Paul Kietzman, of counsel, was part of the panel discussion “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.
Willowbrook State School was an infamous institution on Staten Island built to care for those with developmental disabilities. Following a series of articles in Staten Island Advance in 1971, television reporter Geraldo Rivera reported on the horrible conditions at the school, once described by Senator Robert Kennedy as a snake pit. Two months later, attorneys 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.
The panel, made up of attorneys who were involved in the historic case, discussed filing the complaint, the entry of a consent judgment, finding justice for the developmentally disabled who were housed at the school, and how the case continues to resonate today.
The program video is available here.