Story Archives 2004

by Dee Gray/COURTWATCH

PNN first interviewed Rebecca Armistad in 2002 when she had taught herself to be a paralegal so she and her son could launch a lawsuit against Child Protective Services for taking her three children out of her home and into foster care custody 14 years ago. Parents and children who have dealt personally with CPS, The foster Care system, and the welfare department understand that these systems feed off low and no-income youth and families, as there is a monetary incentive for CPS for taking children away from families and therefore these are "Closed" systems, i.e., almost impossible to fight, that is why we believe Rebecca is a poverty hero and should be a model to all parents who feel overwhelmed by these systems. Dee and Tiny interviewed Rebecca in May of 2004 (A. stands for Armistad, T for Tiny, D for Dee)

PNN; Rebecca can you give our readers a brief summary about what the lawsuit is about;

A: "The lawsuit is about Paul suing the C. P. S. [Child Protective Services] social workers in San Francisco County and Santa Clara County for having them taking him away from me illegally. That's the first legal issue in our lawsuit, the second legal lawsuit issue has to do with the illegal raid at Juan's house in East San Jose where we lived and where I got custody of Paul at."

T: "Right, I got that, and then lastly the defendants that you keep referring to are in fact Child Protective Services Workers?"

A: "Right, and we've got over twelve defendants."

T: "And are they named Child Protective Services Worker's?"

A: "Oh, yeah like Richard Wong, CPS Social Worker from Santa Clara County, who works for the Department of Social Services-Oh yeah."

T: "Ok great, These people, are they still in the department after all these years?"

A: "Yeah, they are still Social Workers."

D: "I was wondering, you went to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals…"

A: "Well let me finish the story." After we filed the summons and complaint and the defendants were served the defendants tried telling us no they were not served properly - Which is Bullshit! It was a outright lie, they were just trying to get out of a lawsuit. So what I did was I got really upset with the Feds … Federal Judge, Jeremy Fogul? took over the case from James Ware. They reassigned the case from James Ware to Jeremy Fogul. Now Jeremy Fogul is the presiding judge over our case.
Well, that's… the first thing I didn't like, the second thing I didn't like was that our defendants claimed that they were not properly served and they only answered the summons and complaint after the fact after I filed the default judgement."

D: "Ok."

A: "So I filed the default judgement… like I don't know remember which month it was let's see, we're going back over two years - man; so let's say September."

D: "Ok."

A: "So we we're suppose to back in court with our defendants like September and October of 2000 and I didn't show up in court because I got fed up with them."
So the Judge made his ruling based on the fact that Paul and I didn't show up in court."
So we filed the default judgement it was denied by the United States District Court Clerk and then he went and asked Judge Jeremy Fogul, they showed the default judgement they must of went up in arms - you know what that means…? I we were granted the default judgement they would owe us $25 million dollars!

T: "Right."

D: "A-huh."

A: And we would win the lawsuit, well Judge Jeremy Fogul didn't want that to happen because he's on their side. You have to look at the Judge as being for the state, being for the federal government."

T: "You have any history on this Fogul dude."

A: "Yeah, he's suppose to be one of the most liberal judges on the Federal Bench here in San Jose California."

T: "Oh."

A: "We're not talking about the Federal bench in San Francisco, we're talking about the federal bench in San Francisco."

T: "Gotcha'."

A: "We're talking about the federal… who sits on the federal bench in the San Jose
District, United States District Court. These are the men, some of them, and one of them is United States District Judge, Jeremy, Folgul."

D: "Yeah, but didn't you actually go to the San Francisco's Ninth District Court of Appeals?"

T: "Wait a minute on that, hold on, the defendant responded to the lawsuit after the fact after the fact that we filed the default judgement. Check this out. I did not like the judge's decision we were suppose to court, we didn't show up, the defendant showed up, the lawyer for the defendant showed up, and Judge Jeremy Fogul out right, just out right denied Paul's lawsuit on both legal issues." When we already had informal propos standing to sue on the second legal issue they gave us that right to sue on the second legal issue. Then he (Judge) turns around and denies the whole lawsuit.
I got pissed off and I filed an appeal to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal telling the Ninth Circuit Court that what this judge had done was illegal and does he have a right to deny a default judgement when it was filed in a timely manner.

So what happened was the Ninth Circuit Court in December/January of 2003 or somewhere in there they made a ruling on Judge Fogul's behalf and they threw out and just-just totally disregarded the lawsuit altogether and they made a ruling on Judge Fogul's behalf and they favored his decision." So Boy, I got even more pissed and I filed and appeal the United States Supreme Court." And that's where the case is right now."

D: "Ok, but you know what, when you called us, when you called us you said were very unsure and your friends and your family encouraged you to file with the United Supreme Court because, apparently you said it was very hard, very laborious, and very detailed a thing to you have to do…"

A: "Yes."

D: " I was very distraught and depressed and I didn't think I could do it but I got so much encouragement that I ended up doing it."

D: " And you have no representation, your just doing on your own?"

T: "How did you teach yourself to do that Rebecca?"

A: "Once you’re a Paralegal and you know how to work on cases it just Federal Law is not that much more difficult that State Law as a matter of fact I think federal law is easier."

D: "Why have you not been able to get any representation?"

A: "Everybody wants $25,000 - $50,000 to take the case, come one I don't have that kind of money."

D: " Right."

A: "That's why we can't find a lawyer they all want $25,000 to $50,000 dollars down."

D: "Have you talked to any civil rights attorneys about this?"

A: "Oh yeah, Anthony Boscovitch is civil right attorney in San Jose - he called us. He said please bring down the copies of all the work that you filed so far I want to look at your lawsuit. "That Son Of A Bitch" He asked to see the case almost six months ago and he never, he still hasn't called us to talk about the case, to have Paul and I to come into his office to discuss what going to happen; he just wants to find out what the United States Supreme Court is gonna do."
Well, let me you what's gonna happen - if there's a God in heaven and I've been a Christian all my life, if there truly is a God we will get a favorable decision. But if there isn't a real truly a true God in the heaven's then this whole thing's gonna go away that's my feeling on it because I'm very spiritual and I just stand on the ground that if there is a God the United States Supreme Court - they will make a favorable ruling for us.

In other words what they' re gonna rule is they'll either going to remand the case back time to the trial level and tell Judge Fogul that he has to hear our case because we have merit to the case. The defendants are saying Bullshit, Paul doesn't have a merit case to the lawsuit - throw it out, throw it out, that's what their saying that my son has no merit to the lawsuit."

D: "This is the lawsuit in his behalf?"

A: "Right, my name is nowhere on the lawsuit-and I'm not even a plaintive, this is my son's lawsuit for him and is brother's and sister's and sister Christina and Robert."

D: "Right, Can you just quickly describe what that lawsuit is that your trying to get heard."

A: "This is the lawsuit where Paul is suing the C. P. S. Social Workers for taking him away from me when he was four years old. That's the first legal issue. Now they went and raided my house before I we could file the lawsuit - you know what that did that opened up the doors for a second cause of action to be put in our main lawsuit. You think we're gonna let these people get away with raiding our house illegally without a search warrant? Come on we're not gonna let them get away with that.
What happened to us at Juan's house in 2001 we added that to Paul's lawsuit, and it was never suppose to be this way. We're not suppose to have two legal issues to our lawsuit its only suppose to be Paul suing the C. P. S. workers but look what they went and did.

They went and Fucked with us, they went and Fucked with me after I got all my kids out of the child welfare system, So because they went and Fucked with me, I threw in the other legal issue. That they raided our house illegally, they did not have a search warrant to come in, and we're suing in federal court, we're suing the office of the public. Now this the second state run agency that we are suing is called The Office of the Public Guardian And Conservator's. That's the proper name and they are another bunch of filthy bums. The umbrella of that agency is The Department of Social Services. There's two agencies' that work under the guise of The Department of Social Services. It’s the C. P. S. Child Protective Services Social Workers and the second state run agency is called The Office of The Public Guardian And Conservator's.
And that's what the public doesn't realize. The American people out here don't know that those two agencies are run by and through under the guise of The Department of Social Services."

D: "So you're hoping that will end up back in …"

D: "Now who will handle the trial?"

A: "If the United States Supreme Court Justices make a favorable ruling in Paul's Case and they remand the case back down to the federal courts that's where we have to go back into court to prove our merit, to prove that they damaged my children, and they did what they did illegally then we can have a trial on the merits of the case - are you understanding me now?"

D: "Yeah."

A: "Ok, so that's how this is going and its already being PU'd and we're not even at a trial level you see what bullshit you have to go through you see how long this shit takes."

D: "Yeah, I do and I'm so impressed with your perseverance that's the most interesting thing when you aren’t even a lawyer." You haven't had that kind of training, You taught yourself all of this?"

A: "Oh, I know."

D: "Taught yourself all of this."

A: "I know."

T: "You know what I did Monday, April the 5th we had to mail all the… The United Supreme Court wrote Paul a letter and said you made one error you have to correct it by April the 18th . So we corrected the error that we made and we sent everything back over to United States Supreme Court on Monday, April the 5th . My cousin, was with me, my cousin Benny Berraza? He served our defendants, I was able to get this paperwork back in the mail back over to Washington D. C., The United States Supreme Court. I anointed… because I'm a lay Chaplain with my church, I have the power to use anointing oil-and to lay hands.

D: "A-huh."
So I laid hands on the documents, on all the documents before we mailed them out."
And I sprinkled anointing oil over my documents!"

T: "Right On, Whatever it takes."

A: "So God's hands upon this case, if there really is a God, we're gonna get a favorable decision.

T: "Alright."

A: "That's what I mean, because I'm really losing ground in my Christianity, I don't go to church anymore, I'm very unhappy with the Catholic Church and what's been going on in the news about the molestation with the children, and I'm losing ground in the area of my spirituality. I'm being drained-pray for me, So I really need people to pray for me-please keep me in prayer."

D: "What exactly is your legal training?"

A: "I'm a Paralegal, but if you understand the court system, the court system is a process, and it’s a process of basically a lot of paperwork.

T: "Right."

A: "That's what it is, that's why the judges and everybody is screaming about all these case coming into the court house and now they don't have enough judges to hear all the cases and that's why they ended up in federal court, they ended up with a Federal Case Management Conference - Settlement Conference that you can go to. They initiated that about ten years or fifteen years ago because the court were just being overwhelmed with all these lawsuits. So now you have case management settlement conference, that you go to before you actually start your trial level and most people settle out of court and they never even see the courtroom in a trial level."

T: "Right, and I just want to say Rebecca that we gotta stop pretty quick - cause we got to get off the phone but the one thing is and let you got back to sleep but the one thing is-you’re an inspiration to hundreds and hundreds of mothers and fathers. I think you know that, everytime we put your story out on P N N we get like so many responses-so really…"

D: "Well anyway the main thing is when will you'll know… you don't when the Supreme Court…"

A: "The Supreme Court takes anywhere from 30 to 90 days to make a decision, so we just mailed everything back April the 5th so we're looking at May, June, July the 5th . "

D: "We'll do a continuation follow up after we find out what happens with that.
But its just really impressive that you've done and stuck with this and gone all the way through with it."

A: "I know its really a miracle."

D: "I can hardly believe it, its so proactive, Its really wonderful - Ok, Rebecca."

T: "Ok, bye."

A: "Ok, God bless you all.

To read Rebecca's first interview paste the following link into your web browser
http://www.poormagazine.org/index.cfm?L1=news&category=5&story=780

by Leroy Moore/REvolutionary poet and activist

There has been a terrible trend on how police and politicians’ policies treat our activists who are elderly! During the so called good times of the 90’s in the San Francisco Bay area gentrification hit and many elders were kicked out of their homes under the San Francisco Ellis Act i.e. Grace Wells. And during the anti-war rallies of 2003 protesters who were elderly from, Florida to New York to San Francisco, were physically abused or placed in jail by police including elderly nuns. Three Dominican nuns, Sisters Ardeth Platte, Carol Gilbert and Jackie Marie Hudson is serving six to eight years because they protest against US nuclear weapons in 1993.

The US is not the only one who is trying to silence their elderly activists. The arrest and police brutality of Zing Dilin of China, who is the leader of the Tiananmen Mothers, an activist group for the families of those killed in the Tiananmen Square massacre is another example. Although two of the Tiananmen Mother were release from jail, according to New York base Human Rights of China organization Zing Dilin has not been released. And how police arrested Annette Auguste, an elder Haitian singer and leader of the Lavalas activist movement in Port-au-Prince, Haiti for no reason. The pattern continued with the death of May Molina in police custody on May 27th, 2004 in Chicago, Molina, who was a long time activist against police brutality and the prison system especially those who were wrongfully convicted, was an elder Latina and disabled. All over the world police are trying to silence our activists who are elderly once and for all!

Why is the state trying to silence our activists who are elderly? The reason why, is that the state, police and certain politicians know that the elderly are a treasure of knowledge of what happen, what works, how to organize and have inside information on the system from local policies to international affairs. Some don’t want our elderly activists to pass down their knowledge to the next generation. Some see them as a threat to the system because they know where the wholes are and where the system is weak. I really think that some people in authority roles are shocked on how many elders are a part and play a key role in many grassroots movements form police brutality, local progressive political campaigns to the anti war movement. Many people in power have a common vision of the elderly and that is churchgoers, bingo players, golf players and knitting. This stereotypical vision doesn’t give the police and politicians the right to take away their homes, physically abuse them at rallies and drag them off to police stations where they are not given the medical care they need!

During the 2003 anti-war rally the number one issue came up over and over again in planning meeting of people of color against the war was the issue of elderly protesters who couldn’t keep up with everybody and didn’t feel save at the end where police were waiting. I am reminded of a friend who is a deaf Native American activist who was tipped out of his wheelchair by a San Francisco police officer during the anti-war rally in San Francisco of 2003. According to Napal Daily News of Florida & Associated Press in November of 2003, Miami police abused demonstrators at a protest of the Free Trade Area of the Americas. One of the members of Alliance for the Retired, Bentley Killmon said "he was trying to get back to the buses provided by the Alliance for Retired Americans when police pushed him to the ground, arrested him and handcuffed him for 12 hour."

I wonder what would the Gray Panthers and their founder, Maggie Kuhn, say about what is going on with activists who are elderly? The Gray Panthers (whose motto is "Age and Youth in Action") has and continue to work on issues that affect people of ALL ages and welcome and encourage members of any age. Margot Smith, Co-Convener of the East Bay chapter of the Gray Panthers puts it like this. "The police are cracking down on everyone who exercises their right of free speech, including the elderly. We must stand up for our rights against the Ashcrofts and others who would turn us into a frightened populace, fearful of overturning their rule. Even more oppressive is their cruel treatment of the elders, denying them medications and home health care through their cuts to services. They are spending our tax money on war and tax cuts, and deliberately cutting the social advances that we have fought so hard for over the last 70 years. Just as Reagan wore down the Russians with the arms race, Bush is wearing down our entitlements with the new arms race. We must stand up for our rights now!" To get involved with the Gray Panthers email Margot Smith at GrayPanthersBerk@aol.com.

Justice Riding on Four Wheels & Brown Fists

(For May Molina)

Activist in Action that was May Molina

Kept police & prisons

In checked

Turning over wrongful convictions

Target on her chest

She drove between institutionalize bullets

in her wheelchair

Like Harriet Tubman, Molina led her people to freedom

Out of the prison system

And into an activist revolution

Help started an organization

For Families of the wrongly convicted & victims of

police brutality

Her community, supporters and family

Demands answers about her death in police custody

Although she had diabetes police refused medical care

Thanks to police & mainstream media her background has

been smeared

While the names of officers are invisible

Seems like we've been here, Cammerin Boyd in San Fran,

Annette Auguste in Haiti

Hey Homeland security, am I next in line?

Cause like May Molina, I'm outspoken about systematic

oppression

I can see Molina wheeling up to the mic

at the Chicago Police Board

my Latina disabled sister

your spirit has traveled from Chicago to San Francisco

to clear my vision and to rededicate my life to your

mission

Time to bring attention

to how the black & blue

abuse their authority

onto my brothers and sisters with disabilities

Forget about internal investigation

Open up politicians & police's closets all around the

world to the public

The community & family is the Juror & the Judge

And we have our progressive, ethnic and activist media

Mother May Molina, your wish has come true

Judgement day is here

The power structure is crumbling

and Justice is riding on four wheels & Brown fists!

By Leroy F. Moore Jr.

Revolutionary Love! Rest in Peace Molina