Law School Clinic Students and Catholic Charities Community Services Obtain Appellate Court Victory for Immigrant Children

Students from the Law School’s Child Advocacy Clinic recently teamed with lawyers from Catholic Charities Community Services to obtain a significant appellate victory in Matter of Daniel T.-H. The decision in this highly unusual private party child neglect action is the first to extend New York State's longstanding commitment to protecting children to a child being held in a juvenile immigration facility. “This is a significant case for New York and for our clinical program,” said Dean Michael A. Simons. “The Law School clinics provide a crucial gateway to experiential learning for our students. They also provide critical assistance to a growing population of New Yorkers in need.”

As a young child in Mexico, Daniel was brutally beaten by his alcoholic father, who also brutalized Daniel’s mother. At 13, Daniel ran away, eventually making his way to the United States where he subsisted as a migrant farm worker and day laborer until discovered and placed into deportation proceedings. Over the next 14 months, Child Advocacy Clinic Professor Jennifer Baum and Refugee and Immigrant Rights Clinic Professor C. Mario Russell oversaw Daniel’s neglect trial and foster care remand and then defended the appeal by the Westchester County Department of Social Services. “This is a great win for children,” said Professor Russell. “Since 2006 Catholic Charities has been working with detained immigrant children who suffered abuse at home and are eligible for protection under New York and federal law but are blocked from admission into foster care.We are delighted that Professor Baum and her team of students, along with Catholic Charities Skadden Fellow Alison Kamhi, have found a way to do for them what the law was designed to do,” he added.

Upholding the foster care remand order on appeal, the Second Department reaffirmed the principle that children in New York State are equal to each other. “Westchester County tried to abandon its responsibility to this child by claiming this was an immigration case in disguise, but the Second Department saw through it,” said Professor Baum. “This case has always been about the rights of a child to be free from parental abuse regardless of his immigration status.” Added Professor Russell: “Consistent with St. John’s Vincentian heritage, the Law School’s clinics share a mission of offering students opportunities to experience the transformative power of law. Daniel’s case is not about damages or making a plaintiff whole. It is about transforming life; it is about giving new life. It is in cases like this that the law's fundamental value―to give effect to human dignity―finds its highest expression.” Professor Russell and his Catholic Charities staff continue to represent Daniel on his pending immigration application.

Child Advocacy Clinic students played a critical role at every stage of this milestone case. Daniel P. Buckley ’10 researched legal theories, drafted papers, and made the initial appearance before a Westchester County Family Court judge. Jamie Spillane ’11 assisted with court preparation and litigation-related issues. Amanda Raimondi ’10, Nicholas Hudson ’11 and Jacqueline McDermott ’11 helped draft legal papers in the family court case. Jillian de Chavez ‘12 and Ari Lessa ’12 presented expert testimony at the neglect trial, and Mary G. Vitale ’12 cross-examined a case worker at a hearing. Jillian, Ari and Mary also worked on the appellate papers. “I consider myself very fortunate to have been a student attorney on this extraordinary case,” said Jillian de Chavez. “Many students hope to ‘make a difference’ by studying the law. I feel that my teammates and I made such a difference while learning invaluable lessons about the actual practice of law and how it can positively impact the common good.”