Editorial: Careful balance / Even those accused of child abuse have
rights
Wednesday, June 01, 2005

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

When Pennsylvanians become parents, do they lose some of their
constitutional protection against unreasonable searches? That's the
question at the heart of a recent state Superior Court ruling, which
tackled the tricky issue that arises when accused child abusers
refuse to let caseworkers search their home.

In a court case from Susquehanna County that drew the attention of
child advocates, a mother and father accused of child abuse refused
to let a child welfare caseworker enter their home. With no evidence
beyond the lone allegation, the county child welfare agency was able
to obtain a court order allowing workers to search the home despite
the parents' objections. After the search, the allegation was
determined to be unfounded.

The family sued, saying that the United States and Pennsylvania
constitutions protected them against unreasonable searches. In a
decision that pitted the protection of vulnerable children against
the right to security in one's own home, the three-judge panel sided
with the parents. The ruling, written by Judge Kate Ford Elliott,
noted that the county's responsibilities "to investigate each and
every allegation of child abuse/neglect, including visiting the
child's home at least once during its investigation, do not trump an
individual's constitutional rights."

The court's decision may leave some cases of child abuse harder to
fathom for investigators, but its ruling was the correct one. Basic
constitutional rights are designed to protect people -- be they flag
burners or atheists -- when public sentiment will not. Now in
Pennsylvania the same constitutional rights extend to those accused
of child abuse.

Ultimately, only about 20 percent of child abuse accusations in
Pennsylvania are substantiated, according to the Department of
Public Welfare, meaning many homes could be searched on the basis of
spurious, and often vindictive, allegations. Far from banning
searches when accused adults are unwilling, the ruling simply
demands that probable cause exist before a court arms investigators
with a search warrant.

Respecting the constitutional rights of adults when the welfare of
children hangs in the balance is no simple matter, but
Pennsylvania's Superior Court judges did a fair job of balancing
both interests.




http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05152/513453.stm