scar on her hand. DCS however said there was a scar and bruise. Now I'm not a doctor but cuts heal much more slowly than bruises so there would have had to have been a visible cut for that to even fly, but this was the caseworkers first case. Then the start of my hell began. My father had just died and the man I decided to get pregnant by turned out to be pure evil, so I was not in a good place when DCS came knocking on my door. They said that my children were in danger and it's because they couldn't find me to talk to me. I'm sorry but I didn't want to talk to them. I had been a drug addict and was in recovery at the time they took my children. I was also pregnant didn't know it, and had a miscarriage the day before court because the father kicked me in the stomach. My children were happy though, this whole situation has destroyed my oldest daughter and every time I try to cooperate with DCS it just makes them have a new way to prove they had a reason to take my children in the first place. They said I wasn't complying because I had COVID. I'm am so sick of this and I can't find a lawyer to represent me. I had moved to Virginia because of all this before I had my last child and had been cleared by the VA dcs and everything. They said they would come check on us after I left the hospital but here comes TN when me and my child both passed drug tests and I am openly looking for recovery, but the DCS worker looks at me and said my daughter was better off without me and they took her anyway and forced me to leave the hospital. I almost killed myself that day. DCS really doesn't have anyone to answer to and they are destroying numerous families. Most kids that were in the foster system want to become case workers but then it's like they use a personal prejudice against the birth parents because of what they went through. Something needs to be done concerning the way the treat people with illness like they are hurting their children.
 
I was appalled by the fact that DCS could go to my 8 year olds school and question her, or lead her, into telling them this grand story of how we have wild parties and she cut her hand open on a beer bottle. Ok, she had cut her hand on a beer bottle when she was 3 trying to help pick up glass when her Nana had dropped the bottle by accident. She had just got home from work so no she wasn't inebriated, but none the less it did happen and there is a visible scar on her hand. DCS however said there was a scar and bruise. Now I'm not a doctor but cuts heal much more slowly than bruises so there would have had to have been a visible cut for that to even fly, but this was the caseworkers first case. Then the start of my hell began. My father had just died and the man I decided to get pregnant by turned out to be pure evil, so I was not in a good place when DCS came knocking on my door. They said that my children were in danger and it's because they couldn't find me to talk to me. I'm sorry but I didn't want to talk to them. I had been a drug addict and was in recovery at the time they took my children. I was also pregnant didn't know it, and had a miscarriage the day before court because the father kicked me in the stomach. My children were happy though, this whole situation has destroyed my oldest daughter and every time I try to cooperate with DCS it just makes them have a new way to prove they had a reason to take my children in the first place. They said I wasn't complying because I had COVID. I'm am so sick of this and I can't find a lawyer to represent me. I had moved to Virginia because of all this before I had my last child and had been cleared by the VA dcs and everything. They said they would come check on us after I left the hospital but here comes TN when me and my child both passed drug tests and I am openly looking for recovery, but the DCS worker looks at me and said my daughter was better off without me and they took her anyway and forced me to leave the hospital. I almost killed myself that day. DCS really doesn't have anyone to answer to and they are destroying numerous families. Most kids that were in the foster system want to become case workers but then it's like they use a personal prejudice against the birth parents because of what they went through. Something needs to be done concerning the way the treat people with illness like they are hurting their children.
What were you convicted of?
Please clarify the time line of your CPS interactions and where you lived when you were reported.
Why were you reported to CPS? Did a mandated reporter place the complaint to them? How many children were removed from your care? What was the CPS findings?
 
I was appalled by the fact that DCS could go to my 8 year olds school and question her, or lead her, into telling them this grand story of how we have wild parties and she cut her hand open on a beer bottle. Ok, she had cut her hand on a beer bottle when she was 3 trying to help pick up glass when her Nana had dropped the bottle by accident. She had just got home from work so no she wasn't inebriated, but none the less it did happen and there is a visible scar on her hand. DCS however said there was a scar and bruise. Now I'm not a doctor but cuts heal much more slowly than bruises so there would have had to have been a visible cut for that to even fly, but this was the caseworkers first case. Then the start of my hell began. My father had just died and the man I decided to get pregnant by turned out to be pure evil, so I was not in a good place when DCS came knocking on my door. They said that my children were in danger and it's because they couldn't find me to talk to me. I'm sorry but I didn't want to talk to them. I had been a drug addict and was in recovery at the time they took my children. I was also pregnant didn't know it, and had a miscarriage the day before court because the father kicked me in the stomach. My children were happy though, this whole situation has destroyed my oldest daughter and every time I try to cooperate with DCS it just makes them have a new way to prove they had a reason to take my children in the first place. They said I wasn't complying because I had COVID. I'm am so sick of this and I can't find a lawyer to represent me. I had moved to Virginia because of all this before I had my last child and had been cleared by the VA dcs and everything. They said they would come check on us after I left the hospital but here comes TN when me and my child both passed drug tests and I am openly looking for recovery, but the DCS worker looks at me and said my daughter was better off without me and they took her anyway and forced me to leave the hospital. I almost killed myself that day. DCS really doesn't have anyone to answer to and they are destroying numerous families. Most kids that were in the foster system want to become case workers but then it's like they use a personal prejudice against the birth parents because of what they went through. Something needs to be done concerning the way the treat people with illness like they are hurting their children.

Not once did you say... " I've screwed up in life." I'm 58 and not once has DCS ever been involved in my life. Your life choices is what made DCS come into your life and no one else's. If you don't like that fact. Change your life choices You may think your child is happy and doing good in life. You may think your a good mother.... Yet, for someone looking in from the outside they see the truth. This is a simple fix.... Get with DCS and find the plan to get your kids back into your life. Stay clean and give them the life they deserve.. Good luck
 
I am totally confused by what you are saying. And I work as an attorney in dependency/neglect/abuse cases. Try to be clearer. Are your oldest children in the permanent custody of the agency? Temporary custody? How long have you been involved with DCFS? When did you move to VA from TN? When was your youngest born?
 
What were you convicted of?
Please clarify the time line of your CPS interactions and where you lived when you were reported.
Why were you reported to CPS? Did a mandated reporter place the complaint to them? How many children were removed from your care? What was the CPS findings?
I had two total children removed in Bristol, TN and I was living in VA when I had my last one but TN came and said that they had every right to take that one after VA cleared me because I had admitted doing drugs with the previous pregnancy. The judge, my lawyer, DCS lawyer and case workers are the only ones that get to speak in court and I have literally been put in jail because of trying to get the judge to understand 75% of their case isn't true and I had contempt of court. The above mentioned people practically work for the same people and including my lawyer, they all help each other make me look like I was doing all kinds of things I wasn't doing. The judge is my former attorney's brother and I think he literally has some kind of bias against me. My lawyer is absolutely no help and it literally disgusts me thinking about all the kids sitting in the foster system because everyone that should be trying to help them is more interested in punishing parents that what is in best interest of any children. They are all on this power trip of them having the ultimate authority and they get some kind of weird pleasure from being able to make people do whatever they say. They have a greater sense of entitlement then the police ever had. We need to have a children's lives matter movement because they are a defenseless minority and these life altering and psychologically damaging removals hurt them so bad. I don't understand how this can be legal. Breaking up happy homes, they might have some issues but me being a recovering addict was hardly a reason to destroy my family.
 
Not once did you say... " I've screwed up in life." I'm 58 and not once has DCS ever been involved in my life. Your life choices is what made DCS come into your life and no one else's. If you don't like that fact. Change your life choices You may think your child is happy and doing good in life. You may think your a good mother.... Yet, for someone looking in from the outside they see the truth. This is a simple fix.... Get with DCS and find the plan to get your kids back into your life. Stay clean and give them the life they deserve.. Good luck
I am aware of the mistakes I've made , but I feel a huge government entity like DCS definitely needs to be held at a higher standard because their mistakes destroy children. The problem is no one understands being a drug addict unless you have been one. It is literally a psychological disease and you have to fight it your entire life. Someone shouldn't lose their children because of an illness, especially when they are already in treatment and my treatment was going well before all this and that's even after me just losing my father. People need to understand the difference in the levels of addiction and no two cases should be handled the same way because no two people are the same. I appreciate your thoughts however and respect your feedback.
 
I am totally confused by what you are saying. And I work as an attorney in dependency/neglect/abuse cases. Try to be clearer. Are your oldest children in the permanent custody of the agency? Temporary custody? How long have you been involved with DCFS? When did you move to VA from TN? When was your youngest born?
The youngest born on July 7, 2020. It has all been temporary but they are wanting to move to do something permanent, and they want to remove my rights. My first two children were removed on 05/30/2018, and after that I did relapse for about a year praying I would overdose eventually, because I had a nervous breakdown. I lost everything. The man that my last two children are from was evil and would kidnap me and hold me hostage for days at a time, but I never would press charges because of his mental state. I wish real normal people could actually see the effects of the child foster system and the jail and prison systems effects on those in their care. However, I moved back to VA right after they were taken in July 2018. I had lived in VA prior to that for five years from 2012-2017. I am still in VA now. The VA DCS had cleared me and the baby with neither of us had drugs in our system. I was even prescribed Subutex at the time and we were both clean for that as well. I had found a program for me and the baby to go to but then the TN caseworker that said I wasn't complying when I had COVID came in and said that she was now in the state of TN custody and I was going to sign custody over to my aunt at that point just in case they tried to do something like that, but no the case worker practically jerked my newborn from my arms and told me she was better off without me. The TN caseworker showed up right after VA cleared me too. TN also took a drug test by dunking a cup into my urine catcher on the toilet that I had to have so they could monitor me from surgery. And literally every drug test I have taken with the local DCS I have failed and only for methamphetamine Everytime. I had started randomly picking doctors offices not affiliated with DCS and could pass a drug test every time, which I have documentation to prove.
 
I had two total children removed in Bristol, TN and I was living in VA when I had my last one but TN came and said that they had every right to take that one after VA cleared me because I had admitted doing drugs with the previous pregnancy. The judge, my lawyer, DCS lawyer and case workers are the only ones that get to speak in court and I have literally been put in jail because of trying to get the judge to understand 75% of their case isn't true and I had contempt of court. The above mentioned people practically work for the same people and including my lawyer, they all help each other make me look like I was doing all kinds of things I wasn't doing. The judge is my former attorney's brother and I think he literally has some kind of bias against me. My lawyer is absolutely no help and it literally disgusts me thinking about all the kids sitting in the foster system because everyone that should be trying to help them is more interested in punishing parents that what is in best interest of any children. They are all on this power trip of them having the ultimate authority and they get some kind of weird pleasure from being able to make people do whatever they say. They have a greater sense of entitlement then the police ever had. We need to have a children's lives matter movement because they are a defenseless minority and these life altering and psychologically damaging removals hurt them so bad. I don't understand how this can be legal. Breaking up happy homes, they might have some issues but me being a recovering addict was hardly a reason to destroy my family.
Marie, I am going to have OhioGAL come back to try and assist you. This type of law is what she does for a living and she is exceptionally good at her job. But in order for her to assist you, you need to answer all the questions that were asked of you on this thread and give a timeline. Stop venting your anger about CPS and just answer the question. I know your very upset but venting isn't going to help.
 
When were your rights to your first two terminated? You lived in VA since 2018? I see a jurisdictional issue. I also see a possible conflict with the judge if the judge (or magistrate because some people use those terms interchangeably) is your former attorney's brother. Have you done a hair follicle or toe nail test? Those tend to be more accurate than a urine test.
And please quit ranting. You are coming across as though you have a persecution complex with everyone being against you.
 
The judge is my former attorney's brother and I think he literally has some kind of bias against me.

Heck, I've never even met you and I'm biased against you just based on your posts here.

Your kids don't just freeze in time while you go off the wagon, or even during treatment. You are not in a position to be an effective parent; you are still thinking like a drug addict. Accept that the best thing for your children is to have someone else raise them, and work on your sobriety.
 
I was appalled by the fact that DCS could go to my 8 year olds school and question her, or lead her, into telling them this grand story of how we have wild parties and she cut her hand open on a beer bottle. Ok, she had cut her hand on a beer bottle when she was 3 trying to help pick up glass when her Nana had dropped the bottle by accident. She had just got home from work so no she wasn't inebriated, but none the less it did happen and there is a visible scar on her hand. DCS however said there was a scar and bruise. Now I'm not a doctor but cuts heal much more slowly than bruises so there would have had to have been a visible cut for that to even fly, but this was the caseworkers first case. Then the start of my hell began. My father had just died and the man I decided to get pregnant by turned out to be pure evil, so I was not in a good place when DCS came knocking on my door. They said that my children were in danger and it's because they couldn't find me to talk to me. I'm sorry but I didn't want to talk to them. I had been a drug addict and was in recovery at the time they took my children. I was also pregnant didn't know it, and had a miscarriage the day before court because the father kicked me in the stomach. My children were happy though, this whole situation has destroyed my oldest daughter and every time I try to cooperate with DCS it just makes them have a new way to prove they had a reason to take my children in the first place. They said I wasn't complying because I had COVID. I'm am so sick of this and I can't find a lawyer to represent me. I had moved to Virginia because of all this before I had my last child and had been cleared by the VA dcs and everything. They said they would come check on us after I left the hospital but here comes TN when me and my child both passed drug tests and I am openly looking for recovery, but the DCS worker looks at me and said my daughter was better off without me and they took her anyway and forced me to leave the hospital. I almost killed myself that day. DCS really doesn't have anyone to answer to and they are destroying numerous families. Most kids that were in the foster system want to become case workers but then it's like they use a personal prejudice against the birth parents because of what they went through. Something needs to be done concerning the way the treat people with illness like they are hurting their children.

First I'm sorry for your loss and the abuse you went through.

Now - I thought you said you couldn't find an attorney - so I assumed you didn't have one. But what charge did your public defender put in a guilty plea for you for? I didn't see that in there.

All I can say is search for lawyers who do free consultations. I know when I was looking for divorce lawyer, I had talked to one who was going to waive the consultation fee when I mentioned there was some abuse by my then husband. I didn't end up filing then but a few months later but found a decent lawyer then. Other than that I'm not sure what to tell you to do.

DCS can talk to children without the parents present - the kid doesn't have to answer their questions. But generally it would make sense for kids to not have the parents around in an abuse accusation.

I suggest you also get yourself some help from a mental health professional and hopefully you are still in recovery.
 
I am aware of the mistakes I've made , but I feel a huge government entity like DCS definitely needs to be held at a higher standard because their mistakes destroy children. The problem is no one understands being a drug addict unless you have been one. It is literally a psychological disease and you have to fight it your entire life. Someone shouldn't lose their children because of an illness, especially when they are already in treatment and my treatment was going well before all this and that's even after me just losing my father. People need to understand the difference in the levels of addiction and no two cases should be handled the same way because no two people are the same. I appreciate your thoughts however and respect your feedback.

I have never been an addict - but I was married to one and I used to be on the 'addiction is a disease' bandwagon but I got off that. At most it seems to be a behavioral disorder and there has been more studies leaning away from it being a brain disease or a disease. I mean - someone with cancer can't just wake up and stop having cancer but anyone can stop being an addict. But I don't want to get into that debate.

Child services in this country is a racket - and they do often legally kidnap children. I'll agree there. There have been stories recently of child services taking kids from people because a doctor lied about abuse or hospital personnel lied about abuse. The foster care system is broken, child services is broken as well.
 
The youngest born on July 7, 2020. It has all been temporary but they are wanting to move to do something permanent, and they want to remove my rights. My first two children were removed on 05/30/2018, and after that I did relapse for about a year praying I would overdose eventually, because I had a nervous breakdown. I lost everything. The man that my last two children are from was evil and would kidnap me and hold me hostage for days at a time, but I never would press charges because of his mental state. I wish real normal people could actually see the effects of the child foster system and the jail and prison systems effects on those in their care. However, I moved back to VA right after they were taken in July 2018. I had lived in VA prior to that for five years from 2012-2017. I am still in VA now. The VA DCS had cleared me and the baby with neither of us had drugs in our system. I was even prescribed Subutex at the time and we were both clean for that as well. I had found a program for me and the baby to go to but then the TN caseworker that said I wasn't complying when I had COVID came in and said that she was now in the state of TN custody and I was going to sign custody over to my aunt at that point just in case they tried to do something like that, but no the case worker practically jerked my newborn from my arms and told me she was better off without me. The TN caseworker showed up right after VA cleared me too. TN also took a drug test by dunking a cup into my urine catcher on the toilet that I had to have so they could monitor me from surgery. And literally every drug test I have taken with the local DCS I have failed and only for methamphetamine Everytime. I had started randomly picking doctors offices not affiliated with DCS and could pass a drug test every time, which I have documentation to prove.

Ok let's be realistic - it's not ALL on child services. You relapsed and you chose to do that. I know what it's like to be in an abusive relationship - but I would never, ever let my kid be in harm's way from it. That's why I ultimately divorced.

It seems really weird that TN came and took custody of the kids - and I would have not let someone take my kid from my arms. They'd have to peel my kid from my dead hands to get her from me.

"TN also took a drug test by dunking a cup into my urine catcher on the toilet that I had to have so they could monitor me from surgery. And literally every drug test I have taken with the local DCS I have failed and only for methamphetamine Everytime. I had started randomly picking doctors offices not affiliated with DCS and could pass a drug test every time, which I have documentation to prove"

Um what? They took urine from the toilet? And you let them? I'd have had my phone out recording them every time they came over. This sounds...yeah. I don't know. You definitely need to keep finding a lawyer. I'd post in mom groups to start with and see if anyone has suggestions on a lawyer who could help and just keep looking. Your story is just out there.
 
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