ACLU's Victory for Native Americans

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) won a legal victory in their milestone lawsuit on behalf of Native Americans. See part of the ACLU's report below:

This week, the ACLU won an important battle on the road toward protecting the rights of American Indian children and their parents and tribes. Chief Judge Jeffrey L. Viken of South Dakota's federal District Court ruled that a lawsuit filed by the ACLU in March of 2013 can go forward, rejecting motions filed by the defendants that sought to have the case dismissed. The suit, brought on behalf of the Oglala and Rosebud Sioux Indian Tribes and a class of Indian parents, aims to ensure that state courts in South Dakota respect the rights granted to Indian parents by the Constitution's Due Process Clause and the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 (ICWA). The defendants include a state court judge, a county prosecutor, and the director of the South Dakota Department of Social Services.

Recognizing that nothing "is more vital to the continued existence and integrity of Indian tribes than their children," ICWA's express purpose is "to protect the best interests of Indian children and to promote the stability and security of Indian tribes and families." Why did Congress pass this statute? Because a congressional investigation in the mid-1970s revealed some truly shocking statistics: Between 25 and 35 percent of all Indian children nationwide had been removed from their families by various state welfare agencies and courts. In one state, the adoption rate for Indian children was eight times higher than that of non-Indian children. In another, Indian children were 13 times more likely than non-Indian children to be placed in foster care. These alarming numbers were the result of more than a century of failed policy, in which state officials could not or would not respect Indian communities' cultural and social standards.

Continue to read about the ACLU victory at this url: "Important Victory for Indian Tribes"

https://www.aclu.org/blog/racial-justice/important-victory-indian-tribes

Congratulations, ACLU, for the ruling that your lawsuit can proceed.

(Because of interference, this article is repeated in comments. The comments are prevented from opening on some cellphones. I am America's most censored.) Native American children are frequently removed from their homes and reservations because false charges were levied against men in their households alleging sexual assaults. This justice advocate recently met two families who claim their men were falsely charged, prosecuted in corrupt courts, and wrongly convicted for sex crimes against children that never happened. The cases are USA vs. Juan Rojas and the USA vs. Yanktown4 (the Rouse family). Advocates for these five men allege misconduct by child welfare services, U.S. attorneys, expert witnesses, and some of their own tribal members to channel indigenous men into prison. Hear and read more at the urls below:

"Justice 4 Juan Rojas Blocked at Blogtalkradio"

http://justicegagged.blogspot.com/2014/02/justice-4-juan-rojas-blocked-at.html
(This is not allowed to show as a link on some cellphone views)

Juan Rojas is second from the right in the photo

Janice Howe reports, "Juan Rojas is a 37-year-old enrolled member of the Crow Creek Sioux Tribe who is currently serving two life sentences for sexual abusing his ex-girlfriend's two daughters. The girls were actually still virgins when examined by the doctor. The expert witness testified that the rape kits were inconclusive due to the fact that hymens grow back together all the time! The ex-girlfriend has a history of blaming men for sexually molesting her daughters whenever a boyfriend breaks up with her. She made these same false allegations against her ex-husband, but her daughters recanted their false statements against their father during his trial. Her daughters were going to recant their testimony against Juan Rojas, also. But due to prosecutoral misconduct, they did not. When their grandmother died, the U.S. Prosecutor, Mikal Hanson, went to the funeral told them that if they did recant their testimony against Rojas, their younger brother and sister would be taken away.

Before falsely accusing Juan Rojas of child molestation, the ex-girlfriend had accused Juan of raping her in state court, and the charges were dropped. Then the feds ended up prosecuting him in federal court for the sexual abuse of her daughters. He was wrongly convicted in a corrupt court process. Please help Juan Rojas regain his freedom." Read the entire article in Justice Gagged blog at the link above.

Presumed Guilty: Group Seeks to Exonerate Four Yankton Sioux Men
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/stephanie-woodard/post_2126_b_879912.html

The National Center for Reason and Justice, which has mounted successful campaigns to exonerate those falsely accused of sex crimes against children, has taken on the cases of four Yankton Sioux men. Brothers Jesse and Desmond Rouse and their cousins Garfield Feather and Russell Hubbeling were convicted in federal court in 1994 of abusing five nieces who were aged 20 months to 7 years at the time. A fifth co-defendant was acquitted.

BURDEN OF PROOF -- According to Chatelle, the cases of Feather, Hubbeling, and the Rouse brothers display patterns NCRJ has seen before, including the burden of proof shifting -- improperly -- to the defendants. "They should be presumed innocent unless they are proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt," Chatelle said. "Instead, they are presumed guilty and must prove themselves innocent, which is far more difficult." Read the entire article at the url above.

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The Rouse men remain behind bars. The defendants could have taken a plea deal and served a two-year sentence, but the men said they would prefer to die behind bars than to falsely claim molesting dear children in their family. 

Removing children from their families is traumatic. The ACLU article states that in some areas, Native American parents must wait an agonizing 60 to 90 days before they can learn why their children were removed, which violates the Due Process Clause and ICWA. The Rouse children were abducted by police and taken to a farm house to live among strangers without any explanation to their parents as to why the eleven children were taken. One of the children with whom I spoke (she is now an adult) said the authorities promised the Rouse children that if they lied on their relatives, they would be returned home, but they never were. I was told that the Rouse children have since recanted their false statements, and some took lie detector tests to prove their supposed molestation never happened. But the system is making prison profits off their relatives and refuses to acknowledge the men's innocence.

The congressional investigation showed that up to 35 percent of all Native American children had been removed from their families. Many of those removals coincided with wrongful convictions of Native American adults. Hear recent interviews with Rouse family members and supporters:

January 27 interview on "Human Rights for Prisoners March" radio show:
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/nnia1/2014/01/28/human-rights-for-prisoners-march

January 15 interview with Rouse family member and supporters:
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/nnia1/2014/01/16/assistance-to-the-incarcerated-mentally-ill
Interference was intense during our January 15 interview for the first 11 minutes, after which time the interference focused primarily on Mary Neal, America's most censored.

An attorney in the Rouse case reportedly said about his clients' wrongful conviction, "THEY DESERVE IT FOR NOT CONVERTING TO CHRISTIANITY." As a Christian, I find that particularly offensive.

Janice Howe has also granted us interviews about her cousin, Juan Rojas. She will join us in prayers for justice on Sunday, February 2, 2014, on the MaryLovesJustice Prayer Meeting at 9pm Pacific
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/nnia1/2014/02/03/marylovesjustice-prayer-meeting

Call or write with information about legal victories you wish to highlight

MaryLovesJustice@gmail.com or (678) 531.0262.

Messages will be responded to within 24 hours, or please call again.

I endure First Amendment violations.

http://JusticeGagged.blogspot.com

Thanks.