Won Affirmance On Behalf Of Child Of Finding Of Derivative Neglect Against The Parents As To Their Afterborn Child.

Matter of Nephra P.I. (Shanel N.), 139 AD3d 485 (1st Dept 2016)

In this appeal from a finding after trial that the parents derivatively neglected my client, the newborn child, the First Department accepted my arguments that a preponderance of the evidence demonstrates that parents posed an imminent risk of harm to the subject child based upon prior orders had found that respondent father neglected and abused others of his children by inflicting excessive corporal punishment upon them, derivatively neglecting another of his children, and that respondent mother failed to protect the children from the risk posed by their father.  The Court accepted my argumenta that the parents’ previous behavior demonstrated so impaired a level of parental judgment as to create a substantial risk of harm for any child in their care and that the record establishes that the circumstances leading to the prior findings had not been ameliorated at the time of the filing of the instant petition.  The Court further accepted my argument that my client’s brothers’ out-of-court statements that the father inflicted excessive corporal punishment upon them and that the mother was aware of the excessive corporal punishment were properly admitted into evidence since the brothers’ statements corroborated one another and were further corroborated by the caseworkers’ observation of the brothers’ injuries in the prior neglect proceeding.

http://www.nycourts.gov/reporter/3dseries/2016/2016_03802.htm