AR - Fully-Armed Sheriffs Remove 7 Homeschool Children from 'Prepper' Family

[MyBelle]

Actually a GAL is an independent guardian that legally represents the kids in court and one (or more) was already assigned in this case. The parents are now asking for another one. Atty's are not always appointed for children in family courts- depends on the State, but I believe Federal law requires that a GAL is always appointed to represent the best interest of the children when kids are taken into protective care.

In Arkansas, CASAs are advocates but they are not attorneys.

 

[forthelost]

You are comparing the Stanley's with parents who kill their daughters?

Those parents would probably say they were just practicing what their religon dictated. "It's part of my religion" is not a universal defense.

 

[Charlie09]

Those parents would probably say they were just practicing what their religon dictated. "It's part of my religion" is not a universal defense.

I'm still not following the comparison -

 

[Sonya610]

Just like parents in the Middle East who think it is ok to stone their daughter to death because she was raped. Oh well.

Care to cite any sources that say illegal family honor killings are done via stoning?

That is off topic and inaccurate.

 

[tlcya]

Sonya10, I have not seen you comment on this case yet. Interested in your take on this one. TIA

 

[Yoda]

Care to cite any sources that say illegal family honor killings are done via stoning?

That is off topic and inaccurate.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...s-lives-annually-why-is-this-still-happening/


http://www.breitbart.com/national-s...being-raped-the-burden-of-women-under-sharia/

 

[bessythecat]

I have been reading the supporting Facebook pages. I see a few posters encouraging the family to break the gag order and to speak out. Just curious, what would happen?

 

[K_Z]

Video of Hal Stanley greeting supporters outside the Garland County courthouse today.

[video=youtube;8HTczUmtRDM]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8HTczUmtRDM[/video]

Notice at the end that HS appears to be still carrying the large poster sized family picture as he walks toward the doors into the courthouse. I wonder if he actually carried that poster sized picture INTO the court room for the hearing?? Would they allow that? It wouldn't be allowed in my county courthouse. (We have airport-style metal detectors as well.)

 

[Margo/Mom]

Video of Hal Stanley greeting supporters outside the Garland County courthouse today.

[video=youtube;8HTczUmtRDM]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8HTczUmtRDM[/video]

Notice at the end that HS appears to be still carrying the large poster sized family picture as he walks toward the doors into the courthouse. I wonder if he actually carried that poster sized picture INTO the court room for the hearing?? Would they allow that? It wouldn't be allowed in my county courthouse. (We have airport-style metal detectors as well.)

Yes--they do seem focused on orchestrating media coverage.

 

[K_Z]

Yes--they do seem focused on orchestrating media coverage.

I find it rather interesting that their supporters (who outwardly appear to embrace strongly conservative ideals) are suggesting that they contact and court highly liberal media news outlets and liberal news personalities to get their story more press coverage. Any port in a storm??

Actually, I'm rather surprised that such staunch conservative supporters would even know who the "liberal" cable icons even are, lol! Apparently, the supporters DO watch (evil worldly) mainstream cable programs, and clearly know who the popular shows are. (I have to ponder that dichotomy for a while, lol! Perhaps as a part of the philosophy of "know thine enemy", or something.)

But on another note, I have to notice that MMS and the ongoing "pH unbalanced" aquaponics system hasn't been mentioned by anyone involved for quite a while now. (I wonder how the aquaponics FISH are doing without their MMS??)

Hal and Michelle's comments in recent weeks are fixated on freedom of religion, fear mongering ("this could happen to YOU"), denial of any responsibility, and reiterations of divine mandates for absolute parental control of children. I think the "actual" children have been lost in all this propaganda.

Hopefully the fish are OK.

 

[K_Z]

I have been reading the supporting Facebook pages. I see a few posters encouraging the family to break the gag order and to speak out. Just curious, what would happen?

Something tells me the judge wouldn't be very happy about that. The gag was a court order. Breaching that would be "contempt of court". Could be more uncomfortable consequences for that.

http://law.justia.com/codes/arkansas/2010/title-16/subtitle-2/chapter-10/subchapter-1/16-10-108/

16-10-108. Contempt.

(a) Every court of record shall have power to punish, as for criminal contempt, persons guilty of the following acts and no others:

(1) Disorderly, contemptuous, or insolent behavior committed during the court's sitting, in its immediate view and presence, and directly tending to interrupt its proceedings or to impair the respect due to its authority;

(2) Any breach of the peace, noise, or disturbance directly tending to interrupt its proceedings;

(3) Willful disobedience of any process or order lawfully issued or made by it;

(4) Resistance willfully offered by any person to the lawful order or process of the court; and

(5) The contumacious and unlawful refusal of any person to be sworn as a witness and when so sworn a similar refusal to answer any legal and proper interrogatory.

(b) (1) Punishment for contempt is a Class C misdemeanor.

(2) A court shall always have power to imprison until its adjournment.

(3) When any person is committed to prison for the nonpayment of any such fine, he or she shall be discharged at the expiration of thirty (30) days.

(c) Contempts committed in the immediate view and presence of the court may be punished summarily. In other cases, the party charged shall be notified of the accusation and shall have a reasonable time to make his or her defense.

(d) (1) Whenever any person is committed for a contempt under the provisions of this section, the substance of his or her offense shall be set forth in the order or warrant of commitment.

(2) Nothing in subdivision (d)(1) of this section shall be construed to extend to any proceedings against parties or officers, as for contempt, for the purpose of enforcing any civil right or remedy.

(e) A person punished for contempt under subsections (a)-(d) of this section shall, notwithstanding, be liable to an indictment for the contempt if the contempt is an indictable offense, but the court before which a conviction may be had on such an indictment shall, in forming its sentence, take into consideration the punishment previously inflicted.
Disclaimer: These codes may not be the most recent version. Arkansas may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.

 

[Margo/Mom]

I have been reading the supporting Facebook pages. I see a few posters encouraging the family to break the gag order and to speak out. Just curious, what would happen?

Somehow I cannot imagine that any truthful recounting of the procedings would be very helpful. If the press were allowed to report on the details, I think it would be hard to maintain claims that the children were removed for no reason.

 

[K_Z]

I can't find the post right now, but someone upthread questioned how many children Hal Stanley has.

This comment is from the Stanley family blog, where audio of HS's sermons are posted.

To further inform, this baby will be Mom’s 9th and Dad’s 14th child. (Dad has five older ones that are grown).

https://stanleyfamily.wordpress.com/a/

The five older ones that are grown are presumably from another relationship or marriage, other than MS. Perhaps he had another wife that died, or there was a divorce. From all the comments on their various social media sites, these 5 appear to not be in close contact with HS. Given his age (and Michelle's age), it's possible these 5 children could be in their 30's to 50's, possibly with families of their own. It would be interesting to know what the relationship is between these adult children and HS. It appears they are estranged, IMO.

 

[IAMME]

I followed one of the posters to the Stanley FB pages to her FB page--just to see if she had elaborated on anything there, as she was one of a couple who were actually there in the courthouse. Turns out she is a Garland County magistrate--or Justice of the Peace. Really surprised me, particularly given all of the loose talk about how "they" are all "in it together." Anyway, poking around the web for her background, came across this on a blog, from 2011:

"* WHAT IS IN THE WATER IN HOT SPRINGS: A notice in Hot Springs paper announced a rally a few nights ago at the Gospel Light Champion College Cafeteria to view "Restoring Courage, Stand With Israel." a video-stream event from Israel.


Garland County Justice of the Peace Mary Bournival, District 4, called the international event “basically an encore to what Glenn Beck did for restoring honor in Washington, D.C. last year.”


Not everybody in Hot Springs has been called to glory yet. A local blogger who's keeping up with the Garland County theocracy movement commented in a post passed along to me today:


About 100 people showed up. Most of our village idiots were there, a motley gaggle of *********s, one lady dressed in the settler garb of a zealot garbage-thrower in Hebron, and a few curious, curmudgeonly onlookers like yours truly. As the big show started on the big screen, a speaker solemnly asked the Jerusalem audience (mostly white American Christians) to stand for Israel’s national anthem. They did, and so did we. Well, most of us. Except for a few notable (ahem) exceptions, the Hot Springs Hundred (mostly white American Christians) dutifully rose as one while Hatikvah played on and on. And on."

Anyway, to my mind, it just sorta punches gigantic holes in the theory that this is all about Christian persecution. It would appear that fundies have a pretty substantial political hold in and around Garland County.

This is what I keep saying!! And it isn't Garland county, it is the entire state! For these people to be religiously persecuted they would have to be Muslim, Wiccan, budist, or anything BUT fundamental baptists... I will promise you that the sheriff identifies as a Christian, if he didn't there is NO way he would have been elected..

 

[IAMME]

Aren't GAL's always supposed to be independent and only speak for the best interest of the children to the court? Does it sound kind of like they are say the appointed GAL is not "independent"? Maybe the current GAL is recommending decreased visitation/contact with the parents based upon their initial assessment or negative behaviors?

When I read that the family wanted to appoint an "independent GAL" I wondered if they were perhaps 'GAL shopping' because it seemed redundant to me. Could be - maybe not but I do agree with the court to take it under advisement.

In my state, the children get an Atty to represent their interests if they are 13 or over, the younger children are appointed a GAL.

In my county GALs are appointed based on rotation, all the local attorneys are placed on the list and are called upon when it's their turn, or that is how my attorney explained it to me during a custody battle..

 

[IAMME]

In Arkansas, CASAs are advocates but they are not attorneys.

Right we have CASA volunteers AND GALs... As far as my understanding goes GALs are attorneys and CASA volunteers can be anyone, (provided I'm sure they pass background checks) but they are always advertising for more volunteers to be CASA advocates, I'm not sure what kind of training they give...

 

[IAMME]

Video of Hal Stanley greeting supporters outside the Garland County courthouse today.

[video=youtube;8HTczUmtRDM]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8HTczUmtRDM[/video]

Notice at the end that HS appears to be still carrying the large poster sized family picture as he walks toward the doors into the courthouse. I wonder if he actually carried that poster sized picture INTO the court room for the hearing?? Would they allow that? It wouldn't be allowed in my county courthouse. (We have airport-style metal detectors as well.)

My ex attempted to place an 11x13 portrait of our daughter on the plaintiffs table during a custody battle.... It PISSED the judge smooth off and he was ordered very firmly to remove it immediately.. I'm not sure if that was the same hearing that we discussed the GAL or not, he sued me (and lost) 9 times for custody before my daughter was 10 years old... I have a little experience with DHS investigations and court procedures as a result, not the exact same thing as this family I realize....

 

[Charlie09]

This is what I keep saying!! And it isn't Garland county, it is the entire state! For these people to be religiously persecuted they would have to be Muslim, Wiccan, budist, or anything BUT fundamental baptists... I will promise you that the sheriff identifies as a Christian, if he didn't there is NO way he would have been elected..

On this very thread there are very hateful comments against fundamentalists, "fundies", all kinds of cute little names.
I don't know if they've abused their kids or not - but I know that on this thread, he's considered guilty because he's fundamentalist and takes his faith literally.
He's "backwards" therefore he's guilty.

He might not be persecuted for his faith - but he's definitely considered guilty for it.

 

[K_Z]

GAL's are not attorneys in all states. I'm in the early stages of becoming a GAL in my state-- qualified because I'm a licensed health care professional. Attorneys ad litem need to be attorneys.

This is specific to Arkansas:

The guardian ad litem can be a lawyer or social worker as long as they are approved by the court and there are private guardians along with public ones employed by your local Arkansas county.

Private guardians charge from $50 per hour to $400, where a public guardian ad litem will generally charge less.

It's typical for spouses to share the cost of the guardian ad litem.

If you can't afford a guardian, often one will be provided free of change.

http://www.greatdivorceadvice.com/state/Arkansas/Arkansas-Custody.html

REQUIREMENTS

I. MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS FOR GUARDIAN AD LITEM SERVICE

A. Have a BA or BS in psychology, social work, education, nursing, law, or child-related discipline OR
have an equivalent combination of training, education or experience;
B. Have access to reliable transportation;
C. Have sufficient listening, speaking, and writing skills to successfully conduct interviews, prepare
written reports, and make oral presentations;
D. Have the ability to become proficient using relevant computer software programs and databases;
E. Have knowledge and an appreciation of the ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic backgrounds of the
population to be served;
F. Have the ability to (1) relate to a child, family members, and professionals in a careful and
confidential manner; (2) exercise sound judgment and good common sense; and (3) successfully
discharge the duties assigned by the court;
G. Have the ability to complete the training and orientation requirements set forth in these
Requirements and Guidelines; and
H. Must be able to pass a Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) and federal background check.
(Bases for disqualification are in Minn. Stat. § 245C.14-.15)

http://mn.gov/guardian-ad-litem/images/Policy%20No%2E%204%20Final.pdf

 

[IAMME]

On this very thread there are very hateful comments against fundamentalists, "fundies", all kinds of cute little names.
I don't know if they've abused their kids or not - but I know that on this thread, he's considered guilty because he's fundamentalist and takes his faith literally.
He's "backwards" therefore he's guilty.

He might not be persecuted for his faith - but he's definitely considered guilty for it.

Yes but the posters on this thread (to my knowledge) had nothing to do with taking these kids, nor will they have any input into the judges ultimate decision, therefore the PARENTS are the ones who drug their religion into e public arena and are attempting to garner support and sympathy using it, bc it is the "popular" thing these days to claim "persecution" in national main steam media... But what we are trying to point out is that in THIS case that claim is absolutely ridiculous, maybe in a more liberal state these claims could be valid but here it just is NOT considered backwards to be a fundentalist, or a homeschooler etc.... I know MANY MANY families that are just like this one and no one thinks they are "odd" or "backwards", around here the ability to live this lifestyle is something to be applauded and envied and aspired to... This is the state that gave you the Duggars, no one here would be talking about their religion if they hadn't started screaming it from the rooftops.... IMO