Watch: NCLA Video Exposes Flawed Administrative Review Process at AZ Dep’t of Child Safety
Washington, DC (July 11, 2020) – The New Civil Liberties Alliance, a nonpartisan, nonprofit civil rights group, released a video today featuring the case of Phillip B. v. Mike Faust and Arizona Department of Child Safety. The video highlights the plight of NCLA client Phillip B. (whose name has been redacted to preserve his anonymity under court rules), who is challenging the decision of the Arizona Department of Child Safety (DCS) to place his name on the Central Registry of child abusers before he had exhausted state-court appeals. Mr. B., an educator with decades of experience and an untarnished reputation, worked with troubled youth placed in group homes until 2018 when he was falsely accused by a teen in his care.
Even after an independent administrative law judge (ALJ) from the Office of Administrative Hearings cleared him of the charge, finding no probable cause, then-DCS Director Gregory McKay took matters into his own hands. Director McKay rejected the ALJ’s factual findings and credibility assessments and ordered that Mr. B.’s name be placed on the Central Registry for 25 years.
The video brings to light numerous aspects of the administrative review process at DCS that are ruining the lives of innocent people in Arizona like Mr. B. by depriving them of due process of law under the Arizona and United States Constitutions.
Mr. B. has appealed to the Superior Court in Maricopa County to clear his good name. The Honorable Douglas Gerlach will hear oral argument from the attorneys via audio conference on July 14, 2020, at 9:30 am Arizona Time.
Excerpts from the video:
“Phillip B.’s case is one example of a larger problem at DCS and at state agencies across Arizona. A penalty as severe as this should be decided by a court of law. The New Civil Liberties Alliance is fighting this case because every American has a right to a full and fair hearing. That is not what happened in this case. We need to right that wrong.”
– Adi Dynar, NCLA Litigation Counsel
“I have my bachelor’s in criminal justice. I respect the rights of others, the judicial system. But I didn’t feel due process was done here. Everything that I’ve worked for is at stake right now.”
– Phillip B., NCLA client
ABOUT NCLA
NCLA is a nonpartisan, nonprofit civil rights group founded by prominent legal scholar Philip Hamburger to protect constitutional freedoms from violations by the Administrative State. NCLA’s public-interest litigation and other pro bono advocacy strive to tame the unlawful power of state and federal agencies and to foster a new civil liberties movement that will help restore Americans’ fundamental rights.