August 1, 2024
The State of Texas goes before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit on Monday.
Its lawyers want contempt fines levied by a federal court judge in Corpus Christi over failures in its foster care system struck down — and they want the judge removed from the case. That Judge — Janis Jack — called the state foster system broken in 2015. She said many kids left the system worse than when they entered it.
The case stretches back more than 13 years now — the product of many youth and their attorneys suing over civil rights violations.
Alyssa Murphy is now 27. She entered foster care at age 6. She has her own child — a child significantly younger than the lawsuit she joined at 14.