I want to find a lawyer who is willing to take on Jackson County, specifically Recovery Opportunity Court (ROC Court) and, possibly, OnTrack. I certainly believe that Tanya should "pay for her crimes." I'm not trying to get her out of prison. My problem with the whole devastating mess is that I believe she should still be involved in ROC court and that OnTrack and ROC court set her up to fail and did her a major disservice by terminating her participation and sending her to prison.
I do not believe that justice is meted out fairly in ROC Court or Adult Drug Court. I do not believe that the OnTrack counselor assigned to Tanya is qualified to treat her...or qualified ON HER OWN to label Tanya as "untreatable." The young man Tanya was involved with is/was an Adult Drug Court client. He and Tanya did the same things to get into trouble with the court and OnTrack. He went to the County Work Center for 90 days and then was supposed to live there "in transition" for 6 months. The last I heard, he was already out in a half-way/sober-living home, taking trips to the coast, having fun with his new girlfriend. Tanya, however, was terminated from court and sent to prison for 4-1/2 years.
Tanya had just reestablished a successful and close relationship with her son, who will turn 5 on August 21st. He is confused and devastated because he had mommy back in his life, the relationship was healthy and happy, she was ready to start having him overnight at her sober living home... Now he has nightmares and cries out for mommy in his sleep. A four-year-old child has no real concept of "mommy can't come home for four years" -- that's as long as he's been alive. Mommy will be gone "a lifetime" to him.
The court system rushed her through each phase of treatment because she was doing "better than anyone ever has before!" Tanya needed medications...levothyroid (for hypothyroidism), effexor or seroquel (for depression, anxiety, panic, and borderline personality disorder), she needed dental care and medical care for fibromyalgia and serious back problems. People with thyroid problems need their medication; not just to live well, but to function well mentally. Tanya was without any medical treatment of any kind and the court did nothing to assist her with finding some. Yet, they criticized her when she started to act less-than-perfect and started to show signs of mental and emotional problems. In my opinion, the court and OnTrack greased the wheel that rolled Tanya into the actions she took. Yes, she made the decisions she made. But I believe that the decisions were colored by a psyche that was not operating at normal capacity.
I want to sue them for the emotional distress on Elijah, the stress on our family, and..yes..the emotional strain Tanya is suffering by being so far away from her son and her family. She could have been sentenced to 6 months in the Transition Center...with no release for work or school...that way her son could have spent a little time with her every Sunday. He understood when mommy was locked up down here...it was her "getting better place" and he still got to see her.
My AA and Al-Anon friends will probably tell me that I'm out of bounds with this one. But I would like to talk to an attorney...one that is willing to take on the system. My bet is that it would be one from out of the area.
IF this blog gets read by anyone who knows that kind of attorney, or IS that kind of attorney, please respond...my gut tells me there is a case here. I've prayed about it and my gut instinct hasn't gone away, it's gotten stronger.
I want restitution for what Tanya's family is going through that was totally unnecessary. If she was doing better than anyone ever had in their program, why did they just give up on her. Prison will change her and there's no way to know if she will come out much better or much worse. Either way, her son, her parents, and even Tanya should be compensated for what I believe was a decision made out of hurt pride and anger.
It would need to be a "pro bono" case...or a "gets paid when we win" kind of deal.
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