http://www.stopinjusticenow.com/news/archive/2009/june/14/01.htm
A SECOND case has emerged of a woman who has had her children taken away from her and been prevented from objecting because she was judged too stupid by the authorities.
Lawyers acting for the 24-year-old from Nottingham, who has had two daughters adopted, say she has since shown herself far brighter than was believed when the original judgment was made.
But it is now too late for her to go back to court for the return of her children.
Last month, The Sunday Times reported a similar case of a mother deemed too unintelligent to care for her child.
The plight of the women has highlighted the role of the official solicitor, the state lawyer appointed to represent them, but who declined to contest either case.
New figures show that hundreds of parents have had the official solicitor, currently Alastair Pitblado, imposed.
Since January 2006 his department has been brought in to represent 588 parents deemed to lack the mental capacity to instruct lawyers in cases where their children faced the possibility of adoption.
Last month The Sunday Times highlighted the case of Rachel, also a 24-year-old from Nottingham, who is taking her legal challenge to the European Court of Human Rights after her three-year-old daughter was ordered to be adopted because she was ruled not to be intelligent enough to care for her.
In the latest case the mothers two daughters were both adopted in 2006 after a health worker noticed that her living conditions were unsatisfactory.
Before the case was finalised in court, however, it was decided that the woman lacked the intelligence to instruct her own lawyer, which led to the official solicitor being brought in. A psychologists report gave her a low IQ but said her learning disability would improve in time.
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