Show L Orders Moms to Learn English M. M Judge m m M ra B 1 T 1 i T Union have Barl Ellen Balers Los Angeles Times abuse and child A judge hearing in Tennessee has cases instruction to to neglect unusual an who have given mothers immigrant English En Enor some come before him Learn year 18 else was an or it recently Mexico Most 0 Oaxaca Ch from to the woman old reported been who had Department of Childrens Children's Services for failing to immunize her toddler and show up for appointments At a hearing last month to monitor the mothers mother's custody of the child Wilson County Judge Barry Tatum instructed the woman to learn English and to use birth control the Lebanon Democrat newspaper reported Last October Tatum gave a similar similar similar sim sim- ilar order to a Mexican woman who had been cited for neglect of r J her year old daughter said a lawyer who is representing the woman in her appeal Setting a acourt acourt acourt court date six months away the judge told the woman she should be able to speak English at a grade fourth-grade level by that meeting If she failed he warned he would of begin the process of termination parental rights The court specially informs the mother that if she does not make the effort to learn English she is running the risk of losing any connection connection connection con con- legally morally and physically with her daughter forever forever forever for for- from the ever reads a court order hearing according to Jerry Gonzalez the Nashville attorney who represents the woman Tatums Tatum's orders have become the subject of debate in this Tennessee community which has seen an influx of non-English non speakers over the last decade Civil rights advocates including the American 1 CIVIl Civi J i er U ies u. u un charged that his orders are discriminatory discriminatory discriminatory and unconstitutional But many of Tatums Tatum's neighbors cheered the principle behind his should act saying new immigrants immigrants' be encouraged to assimilate more fully into American life Juvenile court proceedings are areSee areSee areSee See Judge continued continue on page 4 Judge continued from front often more informal than adult cases and its it's not unusual for judges to give lifestyle advice to parents who come before them in neglect or abuse cases And when written down and signed by the judge those instructions take on the force of a court order Such orders should pertain to behavior that contributes to abuse and neglect said Susan Brooks an expert on family law at Vanderbilt University Law School Brooks said she was not familiar with Tatums Tatum's orders but typically the inability to speak English would not fall into that category The state Supreme Court regards the right to raise ones one's own children children children chil chil- dren as a fundamental one she added treading on sacred ground she said Tatum did not respond to interview requests from the Los Angeles Times but he has explained that he gave the orders in hopes that the parents parents parents par par- would make a greater effort to assimilate into American society opening more opportunities to their children He has given similar orders to speak non ing parents in as many as five cases Here we have an American citizen who runs the risk of losing out on all the If ties if she's not assimilated into the culture he told the Lebanon Democrat He said he has never removed a child from a parent because the parent did not speak English Because records from juvenile juvenile juve juve- juvenile nile court are sealed further details of the cases were not available In Lebanon a a city 20 miles east of Nashville with a population population population lation of just more than it was once rare to hear a foreign accent much less a foreign language Now Lebanon has become home to more than 1200 for for- eign-born eign agricultural and manufacturing workers including about whose primary language is a language indigenous to Mexico Though the judges judge's order may have been a mistake the general sentiment is if people are going to be in this country we all have a moral obligation to learn to speak the language language language lan lan- guage said Bob Bright 61 who runs an insurance agency in Lebanon I know if I was in Mexico I would make an effort to learn Hispanic Tatum a term first-term judge is becoming known for his unorthodox rulings L Last st year for instance he sentenced a father to attend high school with his son to address repeated repeat repeat- ed truancy Bright said the judge a well-liked well attorney before he was elected judge has been known to pay personal visits to prisoners in jail and to join troubled teens in picking up trash as part of their community ty service In the October case Tatum made a clear link between the mothers mother's English abilities and her parental rights said Gonzalez the mothers mother's ney In the case an year old girl had been placed with a foster family after allegations of neglect Gonzalez said The mother who spoke only asked the court to arrange counseling and the judge denied that request instead giving the women a deadline for basic mastery of English Gonzalez would not share the judges judge's written orders dated Nov 4 but read a long passage from the document If t the mother is able to learn English she will be able to speak with her daughter forthe for forthe forthe the first time in a substantive manner and will show her that she loves her and is willing to do anything necessary to connect connect connect con con- with her the order read Gonzalez said the judge was setting the mother up for fail fail- ure She probably doesn't have havea a sixth-grade sixth education I daresay the judge himself an educated man could not learn to speak Spanish to a fourth- fourth grade level in six months Gonzalez said He b gave her heran heran an impossible task S |