New York Raises the Bar for Interdisciplinary Practice in Family Violence Cases

• NCJ Number: 209184
• Journal: Youth Law News Volume: 25 Issue: 4 Dated: October-December 2004 Pages: 7-10
• Author(s): Karen Freedman; Betsy Kramer
• Date Published: November 2004
• Length: 4 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Legislation/Policy Analysis
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This article discusses a ground-breaking decision by New York's highest court, the Court of Appeals, that resulted in increased collaboration between social workers and legal professionals in providing protection for both adult victims and child witnesses in domestic-violence cases.

Abstract

In Nicholson v. Scoppetta, et al., the Court of Appeals focused on a family-violence case that involved competing interests in respecting the parental rights of the victimized parent and in protecting the child from psychological harm due to witnessing the violence. The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York first heard the case on behalf of abused mothers and their children who were the subjects of child neglect proceedings in New York City based solely on allegations that the mother "allowed" the children to witness domestic violence in the home. The U.S. District Court held that the policies and practices of New York's Administration for Children's Services violated the rights of both the children and their mothers. On appeal, the Second U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found that it could not issue an opinion on the appropriateness of the injunction without first having clarification from New York State's highest court regarding the applicable law. The decision of the State Court of Appeals held that it is "unacceptable" to presume that a child who witnesses domestic violence has been neglected, without having examined the child's physical, emotional, or mental condition and the influence of the victimized parent on any adverse impact of witnessing domestic violence. The court thus produced a ruling that requires social workers and legal professionals to collaborate in each case of family violence to document specific harm to any children in the home and, where harm may exist, to determine the contribution of the parent-victim to that harm. Without such an investigation, the precipitative removal of the child from a home where domestic violence has occurred may violate the child's right, as well as that of the parent, to be free from unreasonable seizures.