Civil-rights advocates tell Mobile County Commission to withhold funding, say courts facilitate unconstitutional child removals

Civil-rights advocates told the Mobile County Commission on Oct. 27 that county budget allocations and local law-enforcement actions are facilitating unconstitutional arrests and child removals, and they served formal legal notice seeking county action.

Taniwa Downing, a litigator who said she represents people affected nationwide, told commissioners she has gathered about 17,000 affidavits alleging individuals were charged by information rather than by grand-jury indictment and said she is preparing litigation on behalf of hundreds of thousands of people. "I'm preparing to litigate this on behalf of more than 700,000 people that are currently imprisoned here in America illegally and constitutionally," Downing said, and she said she had served the county's attorney general and state justices with notice.

Downing told the commission that charging by information rather than indictment removes a neutral, third-party grand jury and can lead to constitutional violations under the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments. She warned elected officials that, having been ‘‘provided with this notice,’’ they could be exposed to federal criminal statutes she cited if they continue to fund and facilitate the practices she described.

Jessica Saxton, who said she is in active litigation, said federal funding streams create perverse incentives that result in improper removals of children. "Our children are not for sale," Saxton said, arguing that Title IV-D, IV-E and IV-B funding structures incentivize placements she called unlawful and that county budget contributions to court operations facilitate those outcomes.

Melissa Harrah, a family advocate and paralegal, described cases in which she said Department of Human Resources materials were treated as prosecutorial evidence without adequate due process and called for increased county oversight of state-funded processes that remove children from parents.

Commissioners asked clarifying questions about the remedies the speakers sought. One commissioner asked directly whether the suggestion was to withhold funding from the sheriff's office; after brief discussion another commissioner said, "I think we should fund it for the next month," indicating the commission would not immediately halt sheriff funding.

The speakers placed a formal notice on the record and urged the commission to review county funding that they say supports the local courts and law-enforcement actions described. The commission did not adopt an immediate policy change during the meeting; the public speakers said they would proceed with legal steps if oversight and corrective actions are not taken.

The commission continued with its agenda after the public-comment period. The complaint and the notices placed on the record have been entered into the meeting record; the advocates said they have provided contact information and asked county officials to engage with them to address the alleged constitutional issues.