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Murphy – Former Cherokee County attorney Scott Lindsay’s criminal trial has been delayed once again.
Lindsay, who also previously served as attorney for the Cherokee County Department of Social Services, still faces 20 felony charges for his role in separating children from their families without judicial oversight. Lindsay was scheduled to face a jury trial in February, then again in July, before the latest delay, which was confirmed by his defense attorney, Jerry Townson.
The Cherokee County Board of Commissioners unanimously approved a $48.5 million settlement on June 29 to resolve more than 20 remaining lawsuits stemming from separation of families by DSS. In 2018-19, a total of 26 lawsuits were filed against the county in connection with the department’s use of custody and visitation agreements to place children outside of their parents’ or guardian’s homes without court approval.
Lindsay’s is the last criminal case yet to be heard in the matter. He was relieved of his duties as county attorney on Feb. 5, 2018, after serving in that role since 2000. He served as the county’s DSS attorney for an even longer period of time.
Benjamin Zellinger, a special prosecutor with the State of North Carolina, said last year that DSS employees used CVAs on numerous occasions over the course of 10 years, partly because the agency was “greatly understaffed” and “cut a corner” to save time and money. As a result, no services were provided to children following their separation.
The first of those cases was tried in U.S. District Court in May 2021 and resulted in jury awards and attorney fees of more than $6.5 million for Brian Hogan and his daughter. As part of the Hogan judgment, the jury determined that Lindsay and former DSS director Cindy Palmer acted in a “grossly negligent manner,” violating the father’s and daughter’s due process rights.
Palmer pleaded guilty in October 2021 to one count of felony obstruction of justice, receiving one year of unsupervised probation. As part of the plea agreement, prosecutors dismissed several other charges, including willful failure to discharge duties, perjury and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Former DSS supervisor David Alan Hughes also pleaded guilty to two misdemeanors in August 2021.
Townson has argued that a parent’s rights can only be terminated by a District Court judge; therefore, any guardian who disagreed with placement of their child after signing a CVA could have sought relief through the legal system.
“If you have rights before you sign (a CVA), you still have those rights after you sign,” Townson said last year.
“So, parents’ rights were not violated. It would be a violation of constitutional rights if DSS had tried to stop (parents) from using a CVA because they have a right to contract custody.”
The families involved in the DSS cases have won more than $53 million in judgments, settlements and fees, which is why the Cherokee County Board of Commissioners raised the millage rate by another 8 cents for the 2022-23 budget – and beyond.