I and my friend Adi Dynar have an article in the Arizona Republic about our lawsuit against the Arizona Department of Child Safety, which has placed our client's name on the state's blacklist because she let her son play in a public park for a half hour while she went inside the grocery store. Excerpt:
[Arizona] law lets unelected, unaccountable bureaucrats blacklist people like Sarra based on what lawyers call “probable cause.” “Probable cause” is far less evidence than the “reasonable doubt” standard required to convict someone of a crime. It’s even less than the “preponderance of evidence” standard that governs civil lawsuits. In fact, Arizona courts have said “probable cause” is a kind of suspicion – it means the government thinks it’s possible the person did something wrong. Worse, a person’s name can be put on the registry without a trial through an “administrative” hearing. This type of hearing doesn’t follow the rules of evidence that apply to courtrooms, and it’s presided over by a hearing officer, not a judge. Amazingly, even if the officer finds someone not guilty, DCS’ director can override that ruling and put her on the registry anyway.
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