You are here: / / THERE WAS NO EVIDENCE MOTHER’S MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES IMPAIRED THE...
,

THERE WAS NO EVIDENCE MOTHER’S MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES IMPAIRED THE CHILDREN; ONE INCIDENT IN WHICH MOTHER SLAPPED HER SON WHEN HE WAS RUDE AND DISRESPECTFUL DID NOT SUPPORT A FINDING OF EXCESSIVE CORPORAL PUNISHMENT (FIRST DEPT).

The First Department, reversing Family Court, determined the evidence did not support the finding that mother had neglected her children. There was no evidence mother’s mental health issues put the children at risk. The evidence also did not support neglect based on excessive corporal punishment. Mother slapped her 14-year-old son once with an open hand when he refused to provide the password for his phone and was rude and disrespectful:

Although the record here suggests that the mother, who had been diagnosed with major depressive disorder, cannabis use disorder, adjustment disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder, may have been non-compliant with her mental health treatment, the record does not contain evidence sufficient to support a finding of “a link or causal connection between the basis for the neglect petition and the circumstances that allegedly produce the child’s impairment or imminent danger of impairment” … . The only conduct linked to the mother’s mental health was the 14-year-old child’s statements to the caseworker that he feared being with the mother outside of the home because she believed they were being watched, and that she once took a photograph of a man on the subway platform whom she believed was following them. * * *

The mother slapped the 14-year-old child with an open hand when he refused to provide her with the passcode to his cell phone, was rude and disrespectful, and told her he wished she were dead. The mother testified that she demanded to see the child’s cell phone after the school called her to express concern over a change in the child’s behavior and his cell phone usage. The record indicates that the child did not report that the slapping caused him pain, nor were there any marks or bruising on his face or body. A parent has a common-law privilege to use reasonable physical force to discipline a child … . Matter of I.G. (D.V.), 2025 NY Slip Op 05766, First Dept 10-21-25

Practice Point: In the context off child neglect it is not enough to prove mother has mental health issues, it must be shown that mother’s mental health issues impair the children.

Practice Point: A parent has a common-law privilege to use reasonable physical force to discipline a child. A single open-handed slap in response to disrespectful and rude behavior by a 14-year-old is not “excessive corporal punishment.”

 

You might also like
MOTION TO DISMISS SUIT SEEKING RETURN OF A PAINTING ALLEGEDLY LOOTED BY THE NAZI-OCCUPIED FRENCH GOVERNMENT DURING WORLD WAR II PROPERLY DENIED (FIRST DEPT).
Defendant Handcuffed, Post-Arrest Search of Backpack Unlawful
QUESTIONS OF FACT WHETHER DEFENDANT HAD CONSTRUCTIVE NOTICE OF THE RAISED SIDEWALK FLAG AND WHETHER THE DEFECT WAS TRIVIAL IN THIS SLIP AND FALL CASE (FIRST DEPT).
Error to Charge Jury on Comparative Negligence/Inadequate Awards for Pain and Suffering and Loss of Consortium
PETITION SEEKING A SUMMARY INQUIRY PURSUANT TO THE NYC CHARTER INTO THE CIRCUMSTANCES SURROUNDING ERIC GARNER’S ARREST AND DEATH PROPERLY GRANTED (FIRST DEPT).
THERE WAS NO EVIDENCE MOTHER WAS SERVED WITH THE ORDER OF PROTECTION PROHIBITING THE FATHER’S CONTACT WITH HER AND THE CHILDREN; THE PROOF IN THIS CHILD NEGLECT PROCEEDING AGAINST MOTHER DID NOT MATCH THE ALLEGATIONS IN THE PETITION; THE JUDGE EFFECTIVELY AMENDED THE PETITION BY IMPROPERLY CONFORMING THE PETITION TO SERIOUSLY CONFLICTING AND CONTRADICTORY PROOF; MOTHER WAS NEVER GIVEN THE OPPORTUNITY ADDRESS THE “AMENDED” PETITION; NEGLECT FINDING VACATED (FIRST DEPT).
The “Physical Intrusion” by the Police Officer (Tapping the Defendant’s Pocket) Was Not Justified by Reasonable Suspicion of a Crime—The Subsequent Frisk of the Defendant Was Similarly Not Justified—The Arrest Was Therefore Invalid–All Seized Items and Statements Made by the Defendant Should Have Been Suppressed
DEFENDANT’S PRO SE MOTION TO VACATE HIS CONVICTION SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN DENIED WITHOUT A HEARING BASED UPON THE ABSENCE OF AN ATTORNEY AFFIDAVIT, DEFENDANT ALLEGED HIS ATTORNEY DID NOT ACCURATELY INFORM HIM OF THE DEPORTATION CONSEQUENCES OF THE GUILTY PLEA AND THE FACTS CORROBORATED THE ALLEGATION (FIRST DEPT).

Categories

Sign Up for the Mailing List to Be Notified When the Site Is Updated.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Copyright © 2026 New York Appellate Digest, Inc.
Site by CurlyHost | Privacy Policy

DEFENDANT TOOK A CELL PHONE PICTURE OF THE VICTIM IN THE SHOWER THROUGH A HIGH... THE NYC ADMINISTRATION FOR CHILDREN’S SERVICES (ACS) DID NOT MEET ITS...