The state of Texas goes before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit on Monday.
Its lawyers want contempt fines levied by a federal court judge in Corpus Christi over failures in its foster care system struck down. And it wants the judge removed from the case.
That Judge — Janis Jack — called the state foster system broken in 2015 — saying many kids left the system worse than when they entered it.
The case stretches back more than 13 years now — the product of many youths and their attorneys suing over civil rights violations.
Texas Public Radio’s Paul Flahive sat down with one of the children who originally sued.
All's not well that ends well
On Oct. 14, 1987, 18-month-old Jessica McClure fell into an uncapped well in her aunt’s backyard in Midland. What followed was 58 hours of suspense as TV viewers across the country held their breath as rescuers attempted to free the girl who would become known as “Baby Jessica.”
Lance Lunsford was there. He was a fourth-grader and watched the drama. For decades he has followed the story. Lunsford has written a book about the event, “Inside the Well: The Midland, Texas Rescue of Baby Jessica.”
