The Due-Process Revolution

The Case of Esther Lett.

Esther Lett received Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), government assistance that went largely to single-parent families in which the adult in the family did not have a job. In 1967 the state of New York cut off her assistance, claiming that she had worked without informing them. That violated the rules. But Lett had not worked in violation of the rules. She should not have been cut off from payments. She could ask for a hearing to challenge the decision, but in the meantime she and her children had to find whatever charity they could. Neighbors gave them food. Some of it was spoiled, and Lett and her children ended up in the hospital from food poisoning. Afterward she sued the welfare agency, and it reinvestigated her case and reinstated her.

Brutal Need and the AFDC Recipient.

Legal-services attorneys who worked in the New York Mobilization for Youth (MFY) program were...

[The entire page is 625 words long]

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