The Lawsuit that Closed Willowbrook

 [We have the following announcement. DRE]

Willowbrook State School: How a Lawsuit Closed the Gates to a Notorious Institution and Opened the Doors of Opportunity for Thousands, presented by the Historical Society of the New York Courts in collaboration with the Willowbrook Legacy Committee.  September 22 @ 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm EDT. Free In-Person and Online Event at the New York City Bar Association.  Open to the Public.

Credit: NYPL

Willowbrook State School was an infamous institution on Staten Island built to care for those with developmental disabilities.  In January 1972, television reporter Geraldo Rivera brought his camera to Willowbrook  and reported on the horrible conditions at the  “school,” once described by Sen. Robert Kennedy as a “snake pit.” Two months later, lawyers from the NYCLU and the NY Legal Aid Society, on behalf of residents, parents and organizations filed a class action lawsuit arguing that residents had a constitutional right to treatment and sought injunctive relief. A distinguished panel of attorneys who have been involved with this case will discuss the filing of the complaint, the entry of a Consent Judgment and the continuing nature of the litigation. The panel will also discuss the importance and relevance of Willowbrook today.

See images of the terrible conditions those with developmental disabilities were forced to endure on the Pennhurst Memorial & Preservation Alliance website.

PANEL DISCUSSION
Beth Haroules, Esq., Senior Staff Attorney, New York Civil Liberties Union
Christopher Hansen, Esq., Senior National Staff Counsel, American Civil Liberties Union
Hon. Robert M. Levy, United States Magistrate Judge for the Eastern District of New York
Paul Kietzman, Esq., Of Counsel, Barclay Damon LLP

NY CLE Credits currently pending for members of the Historical Society of the New York Courts. Registration Opening Soon!