Legal Aid for Broome & Chenango, Inc. Fights to Keep Child in Sexually Abusive Home
In an astonishing case decided April 4, 2002, a LSC grantee program
used federal tax dollars to frustrate efforts by Child Protective Services
to help a sexually abused child. The case began on April 3, 2000,
when the mother of two minor children (name of mother and children suppressed
by court order) was summoned to her older daughter’s school, and informed
by a state police investigator and a Child Protective Services worker that
her daughter had that day reported several instances of sexual abuse by
her stepfather. According to witnesses, the mother gave her child
a “look that could kill” and refused to believe the allegations.
Two days later, the state police obtained a written and videotaped confession
from the stepfather that affirmed the girl’s allegations. The mother
read the typed confession, but refused to leave her husband or execute
a release permitting disclosure of the results of her abused daughter’s
physical examination. On April 10, the Family Court of Broome County
signed a removal order and called for a ‘fact-finding hearing’ on April
12, 2000. The mother did not testify at the hearing. Legal
Aid for Broome & Chenango, Inc., a federally-funded grantee of the
Legal Services Corporation, defended the mother against the efforts of
the Broome County Family Court to protect her children. Last month,
the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York issued a ruling
that upheld the Family Court of Broome County, and strongly condemned the
mother’s failure to “exercise a minimum degree of care to protect her daughters”
and to be a “supportive parent to her abused daughter even when faced with
overwhelming, uncontroverted evidence of the abuse.”
See: In The Matter of Amanda "RR", No. 88151, 2002 N.Y. App.
Div. LEXIS 3425, at *1 (N.Y. App. Div. Apr. 4, 2002)
LSC Grantee Wages Meritless Suit for Unemployment Benefits For Worker That Voluntarily Quit Job
Angel L. Chevres was a field manager for a copy service in New York.
After four months on the job, he demanded new terms for his employment,
specifically either a company vehicle or a higher reimbursement amount
for travel expenses. When the employer refused, Chevres offered his
resignation with two weeks’ notice. The employer told Chevres he
could leave immediately. Chevres applied for unemployment benefits,
but was denied, since he had left his job voluntarily. The Unemployment
Insurance Board upheld the denial in January 2001, and Chevres went to
court with the Nassau/Suffolk Law Services Committee, Inc. at his side.
On September 13, 2001, the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New
York upheld the decision of the Unemployment Insurance Appeal Board, finding
that Chevres “voluntarily left his employment for personal and noncompelling
reasons” and that his unemployment claims are “without merit.”
See: Chevres v. Commissioner of Labor, 286 A.D.2d 799 (N.Y.
App. Div. 2001)
LSC Grantee Ignores Statutory Deadline in Appealing Unemployment
Benefits Ruling
In a case decided July 12, 2001, the Southern Tier Legal Services was
dealt an embarrassing defeat by the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court
of New York. Its client, Alfred C. Bennitt, was fired from his job
in 1999, and sought unemployment benefits. His application was denied,
since his employment had been terminated for “misconduct.” Bennitt
received this notification September 9, 1999, but did not request a hearing
until November 29, 1999, well past the 30-day statutory deadline.
The Unemployment Insurance Appeal Board ruled on April 11, 2000 that the
claimant’s request for a hearing was “untimely.” With help from Southern
Tier Legal Services, Bennitt went to court. In a brief half-page
opinion, the New York Supreme Court stated simply: “[W]e find no reason
to disturb the decision of the Unemployment Insurance Appeal Board that
claimant’s request for a hearing was untimely.” The court ruled that
Bennitt’s appeal (and the LSC grantee’s case) was “without merit.”
See: Bennitt v. Commissioner of Labor, 285 A.D.2d 777 (N.Y.
App. Div. 2000)