Qualified Immunity
Page 27
“Court is adjourned.”
Forty-Seven
Headlines
March 6, 2002
The Plain-Dealer
Judge’s Daughter Kidnapped
Cleveland—Recently confirmed federal judge Sheila Harrison Grant has allegedly kidnapped her thirteen-year-old daughter from the custody of the Cuyahoga County Department of Children and Family Services and fled the county on Friday, social workers said.
* * *
Grant, whose daughter Olivia was removed from her custody due to her alleged alcohol abuse, was recently confirmed by the United States Senate. She was poised to become the first African American woman district judge to serve in northern Ohio.
* * *
After Grant’s confirmation, juvenile court Judge Dorthea MacKinnon found Olivia to be neglected and dependent. The juvenile court removed the child from Grant’s custody. Olivia’s foster parent reported Olivia missing when she didn’t come home from school on Friday afternoon.
* * *
“I was worried sick,” said Marcelle Wormwood who has been fostering children for more than a dozen years. “I don’t live in the best neighborhood, but it’s usually safe for the children to walk home from school,” Wormwood said. “I was just beside myself when I thought some stranger had snatched the girl.”
* * *
Cleveland attorney Casey Cort represented Grant in her juvenile court matter. “I saw Grant on Thursday afternoon,” Cort said. “I have no knowledge of her current whereabouts.
As an officer of the court, I would have been required to report a future crime if I had knowledge of it.” Cort would speak no further with reporters. Her statement issued yesterday confirms her lack of knowledge of Grant’s whereabouts or any plans of kidnapping.
* * *
Neither local, state, nor federal authorities would comment on the pending matter only to say their respective agencies are sharing information and that they hoped to return the child safely to the county’s custody.
About the Author
Aime Austin, who also writes as Sylvie Fox, is the author of smart women’s fiction. Her compelling stories are boldly told, designed to keep readers turning the pages. Whether you’re reading Sylvie’s romantic women’s fiction or Aime’s legal thrillers, she wants you to enjoy the heroine’s journey.
She splits her time between Los Angeles and Budapest, where she enjoys yoga, knitting, farm-to-table cooking, and life with her husband and son. When she’s not writing, her nose is stuck in a book.
To hear about Aime’s latest books first, and to be eligible for member only giveaways, sign up for the exclusive New Release Mailing List here: http://ebooks.buzz/aimenews.
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To connect with Aime Austin
@caseyanncort
www.aimeaustn.com
aime@aimeaustin.com
Also Available from Aime Austin
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Compelling Stories. Boldly Told.
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The Common Pleas Lawyer—Casey Cort Prequel Novella
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Sheila Harrison Grant is the first African American woman ever nominated to the federal bench in Cleveland. But when her thirteen-year-old daughter Olivia shares a family secret with a well-meaning guidance counselor, she sets the wheels in motion to feed a partisan senate’s opposition, threatening her mother’s position…and both of their lives.
Once an ambitious young law student with promise, Casey Cort made the mistake of crossing a classmate from a prominent and influential family. Now she works as an unfulfilled, faceless cog in a broken legal system.
When fate gives Casey a second chance, she has to set aside her lack of faith in justice and find the strength to fight for those with nowhere else to turn.
In this first novel of the Casey Cort series, Aime Austin—a former trial lawyer in Cleveland—weaves a tale that blends the best of today’s top legal thrillers with the heart and soul of women’s fiction, in a story ripped from real-world headlines.
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Under Color of Law—Casey Cort Book Two
Losing the most high profile case of her career ironically made Casey Cort a winner. Well-heeled clients now knock on her door, and Tom Brody, her rich ex-boyfriend, wants her back. But entry into the upper echelon comes at a price.
The newest assistant United States attorney, Miles Siegel, has set his sights on nailing a public figure he believes to be corrupt: Cuyahoga County Juvenile Court Judge Eamon Brody. But Brody’s brothers, one the presiding judge of the county, the other the state attorney general, aren’t about to let that happen.
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Miles investigates the identity of an unlikely criminal mastermind, known on the street as Sledge Hammer. Meanwhile Casey discovers she may hold the key to solve the crime—and to the freedom of innocent women and children in the sex trafficking ring. Can Miles and Casey put the clues together to solve the mystery before the trail runs cold?
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Troy Duncan has just two worries on his mind: how he is going to give his two young children and fiancé a Christmas they deserve and whether his job at a struggling restaurant will last through the winter. As he leaves work early on another slow night, he runs into something that changes his life forever.
Cleveland Police Officer Marc Baldwin has been on the job for more than two decades, risking his life every day to keep the city streets safe for others. One cold night in December, he gets a routine call to break up drug activity in the newly popular Flats district, but what happens there is anything but routine, as circumstances prompt Marc to draw—and use—his service weapon.
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Fill a lonely city with one dash of playboy comedian.
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