'COCAINE MOM' SAYS SHE FAILED DRUG TEST

'Cocaine mom' says she failed drug test Revelation could put her in
jail for rest of pregnancy for breaking bail condition

Waukesha -- Waukesha County's "cocaine mom" said Thursday that she
again has tested positive for drugs, a violation of bail conditions
that could result in her spending the rest of her pregnancy behind
bars.

Revocation of her bail could, in effect, protect her fetus through
most or all of the pregnancy because she could be held in jail until
her April 29 trial, which will come only days before her baby is due
to be born.

Thursday's revelations came one day before the woman was set to appear
in court in an attempt to regain custody of her 2 1/2-year-old son,
who was the focus of an earlier case in which she was detained by the
county.

In the fall of 1995, Waukesha County authorities detained the woman in
a drug treatment center to protect her fetus from her cocaine abuse.
That case ignited a national firestorm and resulted in the state
Supreme Court ruling last year that such detentions are illegal,
because a fetus is not subject to the state's child protection laws.

District Attorney Paul Bucher said Thursday he is contemplating asking
a court commissioner to revoke the woman's bail after hearing that she
had failed a court-ordered drug test last week.

"We recently received anonymous information that she's tested positive
(for drugs)," Bucher said. "We already have been undertaking steps to
verify any test results.

"We'll look at those results, and if it violates the condition of her
bail, we'll be taking action. We will issue bail-jumping charges."

The woman, who previously has denied that she was using cocaine during
this pregnancy, acknowledged to a reporter Thursday that she failed a
drug test last week. The test was ordered in an unrelated Juvenile
Court case involving one of the woman's two older children, who are
living with their grandmother.

The woman was unable to comment further on the matter because her
attorneys quickly ushered her away from the reporter.

Bucher said that if the woman had used drugs, he would seek new bail
conditions, which could include incarceration or inpatient drug treatment.

Bucher said that it was also possible that the woman, identified only
as Angela to protect the identity of her children, could again be
released under a signature bond with stiffer conditions, such as
frequent drug screening and intense supervision.

Bucher said that if he files bail-jumping charges against the
26-year-old woman, it would be a routine response to a defendant who
violated bail and not a veiled attempt to protect her fetus.

"It's not a human being," Bucher said. "Whether you agree or disagree
with that, it doesn't matter. The law is pretty clear. We can't do
that (jail her to protect her fetus).

"Waukesha County tried to make new law in the (earlier case), and they
were shot down."

William Domina, an assistant county corporation counsel who sought to
detain the woman in 1995 when she was then eight months pregnant and
using cocaine, said that he could neither "confirm nor deny" whether
Angela had failed a drug test.

Told about Bucher's intentions to take action that could lead to
incarceration, Domina said: "If, as a byproduct of (criminal
prosecution), we have a healthier baby who is born into this world
drug-free and has a fair start in life, that's a great advantage."

For now, Domina said, he has no means to stop the woman from using
drugs during her pregnancy.

"Assuming that her comment to you (that she failed a drug screen) is
accurate, we have the same concerns that we had when went through this
in the old go-around," Domina said. "We have no remedy or tool."

Angela was arrested and charged in December with misdemeanor
possession of drug paraphernalia.

At her initial court appearance on the charge, Court Commissioner
Gerald Janis released her from custody on a $250 signature bond with
conditions that she not possess or consume any illegal drugs, that she
make all court appearances in the case, and that she not commit any
other crimes.

After Angela acknowledged Thursday that she had failed a drug test,
one of her attorneys, Craig Mastantuono, told a reporter: "I have
instructed her not to speak to the media."

Asked whether he thought this woman was being treated more
aggressively than other drug-abusing pregnant women because of her
past, Mastantuono said: "I don't think she's the only person in
Wisconsin who is pregnant and said to be using controlled substances.
If this wasn't (Angela), you wouldn't be writing this story."

Angela is scheduled to be in court today for a hearing on whether she
voluntarily agreed to have her parental rights terminated in the case
of the boy she delivered in 1995.

She is trying to regain custody of the boy, who is now healthy and in
foster care.

Pending in the state Senate is the so-called cocaine mom bill, which
would allow the detention of drug-abusing pregnant women under
Juvenile Court codes to protect their fetuses.