Jury to put price tag on family's suffering in DCFS suit

A federal jury is being asked to put a price tag on the emotional suffering of a Davis County couple whose ailing 12-year-old son was forcibly taken from their West Point home by state social workers in 1999.

Attorneys for the State of Utah said the caseworkers with the Division of Child and Family Services entered the house of James and Connie Roska on May 29, 1999, and removed their wheelchair-bound son on suspicion that Rusty was a victim of Munchausen syndrome by proxy. The condition is when a parent can intentionally make a child sick to gain attention from others.

John Soltis, assistant Utah attorney general, said case workers believed that if they removed Rusty Roska from the home, and if his health improved, that would prove their suspicions. At the time, doctors were trying to find the cause of Rusty's sickness, which included chronic pain and loss of appetite. It was later determined by doctors that Rusty had suffered from a leaking gall bladder.

Roska family attorney Steven Russell said caseworkers Shirley Morrison and Melinda Sneddon, along with a police officer, entered the Roska's home without a warrant or court order. Russell told the jury that other children and Connie Roska were physically pushed and verbally berated by the caseworkers.

Last February the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the caseworkers violated the Roska's 14th Amendment right to due process in entering the home and taking the minor without the benefit of a court hearing.

Connie Roska took the witness stand to testify how devastated she was when her son was taken from her home, and how much more devastated she was when one caseworker later told her the state worker was pressured by a supervisor, Shirley Morrison, to take the boy even though he was showing improvement.

James Roska also took the stand to describe his emotional trauma of feeling powerless to stop state workers from taking his stepson. At one point, Roska said he contemplated taking back his son by force but thought better of it.

"Part of my soul was ripped from my body," James Roska said. But even after eventually gaining back custody, James Roska said he could see in his son's eyes "distrust" for his parents' not coming to get him sooner.

"They took more than just my son, they took more than they can ever imagine from me," he said.

Upon cross examination, James Roska admitted to saying he wanted the jury to award him enough money to care for his entire family.

The trial is expected to continue for the rest of the work week with the case going to the jury by Monday.

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