"Ultimate Captor" Gov. Jeb Bush Subpoenaed
Effort Seeks to Return State-Abducted 5 Year-Old to Dad
Date: Thu, 3 Aug 2000 14:06:02 EDT
On Thursday, 20 July 2000 "Ultimate captor" Gov. Jeb Bush was subpoenaed today to provide a videotaped deposition in the efforts of a Miramar man to have returned to him his daughter, Ashleigh Danielle Abbott, now 5, who was seized by the state 2 1/4 years ago and has been illegally held in a Fort Lauderdale group emergency shelter ever since.
Today, 3 August, wiithin 24 hours of its filing, the new petition for writ of habeas corpus seeking immediate return of 5-year-old political prisoner Ashleigh Danielle Abbott (illegally held nearly half her life in a group emergency shelter) has been transferred to a new judge.
The new petition, filed yesterday (Aug. 2) and originally assigned to Broward Circuit Judge Jeffrey E. Streitfeld, today (Aug. 3) was ordered transferred to a family court judge, Broward Circuit Judge Robert B. Carney. Although a hearing on a habeas petition statutorily must be held within 48 hours of filing, two previous filings, one in the 4th District Court of Appeal and the other before Broward Circuit Judge Dorian Damoorgian, have not been acted upon in a timely manner.
Ashleigh's case has moved through more than 10 judges since she originally was incarcerated by Judge Kathleen Kearney, who, the state just conceded, failed to enter an order of adjudication before heading to Tallahassee to take over as Gov. Bush's secretary of the Department of Children and Families.
The sheltering of Ashleigh, who has deteriorated to 50 percent psychological capacity, represents the longest such captivity without adjudication against a protective parent in U.S. history. Numerous legal actions are pending, including a subpoena for deposition that has been ignored by Gov. Bush.
Ashleigh is being represented by Karen Gievers' Children's Advocacy Foundation (phone 850-222-1961). The father, Paul Scott Abbott (phone 954-962-2503) of Miramar, is being represented pro-bono by Orlando civil rights attorney H. Robert Dowd (phone 407-849-0548).
The next hearing before Judge Damoorgian is set for Tuesday (Aug. 8) at 3:30 p.m. in Room 241 of the Broward County Courthouse, 201 S.E. 6th St., Fort Lauderdale.
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Orlando attorney H. Robert Dowd (phone 407-849-0548), in whose federal class action suit against the state the Abbott family also are named plaintiffs, filed the deposition notice today in connection with a pending habeas corpus action. The deposition has been set for Thursday, July 27, at 9 a.m., at the Miramar home where Ashleigh had been singlehandedly raised since infancy by her father until her seizure on grounds that he "failed to protect" her when she returned home from a supervised visit with her mentally ill mother with a fat lip.
Today, Dowd, who July 10 filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus demanding Ashleigh's return with the 4th District Court of Appeal in West Palm Beach, filed a similar petition in Broward County Circuit Court, noting that the appeals court "has apparently rejected with no comment our initial Habeas Corpus petition." Dowd said that he also intends to file a similar petition with the Florida Supreme Court should the pending petitions not be favorably ruled upon promptly.
In today's filing with Broward Circuit Court, Dowd states that a "possibility for the continued 'custody' and non-release would be political motivation of the State and the ultimate captor Governor Jeb Bush of Florida."
The habeas corpus petitions, filed on behalf of Ashleigh and her father, Paul Scott Abbott (phone 954-962-2503), 43, a journalist and lay pastor, name as respondents:
o Gov. Bush, who the petition alleges "has been personally aware of Ashleigh's situation for a considerable period of time and yet has deliberately failed repeatedly to take appropriate action to see to it that she is returned to her father"
o DCF Secretary Kathleen Kearney, who as a Broward dependency judge initially seized Ashleigh and ordered her emergency shelter stay beyond legal limits
o The Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF)
o DCF District 10 Administrator Phyllis Scott
o Children's Home Society of Florida Intercoastal Division, which runs the Fort Lauderdale group emergency shelter where Ashleigh's been held captive since her April 1998 abduction by the state.
Ashleigh's captivity is believed the longest any U.S. child has been held in a group emergency shelter without adjudication against the protective parent; law limits such holding to 30 days.
The next hearing in Broward Circuit Court, on matters unrelated to the habeas corpus, is scheduled for Tuesday, July 25, at 4 p.m., before Judge Dorian Damoorgian.
Ashleigh also is a named plaintiff in a federal class action suit filed last month by Karen Gievers' Tallahassee-based Children's Advocacy Foundation (phone 850-222-1961), which also is representing Ashleigh in an individual action against the state.
The petitions ask the courts to "correct a most tragic, unconscionable and shameful injustice being perpetrated upon an innocent child and father by the State of Florida." They note that "Ashleigh continues to deteriorate in shelter care, where records indicate that she now is functioning at only 50 percent psychological level and by DCF's own records is indicated to have been subjected to or involved in fondling or other inappropriate touching by other children at the shelter. Further, a Broward County Circuit Court Judge has stated that most of the damage to Ashleigh has been inflicted by the state."
The petition alleges retaliation by the state against the father following his going to legislators and media and having taken part in legal actions, alleging "it seems that the state is devoting its energies to attempting to destroy the parent-child bond, contrary to the public policy" of the state.
Note to Media: Copies of the 7-page petition and 2-page deposition notice available by fax upon request.
MEDIA CONTACTS: Orlando attorney J. Robert Dowd, 407-849-0548; Paul Scott Abbott, Ashleigh's dad, 954-962-2503 (beep 305-277-1065).
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