LEO Round Table with Chip DeBlock

S11E136, Georgia Appeals Court Upends Alabama Limits On Convicted Parents

Georgia appeals court upends Alabama limits on convicted parents. Former judge gets slap on the wrist for helping illegal alien evade ICE. Court rules family cannot sue cop who fired shots that killed two people during raid. PIT maneuver caught on video deemed not justified.

Parental Rights, Judicial Accountability, and Split-Second Police Decisions

Summary

A Personal Return to the Program

Chip DeBlock opens by explaining his unexpected absence from the show after learning that a nephew with glioblastoma had entered hospice care. He describes traveling with his wife to Georgia to see family, reflects on grief and Christian faith, and asks viewers to keep his nephew and extended family in their prayers. Chief Ralph responds with sympathy and relates his own experiences with glioblastoma and mesothelioma in his family.

When Parental Rights Collide With Public Safety

The lead legal discussion examines an Eleventh Circuit ruling involving an Alabama law that permanently prevented certain registered offenders from living or staying overnight with minors, including their own children. The host explains that the plaintiff had a prior child-pornography conviction and later became a father. The majority treated a parent's right to live with and raise a child as a fundamental liberty, while the dissent argued that the plaintiff's criminal status had not been given sufficient weight.

Rehabilitation, Monitoring, and the Protection of Children

Chief Ralph emphasizes that child safety must remain the central concern, particularly because the plaintiff had earlier supervision violations involving pornography. He and Chip discuss treatment, monitoring, the possible relationship between childhood victimization and later offending, and the difficulty of balancing rehabilitation with prevention. Both frame the issue as a serious conflict between constitutional parental rights and the state's responsibility to protect minors.

A Former Judge Receives a Light Sentence

The program next addresses former Milwaukee County judge Hannah Dugan, who was convicted of an obstruction-related offense connected to helping an undocumented defendant avoid federal immigration officers. Chip reports that she received a $5,000 fine without incarceration or probation. Chief Ralph criticizes the sentence as too lenient and contrasts the protections available to judges with the qualified-immunity standards applied to police officers.

The Harding Street Raid and Qualified Immunity

A lengthy segment reviews the civil litigation arising from Houston's deadly Harding Street no-knock raid. The host distinguishes between the former officer convicted for supplying false warrant information and another officer who participated in executing the warrant. Chip and Chief Ralph argue that the participating officer faced an armed, chaotic scene, including gunfire and wounded officers, and they support the appellate court's conclusion that qualified immunity protected split-second actions taken without knowledge that the warrant was based on false information.

PIT Maneuvers and Pursuit Judgment

The final story concerns a Connecticut pursuit in which a trooper used repeated PIT maneuvers against a fleeing Honda after reported high speeds, stop-stick deployment, and the loss of a wheel. Although the inspector general reportedly concluded that the use of deadly force was not legally justified, no criminal charges were pursued. Chief Ralph defends the trooper's decision as reasonable under the circumstances and notes that supervisory authorization appeared to have been requested.