‘They took my baby.’

Staff Writer

Carla Legates, mother of two, has had only limited visitation rights for the last two years with one son and is facing the possibility that the same fate awaits her and her second child, a

4-week-old boy.

Legates, 30, returned to Rogers County from her residence in the state of Kansas on Tuesday for a court review. She believed her court appearance could lead to reunification with her older son who has been in

foster care since he was 2 days old.

Instead, Legates was charged with contempt of court because she refused to reveal the whereabouts of her

newborn.

Legates’ mother, Helen Basks, was with her daughter at Tuesday’s hearing. Legates has a severe hearing loss and a documented learning disability. Legates was born deaf and had reconstructive surgery as a child.

Basks, speaking for her daughter, said Legates was denied a court reporter at the Tuesday hearing and was later denied her communication device

while jailed.

On Wednesday, Basks filed a notice of judicial complaint against District Judge Dynda Post and a grievance against Assistant District Attorney Jenny Sanbrano on behalf of her daughter. A Discrimination Complaint Form was also filed against the Rogers County legal system with the

U.S. Department of Justice in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

What transpired in the hearing on Tuesday, and again on Thursday when Legates was back in court, is not public record due to state statutes that seal proceedings dealing with juvenile and deprived children cases. However, public records do confirm that Legates was charged with contempt of court, jailed on that charge and held in the County Jail for two days. She was released Thursday on $5,851.40 bond.

Thursday afternoon, the contempt charges were dropped and in place Legates has been charged with “obstruction of an officer.” Bond was set at $5,000, plus an additional cash bond of $851.40 for failure to pay $50 in outstanding fines on a previous driving-under-the-influence misdemeanor traffic violation.

Thursday’s court appearance briefly reunited Legates with the father of their 4-week-old baby. Ray Woodson had been arrested Wednesday evening for violating a child custody order. His bail was set at $10,000.

Woodson, 40, who was not party to Legates’ first deprived child case, was taken into custody when the Sheriff’s Office served a warrant for the removal of the 4-week-old child from Woodson’s care.

The events leading up to Legates’ and Woodson’s arrests and charges hinge on efforts by the District Attorney’s Office to place the child into Department of Human Services custody.

Legates gave birth to the baby boy on Sept. 7 in Kansas, where she and Woodson have lived since August.

“I went to the hospital (in Claremore) with an infection while I was pregnant,” Legates said in an interview Friday. “I was on antibiotics that night because of the infection. The next morning at 5 a.m., the nurse said they were going to induce my labor. They took my mom (Basks) out into the hallway and told her that DHS was being contacted to come and get the baby.

“My sister stepped in and stopped them from inducing labor, and we were dismissed from the hospital. When I got out, that’s when I decided we were moving,” Legates said.

Legates and Woodson claim they were unaware that a child custody order in regard to their unborn child was in place. However, events that took place at the hospital led them to believe plans were in place to take the child as soon as it was born. Legates chose to return to Oklahoma alone for the Tuesday hearing just for that reason.

Woodson and the baby traveled to Rogers County on Wednesday only after learning Legates had been jailed.

“I came back here to support Carla,” Woodson said Friday. “I had friends tell me to go back to Kansas and I said, ‘No, I won’t.’ I’m staying here to support her and to keep her strong.

“Myself and Carla and my son ... are a family, and that’s the way we’re going to stay,” Woodson said.

The log from the Rogers County Sheriff’s Office showing calls for service dated Wednesday, Oct. 3, shows an investigator and a representative of Rogers County Department of Human Services arrived at 20633 S. Diana Drive, rural Rogers County, at 4:17 p.m. Wednesday to take custody of a small infant. The log shows dialogue of radio calls stating that although the baby was not present at the home at that time, the investigator would “probably be going back.”

At 7:49 p.m., the investigator reported being back at the residence where the baby was taken into DHS custody and Woodson was arrested.

Legates had spoken to Woodson via a telephone call from jail. The calls were reportedly made to the home on Diana Drive where Woodson was eventually arrested by Chief Investigator Darrin Hester.

Woodson was booked into the Rogers County Jail.

“They charged me with violating a child custody order that I had no knowledge of,” Woodson said.

On Thursday, Woodson was released from jail on bond. Woodson has a previous felony drug record, but had no outstanding warrants at the time of his arrest.

The text of the actual judicial complaint filed against Post was not available. Only the notice was filed in the Court Clerk’s Office. The grievance and discrimination complaints were also filed with the Court Clerk.

The grievance complaint against Sanbrano states the assistant district attorney “wrongfully kept Carla Legates in the legal system and denied access to her disability communication device.”

The complaint also mentions that a court reporter has not been present in any proceedings since 2005 and that Legates was denied a court reporter in Tuesday’s hearing. Basks claims her daughter has been denied due process.

According to the information attached to the grievance, the Oklahoma Supreme Court has delegated to the Oklahoma Bar Association the responsibility to investigate complaints filed against attorneys when necessary. The Office of the General Counsel with the Bar Association will review the documents filed in the grievance and could open an investigation, ask for more information or make notification that action cannot be taken by that office.

If it is determined by the Office of the General Counsel that an investigation is necessary, Basks will be notified, according to the information, and an investigator or attorney will also contact her. Investigations by the office are confidential and are limited to the “ethical and professional conduct of the lawyer.”

Legates and Woodson have obtained counsel from outside Rogers County. Kenneth Morgan and Andre Carolina are with the law firm of Morgan & Carolina in Tulsa.

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