Angry family law judge takes CPS to task for removing children from parents

During a "show cause" hearing that wrapped up Monday, a CPS case worker took the Fifth when asked why he took away Michael and Melissa Bright's 2-year-old daughter and 5-month-old son by emergency removal.

Last July, the couples infant son fell out of a collapsible chair and hurt his head. Texas Children's Hospital contacted Child Protective Services. Michael Bright says he did something every parent should do when CPS comes calling -- tape record everything.

"We got some good advice from a family friend who's been through this same kind of hell," Bright said.

In a text, the CPS case worker tells the parents his agency has no legal right to take the kids.

The parents say they tried to do everything CPS wanted them to do but the case worker kept dragging his feet.

Twenty-one days pass, then the case worker goes to court requesting an emergency removal.

"He's down in court swearing that these children are in imminent danger and he hasn't actually seen them in 35 days," said attorney Stephanie Proffitt.

When asked in a "show cause" hearing why he took the kids, the case worker took the Fifth.

"For their main witness to get up and admit he potentially lied to have this child removed or had these children removed was shocking to me," said attorney Dennis Slate.

"It was shocking," Proffitt said. "People laughed, people gasped."

During the three days the children were in CPS custody, the 2-year-old ended up with a black eye and a bad rash.

In an unprecedented move, Judge Mike Schneider told CPS to have no contact with the Bright children even though they were in CPS custody.

A sanctions hearing is scheduled for later this month and Child Protective Services could be required to fork over tens of thousands of dollars. The state agency tells us it will give us a response after they research the case.