AUSTIN (KXAN) — A federal judge who, for more than a decade, presided in the legal fight surrounding Texas foster care will be removed from the case, after a divided appeals court declined to reconsider its earlier decision.
In October, a panel of three judges from the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals decided to re-assign U.S. District Judge Janis Jack. It cited her “antagonistic demeanor” toward the defendants, which include Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and the leaders of the state agencies in charge of child welfare — Health and Human Services and the Department of Family and Protective Services.
The plaintiffs, who represent thousands of children in the state’s care, appealed that panel’s decision. One of their attorneys, Paul Yetter, said the judge “deserves a medal” for her work to reform the state’s struggling system since the lawsuit was filed in 2011.
However, the 5th Circuit declined to reconsider her removal in a 9-5 vote on Tuesday.
Hours before the court issued its order, monitors assigned by Jack to oversee reforms to the foster care system filed a new report with details about several children’s deaths.
The report outlines how one child died while at a movie theatre with staff and other residents from a residential treatment facility in Greenville, Texas. It describes another case where a child died from an injury in a car accident, after running away from an emergency shelter. It also notes the death of another child from a fentanyl overdose, while staying in a respite care home.
In response to that monitor’s report, Yetter said in a statement, “Innocent children are still dying in state care. This is not a safe system.”
Attorneys for the state have repeatedly argued it has made progress in reforming the system and making it safer for children. They noted Texas agencies have spent millions of dollars trying to comply with Judge Jack’s court-ordered reforms — a fact the 5th Circuit panel of judges recognized in it’s October ruling.
That ruling also cited excerpts of interactions between Judge Jack and leadership from those state agencies and their attorneys, that the panel said show a “pattern” of disrespect from Judge Jack.
However, in a dissenting opinion to this week’s order confirming her removal, 5th Circuit Judge Stephen Higginson wrote that he believes their decision not to reconsider the case is based on “miscalculations.” He also noted that he was “untroubled by Judge Jack’s diligent attention to the interests of children in the Texas foster care system.”
He closed by saying, “Today, we turn away the children protected by those guarantees and shut the doors of this court. On the other side, with them, is Supreme Court precedent and our own case law and the familiarity built by a fellow inferior court judge over many long years. On the other side is abuse and neglect, put out of sight of the law once more. We should rehear this case. I respectfully dissent
