- Suzanne Shell
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Donna Suzanne Shell (born circa 1957 maiden name "Ostrum") is an American activist critical of child protective services.
Shell grew up in Minnesota. Her first experience with child protective services occurred in 1974, when at age 17 she was punched in the face by her father.[1] That year, she was put in a foster home and gave birth to a baby she gave up for adoption.[1] She further became involved in dependency and neglect cases after Elbert County, Colorado, took away one of her children in 1991 for what she claimed was "for a spanking that left no marks." The child was returned after four days with no further action against her.[2] Since that time she has assisted other families facing court-ordered sanctions. Shell runs a website called Profane Justice and has also published a book by the same title. [3]
In 2002, she told a reporter "I don't think they should ever terminate parental rights without proof that a child has been seriously hurt."[4]
Notable legal cases
In March 2004, the Colorado Supreme Court cited Shell for contempt of court for ignoring the 2001 order;[1] the citation was upheld and Shell was fined $6,000.[2]
In 2005, Shell filed suit on behalf of herself and April Fields in Colorado District Court against several officials connected with Child Protective Services.[5] The case was dismissed by the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado, and was a subject for her 2006 contempt citation by the state Supreme Court, as she was found to have attempted to represent Fields in the court without a license to practice law.
On December 12, 2005, Shell demanded Internet Archive pay her $100,000 for archiving her website between 1999 and 2004.[6] Internet Archive filed a declaratory judgment Action in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California on January 20, 2006 seeking a judicial determination that Internet Archive did not violate Shell’s copyright. Shell responded and brought a countersuit against Internet Archive for archiving her site, which she alleges is in violation of her terms of service.[7] On February 13, 2007, a judge for the United States District Court for the District of Colorado dismissed all counterclaims except breach of contract.[6] The Internet Archive did not move to dismiss copyright infringement claims Shell asserted arising out of its copying activities.[8] On April 25, 2007 Internet Archive and Shell jointly announced the settlement of their lawsuit. The Internet Archive said, "Internet Archive has no interest in including materials in the Wayback Machine of persons who do not wish to have their Web content archived. We recognize that Ms. Shell has a valid and enforceable copyright in her Web site and we regret that the inclusion of her Web site in the Wayback Machine resulted in this litigation. We are happy to have this case behind us." Shell stated, "I respect the historical value of Internet Archive's goal. I never intended to interfere with that goal nor cause it any harm."[9]
On February 13, 2009, Shell filed a lawsuit against 30 individuals and organizations she states are her competitors. The lawsuit, Shell v. AFRA, et al, was filed in Federal Court in Denver, Colorado.
References
- ^ a b c Prendergast, Alan (February 10, 2005). Beyond Contempt. Westword
- ^ a b Pankratz, Howard (December 19, 2006). Parent advocate found in contempt. Denver Post
- ^ Shell, Suzanne (2001). Profane Justice: A Comprehensive Guide to Asserting Your Parental Rights. Sage Wisdom Press, 2nd edition, ISBN 978-0966025415
- ^ Suprynowicz, Vin (November 10, 2002). Sitting in jail for spanking. Las Vegas Review-Journal
- ^ 04-1133 - Shell v. Meconi - 02/03/2005
- ^ a b Lewis T. Babcock (February 13, 2007). Internet Archive v. Shell Civil Action No. 06cv01726LTBCBS.
- ^ Claburn, Thomas (March 16, 2007). Colorado Woman Sues To Hold Web Crawlers To Contracts. InformationWeek
- ^ Samson, Martin. Internet Archive v. Suzanne Shell. via Phillips Nizer LLP
- ^ Internet Archive and Suzanne Shell Settle Lawsuit, April 25, 2007.
Suzanne Shell Settles With IA, Goes After Teenager (avail. at: http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/2007/04/25/webmaster-settles-with-ia-goes-after-teenager) Appellate Court Rules 3-0 In Favor of Bill Tower The Defendant Suzanne Shell in this case has no immunity and has to pay all appellate costs to Mr. Tower http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/opinions/nonpub/C056214.PDF Case 1:09-cv-00309-MSK-KMT Shell v AFRA Document 397 Filed 03/31/10 USDC Colorado the court refuses to enforce the forum selection clause in the contract based solely upon the user's act of viewing the statement on the site stating that "[a]nyone visiting this site consents to jurisdiction and venue remaining in El Paso County, Colorado." Defendants Susan Adams Jackson, Dee Contreras, Thomas Dutkiewicz, Cheryl Barnes, CPS Watch, Inc., Sarah Thompson, Ann Tower, Dorothy Kernaghan- Baez, William O. Tower, American Family Rights Association, William Wiseman, Wiseman Studios, Cletus Kiefer, and Ringo Kamens shall be deleted from the caption in all future filings. Dated this 31st day of March, 2010 BY THE COURT: Marcia S. Krieger United States District Judge,Read More > http://click.icptrack.com/icp/relay.php?r=-1&msgid=0&act=11111&c=697513&destination=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.theinternetlawgroup.com%2Fpages%2Fdownload%2Fa30622e7d7240244d765ef728395068e
External links
Categories:- 1950s births
- Living people
- Computer law
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