Jack and Angela Howser, the former publishers of the area newspaper "The Disclosure" have been ordered to pay close to $1 million after being found guilty of conspiracy to seize custody of their stepdaughter Jade Green's daughter.
The case was tried in U.S. District Court for Southern Illinois and later upheld upon appeal to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals. Green alleged that her mother and stepfather worked with the then sheriff, a sheriff's deputy, a prosecutor and a private investigator here in Lawrence County to forcible remove her daughter from her care, following a bitter family dispute.
After regaining custody of the girl, Green then filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the duo. A jury ruled in favor of Green and awarded her a total of $970,000 in compensatory and punitive damages for emotional distress and reckless disregard of Green's parental rights.
The Howsers' subsequent appeal was rejected by a three-judge panel, affirming the conspiracy evidence.
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