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Western State Case to be decided by state Commissioner

In his first direct involvement in a single patient’s care since his appointment as state Commissioner of Mental Health in 2002, James S. Reinhard will decide the fate of Cesar Chumil, a 57-year-old patient at Western State Hospital who has been held in some form of seclusion or restraint for much of the past 20 years. Alex Gulotta, Executive Director of the Legal Aid Justice Center and Nathan Velhuis of Charlottesville law firm Tremblay & Smith, who are the lawyers for Chumil and his family, have been working for more than two years to move Chumil from the hospital in Staunton to less restrictive quarters where he will be closer to his family in Northern Virginia. Read the August 29, 2008 article in the Waynesboro News-Virginia.

Students Have High Praise for Immigration Law Clinic

In cooperation with the University of Virginia School of Law, the Legal Aid Justice Center hosts the Immigration Law Clinic that helps many in the community who are facing difficult problems relating to their immigration status. “The clinic gives students a chance to better understand an often misunderstood population,” said Professor Doug Ford, (photo at left) who leads the clinic. “As non-citizens, [immigrants] don’t enjoy all of the rights people associate with being an American.” Read more about the experiences of interns who spent time as clinic students in the July 18, 2008 article in Virginia Law On-line.

Make sure schools aim high in their graduation goals, JustChildren argues

A proposal that will make graduation rates part of the accreditation of schools is making its way through the Virginia Department of Education. Angela Ciolfi (pictured at right), staff attorney with the Legal Aid Justice Center's JustChildren Program, wants to make sure that schools focus on graduating seniors with a diploma instead of other credentials that give graduates less flexibility in their future choices. Read more in the August 7, 2008 article in the Washington Post or visit our Graduation page.

Legal Aid Justice Center in the News

Read past articles about our impact in local communities and the state in our Press Archive.

Parents and others concerned about children who need special education services have come forward with the help of the JustChildren Program to let state regulators know that parent participation is a critical part of special education placement decisions. As one parent notes, "We are the experts on our children." Read this collection of news articles from throughout the state.

In a commentary in the June 18, 2008 edition of Education Week, JustChildren program attorney Angela Ciolfi and co-author James Ryan of the University of Virginia School of Law argue that socio-economic integration of schools is authorized by law and benefits students of all backgrounds. Read the commentary.

JustChildren Program attorney Sarah Geddes, along with former teacher and current legal services attorney Hank Bostwick sound off in the Roanoke Times "Round Table" on the issue of graduation and how to 'do the right thing' for Virginia's high schoolers. Read the Roanoke Times opinion piece from August 13, 2008.

In the latest hearing for the Legal Aid Justice Center's client held in seclusion for over 20 years at Western State Hospital, attorneys Alex Gulotta and Nathan Veldhuis oppose the hospital's director request for more time in seclusion. Read the July 31, 2008 article in the Waynesboro News Virginian.

JustChildren Program attorney Sarah Geddes asks schools to provide improved discipline programs and better alternative schools in her July 17, 2008 Letter to the Editor of the Harrisonburg Daily News Record.

On Friday, July 11, 2008, Legal Aid Justice Center executive director Alex Gulotta and co-counsel Nathan Veldhuis of the Charlottesville firm Tremblay & Smith presented arguments in front of the state Human Rights Panel on behalf of their client, who has lived in isolation at Western State Hospital in Staunton for over 20 years. Read more in the July 11, 2008 article in the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

On June 24, 2008, workers who are clients of the Legal Aid Justice Center and other supporters gathered at the Verizon headquarters in Washington, DC to bring attention to the fact that many Verizon subcontractors had failed to pay them for work they had performed. To read more about the protest and related information, go to CanYouPayMeNow.org, a new website that reports on this campaign to ensure that these hard-working immigrants are paid.

Alex Gulotta, executive director of the Legal Aid Justice Center and Nathan Veldhuis of Tremblay & Smith LLC won an important decision on behalf of their client at Western State Hospital who was found to have been improperly held in seclusion for two decades. Read the editorial in the Virginian-Pilot from Hampton Roads. Read the June 6, 2008 article in the Richmond Times Dispatch; the June 6, 2008 coverage in the Charlottesville Daily Progress; and the follow-up article in the June 7, 2008 article in the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

Charisa Smith, who works with the JustChildren Program in Richmond, has penned an article on the issue of brain development in juveniles and its relevance to juvenile justice. Read the article.

Interns in the Legal Aid Justice Center Richmond office are exposed to a variety of issues that confront our clients. Read the Richmond Times-Dispatch article about their experiences.

In "The Price of a Free Public Education," JustChildren Attorney Angela Ciolfi addresses the fact that many of Virginia's school systems charge substantial fees for school attendance, and questions whether this is consistent with the Virginia Constitution's requirement of a "free" public education. Read the Report. Find out more in the May 21, 2008 article in the Richmond Times-Dispatch. Read the Editorial in the May 29, 2008 edition of the Ch'ville Daily Progress.
Read about how the Roanoke County schools responded.

Legal Aid executive director Alex Gulotta and pro-bono attorney Nathan Veldhuis win a ruling from the local human rights committee that Western State Hospital was in violation of law in its treatment of a Hispanic patient over the past two decades. Read the June 6, 2008 article from the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

In her guest column in the Richmond Times-Dispatch, JustChildren attorney Angela Ciolfi asks why are we letting so many of our high school students leave school with something less than a standard diploma. Read her column from the June 1 edition of the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

At the urging of the JustChildren Program and others, many parents around the state are showing up to protest the proposed changes to special education regulations that would limit parental involvement. Read the May 28, 2008 article in the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

Governor Kaine and many statewide educators oppose the proposed limits on parental involvement in special education decisions. Read the Richmond Times-Dispatch article from May 8, 2008.

JustChildren attorneys Angela Ciolfi and Sarah Geddes are featured in the Jan-Feb 2008 edition of the Virginia Poverty Law Review with an article about the recent U.S. Supreme Court case addressing school segregation. Read it here.