Brief Bank
Briefs Filed in the Indiana Supreme Court -- Bei Bei Shuai
Petition to Transfer
Brief of Amici by Indiana National Organization for Women
Brief of Amicus Curiae of Postpartum Support International et al.
Brief of Amicus Curiae of Legal Voice, et al.
Brief of Amicus Curiae of Medical Providers
Alabama Kimbrough & Ankrom
Filed on March 13, 2012.
Amicus Brief on Behalf of Amanda Kimbrough in the Alabama Supreme Court
Amicus Brief on Behalf of Hope Ankrom in the Alabama Supreme Court
NJ DYFS vs. AL -- Brief of Amici Curiae
Drug War Propaganda and Junk Science No Basis for Child Neglect and Abuse Finding
50 Leading Medical, Public Health and Child Welfare Organizations and Experts File Brief Insisting on Science not Stigma in Child Welfare Decisions Involving Pregnant Women and Allegations of Drug Use
TRENTON, NJ (Jan. 10, 2012): On January 10, a group of fifty medical, public health and child welfare experts and advocates filed a motion to submit an amicus (friend of the court) brief before the state’s highest judicial authority challenging a finding of neglect against A.L., and an Appellate Division decision that radically expands the scope of the state’s civil child neglect and abuse laws to apply to a pregnant woman in relation to the fetus she carries and sustains.
In this case New Jersey Division of Youth and Family Services (DYFS) v. A.L., the mother, identified in court records as “A.L.,” gave birth to a healthy baby in September of 2007. DYFS argued that positive drug screens for cocaine on A.L. and her newborn were sufficient evidence of harm or imminent harm to find that A.L. had neglected her child. A lower court and the Appellate Division agreed, not only finding neglect in this case but also declaring that New Jersey’s neglect law could be applied to the context of pregnancy. On October 26, 2011, the New Jersey Supreme Court agreed to review the case.
In their brief, amici focus on the New Jersey Supreme Court’s commitment to the use of reliable scientific evidence in judicial decisionmaking. Amici argued that the lower courts relied on popular assumptions about drugs, pregnant women, and child welfare that lack any foundation in evidence based, peer reviewed research.
Lawrence S. Lustberg, Esq. of Gibbons P.C., co-counsel representing amici explains that “The New Jersey Supreme Court has been a national leader in recognizing that when cases raise scientific, medical, or other technical issues, the evaluation of these issues must be informed by existing scientific knowledge, including expert testimony. This case should be no exception.”
In their brief amici note that DYFS presented no evidence that the child had suffered any actual injury at birth or at any time after birth, and presented no witnesses with expertise regarding the effects of prenatal exposure to cocaine, what drug test results mean, or the association between a pregnant woman’s drug use and a likelihood of abuse or neglect of a child once born. Nor did DYFS present or the lower courts consider the vast body of medical and social science research on these questions.
“Pregnant women and children who are caught up in the child welfare system and who are disproportionately low-income and of color, no less than other people, deserve decisions that are grounded in evidence-based-research,” said Emma S. Ketteringham, co-counsel on the case and Director of Legal Advocacy for amici National Advocates for Pregnant Women. Ms. Ketteringham added, “Pregnant women and families should not be deprived of their fundamental rights, including the right to family relationships, based on junk science, or no science at all.”
Expert amici explained to the court that medical research makes clear that numerous substances, conditions, and circumstances raise similar or greater risks to fetuses as prenatal exposure to cocaine. While amici were careful to note that they were not suggesting that prenatal exposure to criminalized drugs is benign, they emphasized that current scientific evidence simply does not support judicially re-writing state law to allow for a per se finding of abuse or neglect based solely on evidence of a woman’s use of cocaine or other criminalized drugs during pregnancy.
Amici also noted that there is no research to support the idea that a positive drug test demonstrates harm, risk of harm, or a likelihood of neglect or abuse. They emphasized, however, that there is research finding that threats of punishment including threats of loss of child custody deter pregnant women from care, undermining rather than advancing maternal, fetal and child health.
Wendy Chavkin, MD, MPH, a physician and researcher who has written extensively about the issue of drug use and pregnancy, observed, “These issues have become caught up in other political battles. It is critical that state agencies, like DFYS, and the Court base their decision on scientific evidence, not on misinformation and stereotype.”
Ms. A. L. is represented by Clara Licata of the New Jersey Office of Parental Representation.
The amici organizations include: American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, Addiction Science Research and Education Center, American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry, American Society of Addiction Medicine, International Centre on Science in Drug Policy, International Doctors for Healthy Drug Policies, National Perinatal Association, National Coalition for Child Protection Reform, Child Welfare Organizing Project, Health Right International (Former Doctors of the World-USA), National Women’s Health Network.
Ankrom V. Alabama
Amicus Brief: V.M. and B.G., In the Matter of the Guardianship of J.M.G.
In the Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama, Kimbrough vs. The State of Alabama: Amicus Brief
In the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, Ex Parte Amber Lovill - Amicus Brief
New Jersey Division of Youth and Family Services v. V.M and B.G. - Amicus Brief
United States v. QT Amicus Brief
Cochran v. Commonwealth of Kentucky Amicus Brief
Michelle Geiser Behles v. State of North Dakota Amicus Brief
NAPW, Rebecca Project for Human Rights and NESRI File Amicus Brief on Behalf of Over 35 Groups Condemning Shackling Pregnant Incarcerated Women During Labor and Delivery Before 8th Circuit Court of Appeals
Alabama v. Shekelia Ward Amicus Brief
LOVILL V. TEXAS AMICUS APPENDIX
LOVILL V. TEXAS AMICUS BRIEF
List of Signatories to Hernandez Public Health Amicus Brief
HERNANDEZ PUBLIC HEALTH AMICUS BRIEF
New Mexico Supreme Court to Hear Oral Arguments in Case Involving Prosecution of Woman Struggling with Addiction During Pregnancy
Leading Physicians, Scientific Researchers, and Medical, Public Health, and Child Welfare Organizations Oppose Treating Pregnant Women Who Give Birth in Spite of a Drug Problem as Felony Child Abusers
Tayshea Aiwohi Case: Public Health Amicus Brief
PRESS RELEASE: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, July 5, 2005
Prosecuting Pregnant Women Who Experience Drug Dependencies Will Undermine Health of Children and Women.
Over 60 Leading Medical, Public Health, Child Welfare and Drug Treatment Organizations and Experts Ask Hawai`i Supreme Court to Overturn Conviction of Tayshea Aiwohi