Petition To:
U.S. Department of Justice (Civil Rights Division)
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (Mandated Reporting & Child Welfare)
Oregon Department of Justice
State and Federal Oversight Agencies

 
A Call for Accountability — and a Call for Reform
We are the parents of Qadira Stephens, and for 18+ years we have been fighting for answers, accountability, and justice after our daughter was harmed by a politically connected family, medically neglected, unrepresented in court, and repeatedly failed by the institutions designed to protect children.

We are asking for a full federal and state investigation into what happened — and for national reform so no other family suffers what ours has endured.

 
1. Medical Professionals Failed Our Daughter at the Most Critical Moment
When our daughter was injured, we brought her first to Providence St. Vincent Emergency Department, and later to OHSU, not knowing what care to expect or that reporting to law enforcement was required by law.

So:

She received no medical treatment for her injuries
She was never transferred to a burn center, despite clear burn-related trauma
No photographs or forensic documentation were created
No report was made to law enforcement, despite Oregon’s mandatory reporter laws
No referral to child welfare was made at any point
The injuries were minimized and dismissed
Because she was not treated properly — and because burn specialists were never involved — our daughter sustained permanent, lifelong medical complications.

These injuries did not need to be permanent.
They became permanent because every safeguard failed her.

 
2. The Legal System Then Failed Her Again — At Every Level
When we sought legal protection, the attorney we hired had an undisclosed conflict of interest.
To control the case, he arranged for me (her mother) to be appointed as her Guardian ad Litem — even though:

I had no legal training
I did not understand the role
The court never reviewed my qualifications, as required by ORCP 27
Our daughter remained an unrepresented minor
This was not only improper — it was devastating.

Her underlying case was pushed all the way to a jury trial, which is extraordinarily rare:

Only 1–5% of civil cases ever go to trial
Child cases almost never reach a jury
Especially not with no legal representation for the child involved
Yet our daughter — injured, unprotected, and without counsel — was taken to trial in a process that insulated her abusers and resulted in a devastating judgment that continues to harm her life today.

 
3. We Filed Five More Cases — and the System Repeated the Same Harm
Over the following years, I filed five additional cases on her behalf:
three in state court and two in federal court.

In every case:

She was again treated as an unrepresented minor
No court revisited the original conflict
No judge questioned why she had no attorney
No agency intervened
Each case was dismissed with prejudice
We sought help from attorneys, civil rights organizations, legal aid groups, the ACLU, NAACP, and every agency we could find.

No one helped us.

We were forced to stand alone to protect our own child.

 
4. We Protested Peacefully — and Were Criminally Charged
In response to these failures, we held over 240 peaceful protests in Portland’s Pioneer Square and Multnomah Village.

Portland is known for violent and chaotic protests — but ours were entirely peaceful.

We were still charged with misdemeanor crimes for our advocacy.

We represented ourselves pro se, defended our rights, and won.

That experience showed us something undeniable:

Americans cannot exercise rights they have never been taught.

 
5. Today, We Are Fighting in Federal Court — and Our Daughter Is Fighting With Us
We are currently navigating an active federal civil rights lawsuit involving:

First Amendment violations
Retaliation for peaceful protest
Ongoing harm to our daughter
Her right to seek accountability for those who injured and failed her
After nearly two decades, we are still fighting alone — because no family, no agency, and no attorney ever stepped in.

But what happened to our daughter must finally be addressed.

 
6. We Are Calling for Immediate Action
📌 1. A full federal and state investigation into Qadira’s case
Including medical failures, mandated reporter violations, legal representation failures, and judicial oversight issues.

📌 2. National protections for minors in legal proceedings
No child should be pushed through court without independent representation.

📌 3. Accountability for hospitals that ignore mandated reporter laws
Medical neglect and failure to report harm are not “mistakes” — they endanger children.

📌 4. A national Court Observer Program
Public accountability inside every courtroom in America.

📌 5. K–12 Legal Education programs
Teaching children their rights, non-violent conflict resolution skills, and the basics of the justice system.

📌 6. Legal orientation for every adult entering the court system
No American should lose rights they were never taught.

 
7. Our Movement: Legal Literacy for All Americans
We never asked for this fight.
We never imagined standing alone.
But now, we are turning our pain into purpose.

We are building a national movement to ensure that what happened to our daughter — medically, legally, and systemically — never happens to another child, family, or American.

 
Your Signature Can Help Protect Children Across America
By signing this petition, you help:

✔ Bring federal attention to a case ignored for 18+ years
✔ Protect Qadira as our federal case moves forward
✔ Push for real reform in our medical and legal systems
✔ Support nationwide legal literacy
✔ Ensure no other child is left unprotected, untreated, or unrepresented

Thank you for standing with us.

I am the Value. You are the Value. We are the Value.

— The Stephens Family

For more info please got to: StandWithStephens