Nicholson v. Scoppetta

Sharwline Nicholson (plaintiff), a domestic violence victim, sued New York's Administration for Children's Services (ACS) (defendant) under § 1983 after ACS removed her children from her custody, with the sole allegation of neglect being that she had allowed her children to witness the domestic abuse inflicted on her. Nicholson's suit was consolidated into a class action, and after the district court enjoined ACS from removing children from mothers solely because the children witnessed domestic violence against the mother, ACS appealed, and the Second Circuit certified to the New York Court of Appeals the question of whether a parent could be found neglectful solely on that basis.