Lawsuit: Wayne County Family Court Judge Judy A. Hartsfield UPDATED
“An Ann Arbor family can proceed with a lawsuit against a judge who placed their 7-year-old son in foster care after his father mistakenly gave him Mike’s Hard Lemonade at a Detroit Tigers game, a federal judge ruled today.
According to the lawsuit, Wayne County Family Court Judge Judy A. Hartsfield took the boy away from his parents without determining that the child was in danger, but rather had a practice of providing presigned child-removal orders for the on-duty desk clerk to be filled out after hours based on police allegations.
In allowing the case to proceed, U.S. District Judge Avern Cohn ruled that if the allegations are true, the practice of presigning orders violated the parent and child’s fundamental right to family integrity and the “clearly established” rights of parents to a notice and a hearing before the removal of their child, barring an emergency situation.
Cohn also ruled that Hartsfield is not entitled to judicial immunity because in presigning the orders, she was acting as an administrator, not a judge.
The lawsuit stems from an April 2008 incident in which 7-year-old Leo Ratté attended a Detroit Tigers game with his father, Christopher Ratté. Ratte said he accidentally purchased what he thought was lemonade from a stand advertising “Mike’s Lemonade,” and, not knowing that it contained alcohol, gave it to his son. A security guard saw the boy with the beverage and contacted police.
Leo was removed from the home and released into his mother’s custody several days after the incident.”
Family can sue in child removal case involving Mike’s Hard Lemonade, judge rules[Detroit Free Press 11/26/13 By Tresa Baldas]
REFORM Puzzle Piece
Update: “A Wayne County judge has settled a lawsuit filed by a couple whose son was temporarily removed from their custody after he was mistakenly given alcohol at a Detroit Tigers game.
The case was closed Tuesday in a federal court filing. Attorneys and Judge Judy Hartsfield said the settlement details are confidential.
Leo Ratte was 7-years-old in April 2008 when his father, Christopher Ratte, mistakenly gave him a “Mike’s Hard Lemonade” at Comerica Park. Ratte, who is a University of Michigan professor, said he didn’t know the drink contained alcohol. A security guard who saw the boy with the beverage contacted police.
Following the incident, a police officer took steps to put Leo into protective custody for several days. Leo’s parents later filed a lawsuit, saying their rights were violated. According to the suit, Wayne County Judge Judy Hartsfield had a practice of signing blank child-removal orders and leaving them to be filled in by authorities.
Judge Avern Cohn allowed the case to proceed, saying the practice of pre-signing orders violated the “clearly established” rights of parents to notice and a hearing before the removal of their child. Cohn also ruled that Hartsfield was not entitled to judicial immunity because in pre-signing the orders, she was not action as a judge, but rather as an administrator.
In filing the lawsuit, the ACLU of Michigan argued that the state’s standard for the emergency removal of children was unconstitutional, as it did not require state officials to prove that the child is in immediate danger.
While Ratte was being questioned by police, Comerica Park medical staff examined Leo and gave him a clean bill of health, according to the lawsuit. Leo was also taken to Children’s Hospital in Detroit, where he was examined again and found to have no alcohol in his blood. The suit says even though Leo he was cleared to go home with his parents, he was taken into custody by Children’s Protective Services.
According to the suit, CPS refused to release Leo into the custody of his mother, Claire Zimmerman, who was not at the game, or to his aunts — one of whom is a social worker and licensed foster parent.
Several days after the incident, the suit says Leo was finally released into his mother’s custody after Ratte agreed to move out of the house and only have supervised contact with his son. Soon after, the case was dismissed and Ratte was allowed back into his home.
The ACLU of Michigan argues that the law fails to adequately protect the rights of innocent parents such as Leo’s mother. The suit says Zimmerman’s constitutional rights were violated when her son was removed from her custody, even though she was not present at the ballpark and had nothing to do with the Mike’s Hard Lemonade mistake.”
Judge Settles Lawsuit In Case Of Child, Booze At Detroit Tigers Game[CBS Detroit 4/9/14]
Judge Judy A. Hartsfield handled my case regarding a safety deposit box located at Chase Bank on Fenkell Street in Detroit, MI. I am the legal surviving wife of James K. Shepherd who passed away on December 10, 2018.
When the bank sent out a letter saying that the box was going to be lost if a payment was not made. I sent in the payment and when I spoke to the bank manager she informed me that I would need to contact a probate court judge for an approval letter to open the box. I came to Detroit and paid for a filing fee to receive the letter. I was given a court date for which I came before the judge.
During the court proceedings my husband’s outside daughter Jamel Shepherd showed up and was crying throughout the court session. Questions directed to me Jamel kept answering them. At one point Jamel jumped into my face in a threatening manner and the judge only said she could be held in contempt of court if she continued with her kept doing it. In my opinion, Jamel should have been put out of the court room.
In October of 2018, James Shepherd and I were married for 50 years. Judge Judy Hartsfield told me that because James and I lived apart that in her opinion I no longer had a marriage. Many couples live apart and neither of them divorced one another. Nobody in that court room knew what type of relationship my husband and I shared. Because James had a side chick living with him did not change the fact that James and I remained married and still dealt with one another in the real sense, the true sense, as well as, the bible sense put into place by GOD Himself. The judge also rudely told my daughter that nothing she had to say meant anything because she was only a step-child. Never mind that James raised her and considered her his child and treated her as such. James and I had 3 children together and he raised them all including the daughter I had with my first husband.
The judge appointed a lawyer Mr. Jefferson who proved to be a poor excuse of a lawyer. He refused to do his job and made me come to court at least five times. And it did not matter that we supplied him with all of the information. All he did was come to court unprepared and stood there with a dumb smile on his face. I might add that I did not receive a copy of the letter until maybe 20 minutes before the judge called us up about the case. Once we got up there the judge made fun of me because I am losing my hearing. She kept asking me when was I going to get some hearing aids for which I replied SOON and she then wanted to know when Soon would be and I again replied SOON. That truly irritated me because neither she nor anybody else was going to contribute to the cost of my hearing aids. It was immaterial and to the case and I feel she was being unnecessary to the court proceedings. In any case, she dismissed the case which she knew was her intentions to began with. She could have done that during the first court date instead of having me make all these trips to Detroit.
As far as the safety deposit goes, the crooked lawyer was given the approval letter and he and 2 of the bank folk, plus the side-chick opened the box. Now I have the original letters and the only name on the box was my husband’s. However, when Jefferson shoved the letter in my hand, all of a sudden, the side chick’s name was added to the box. Mr. Jefferson claimed on the front page that NOTHING was found in the box, however, on the second page he says that he was present when the box was drilled open and that ALL OTHER CONTENTS were returned to the box. In nothing was found in the box how were they able to return the contents in the box. I call that DIRTY POOL. One thing I found out is that the judicial system is crooked and most certainly not to be trusted.
In any case, James Shepherd and I remained married until his death severed the marriage bond.
This letter is after the fact but I felt I needed to speak on the crooked way the case was handled by 2 court officials and the crooked bank managers.
Freddie M. Shepherd
919 E. Camille Street #13
White Cloud, MI 49349
231-245-1302
Freddie M.