Judge Benjamin Smith took a child from a single mother because she was accused of a crime of which she had not been proven guilty. This mother had never been in trouble with the law before and was the sole care-provider for her child with the help of her mother for 4 years. The Judge gave no orders to protect the mother's rights to her child. Custody of said child was given to the paternal grandparents, who were consistently absent in the child's life and had no legal standing to intervene. The maternal grandmother who did have standing to file a Petition for Intervention was dismissed from the case with a direct refusal by the Judge to receive visitation of her grandson. The family hasn't been allowed to see the child in a year and the paternal family has blocked all communication.



