"A Santa Clara County woman who spanked her 12-year-old daughter in the rear with a wooden spoon should not have been labeled a child abuser, said a state appeals court Tuesday, ruling that social workers and judges must consider a parent's right to impose "reasonable discipline" on a child....
"But the court said the Santa Clara County Department of Social Services had violated Gonzalez's rights by disregarding parents' authority to discipline their children and refusing to allow testimony by the daughter, who disputed many of the social worker's accusations against her mother. The court said the department must either hold a new hearing or dismiss the case....
"In Tuesday's ruling, the appeals court said the child abuse law does not apply to parents who act out of genuine disciplinary motives, have a "reasonable occasion for discipline" and use only reasonable force. The court said Gonzalez had intended to discipline her daughter, but not to bruise her, and that the girl's conduct was reasonable cause for discipline...."
http://www.sfgate.com/crime/article/Court-Spanking-improperly-labeled-child-abuse-4879392.php
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