Is Due Process Really about the Child? Or about an Industry of Corruption?

[Guest guest]

Is Due Process Really about the Child? Or about an Industry of

Corruption?

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By Deabold

Published March 15, 2009

Recently SchoolWatch was provided information regarding the billing to

the

Gwinnett County School District in Georgia. This billing was

associated with

due process hearing that addressed the needs of a child with autism

that the

district had wrongly classified and denied services for an extended

period of

years. The case itself is interesting, and currently in the federal

courts on

appeal by the School District, after the parents won compensatory

education

for their daughter with autism. But the denial of appropriate

classification

and services is a story in itself. What SchoolWatch has learned is

that the

law firm involved in representing the School District billed nearly

half a

million dollars; $450,260! And fees paid to experts who testified on

behalf of

the district were $166,029! Who are the victims of this type of

litigation?

The family and the tax payer, of course.

Gwinnett County tax payers should bend over and brace themselves, as the

case is only now finding its way into the federal court system – a

complex and

costly arena. The Weatherly Firm of Atlanta is representing the

district there

too, and has been widely reported to have charged $1.7 Million to the

schools Hamilton County, TN. This was a case eventually lost by

Hamilton County.

Another $600,000 was paid to experts in this Hamilton County case. It

has been

reported that the County Commissioner, Larry Henrys, was advised early

on

that the case could have been settled for $150,000. One has to wonder

why the

case went forward, and who were the beneficiaries of this litigation.

Other reports of the Weatherly Firm's billing of school districts in

special

education cases involve the Ravenswood School District of San , CA

having been charged $2.1 Million. This billing occurred while the

school district

was on the verge of bankruptcy. What does this mean? Well, because

public

entities must meet their obligations to their venders, it means that the

District must raise taxes to meet its obligations. This is akin to the

Weatherly

Firm having its hand directly in the tax payers' pockets without any

intermediary. To emphasize how outrageous this Ravenswood attorney fee

issue was,

reports indicated that it translated into $420 per student in the

district.

(Mercury News) In the subsequent school year, due largely to the

publicity

surrounding this scandal, the district began using county counsel at a

rate of $30,000

per year. In a related federal court case, Justice scolded the

Weatherly Firm for " needless increaseing the cost of litigation.. " You

really

have to wonder about Charlie Weatherly. Reports indicate that he has

billed

expensive dinners to the district, one of which included a $27.00 bar

bill.

Assuming those drinks are $6.00 each, Charlie Weatherly also appears

to be tying

one on at tax payers' expense as well. When does Charlie's party end?

Only

when tax payers' and boards of education announce, " Enough is enough. "

The new superintendent at Ravenswood, Floyd Gonella, recognizing after

the

fact that the District had been burned by the Weatherly Firm, announce

an

intention to stop paying the Weatherly Firm and to attempt to get

money back that

had already been paid, " In 28 years as a superintendent, I have never

experienced such outrageous costs. The amount taken away from the

little kids of

Ravenswood is unconscionable.

Lawyers like Charlie Weatherly are not the only ones cashing in at tax

payer

expense on the industry that has developed around denying children

appropriate special education services and school boards failure to

provide

appropriate oversight to this spending. One witness for the School

District was paid

$136,500 in the Gwinnett County case! B.J. Freeman, a retired university

professor and clinician, now appears to be making a living testifying

for the

Weatherly Firm. In the Hamilton County case, she was paid $188,747.50.

Other

witnesses profiting from the Hamilton County case included Dr.

Rostetter who

raked in $74,632.47, Dr. Mitch Taubman with $50,850..00, and Dr.

Leaf

with $48,062.50.

It is interesting that the Weatherly Firm goes to CA and other distant

locations to bring in witnesses that have been paid handsomely before

in cases he

is involved in. One has to wonder about the business connection

between the

Weatherly Firm and those testifying for it, especially when you

consider these

numbers. In light of the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Arlington, it is

particularly troubling because parents are not allowed to recover the

costs of

their experts that testify in these proceedings, yet districts can buy

the

testimony of witnesses at figures exceeding $100,000. Is there really

any

justification for a school district to bring in lawyers and witnesses

from across

the county? Might not a local professional provide the same service at

a more

affordable price? Perhaps they those local professionals are not

willing to

compromise their integrity for the likes of the Weatherly Firm.

B.J Freeman is a retired clinician and professor from UCLA School of

Medicine. In her years at UCLA she apparently worked extensively with

diagnosis,

psychological assessment, and treatment of individuals with autism.

She now

appears to be supplementing her retirement by testifying for the

Weatherly Firm

in order to deny appropriate services to this same population. (Yes, the

districts did not prevail in any of the cases that we have identified

B.J. Freeman

testified in.) SchoolWatch has been unable to identify any cases in

which

Freeman has testified for a family.

Boards of Education and tax payers need to be vigilant of firms such

as the

Weatherly Firm when they come marching in to represent the district in a

special education matter. What could be the possible motivation in

engaging such

a firm? Are their district administrators or board members benefiting

from

the arrangement? Might there be wining and dining of district officials?

Kickbacks? What could possibly explain this kind of waste repeating

itself around

the country? In my opinion the public and media need to take a cold

hard look

at the school district Lawyers and the people who get paid to

testify.The

system is broken and in my opinion the public and the school children

are being

abused.

This opinion piece is offered by Deabold ,SchoolWatch Founder

Do you have information about a School district,district lawyers or paid

witnesses ?

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