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In a closed court hearing at the Coffee County Justice Center, a Georgia family was denied having their five children returned to them following a traffic stop and misdemeanor charge one month prior.

The family, Bianca Clayborne and Deonte Williams, were travelling from Georgia to Chicago to attend a funeral in February of this year, when Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP) officers pulled them over on Exit 114 for having “dark tint and traveling in the left lane while not actively passing.”

The family was removed from the vehicle upon stopping, with Williams being placed in the patrol vehicle while the family was accompanied inside the gas station they had stopped at. According to the THP report, five grams of marijuana were found in the vehicle.

Williams was arrested and brought to the Justice Center, while Clayborne was directed to follow in order to post bond and return to their trip. Upon arriving at the justice center, Clayborne had her children taken from her upon an emergency court order placed by the Department of Children’s Services (DCS).

Her children range in ages from 4 months to 7 years old, with the infant still breastfeeding upon time of removal.

While Williams reportedly tested positive for THC, the active ingredient for marijuana, in his initial urine test, Clayborne reportedly tested negative. Initial rapid hair follicle testing reportedly came back positive for methamphetamines, fentanyl and oxycodone in both parents, which both deny using.

The family’s attorneys were not able to challenge the test, as an email to their legal team from the DCS informed them that the drug courts “do not hold onto them.”

The challenged positive testing for the hair follicle test was the basis for DCS changing the children’s status from neglect to abuse in their emergency hold order, leading to the children being held by the state of Tennessee for over a month at this time.

According to the Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth (TCCY), at their annual State of the Child Report, Tennessee has a 33.7% rate of foster child instability. The national average is 14.9%.

This case has garnered statewide and national attention, especially following the most recent legislature decisions by Governor Bill Lee. Lee recently announced his intention to dismantle the TCCY, which independently monitors and advocates for the children and families involved in the foster and adoption system.

State Senators London Lamar and Raumesh Akbari of Memphis remarked on Clayborne’s case during the Tennessee Democratic Caucus.

“I just want to take this moment of personal privilege to call out the Department of Children’s Services in the Coffee County criminal justice system, to release the children of Bianca Clayborne and Deonte Williams,” Lamar said. “Coffee County and the DCS basically took their children away from them for a misdemeanor charge, because they possessed weed. I am demanding, publicly, that DCS give this family their children back. The Coffee County justice system was absolutely out of line for taking their children.”

She additionally referred to the actions taken by Coffee County DCS as an “overuse of power.”

“It is outrageous that the state forcefully separated Bianca Clayborne, a breastfeeding mother, and Deonte Williams from their kids and have allowed this to continue for nearly a month,” said Akbari. “The state exercised extreme and flawed judgment in taking their children and it seems they’ve doubled down on this poor decision.”

“No family is perfect, but an imperfection, like a simple marijuana charge, is no excuse for tearing a family apart. The state is supposed to support reunification. If they don’t have a better reason, they must immediately return these five children to their parents.”

In closed juvenile court proceedings on March 20, the judge determined that the family would not be reunited with their children. He requested another hair follicle test for Clayborne, and Williams will appear before the criminal court in April.

Family attorney Courtney Teasley was available for comment following the proceedings.

“Five children forced away while one of them was still breastfeeding,” she said. “Five children forced to then even be separated from one another and subject to the treatment of this abysmal system. This is torture.”

The children had initially been separated and placed in the Tennessee foster care system, but they are reportedly currently together, with a relative in the Nashville area.

Both the state and defense have been placed under a gag order by the court pending resolution of the case, meaning neither can make any public comments concerning the case. However, prior to the order being handed down, District Attorney General Craig Northcott said that there is more to the case than the defense has revealed, noting the case will be decided in a court of law and not in the court of public opinion.