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41 Child. Legal Rts. J. 68 (2021)
Review: Netflix's the Trials of Gabriel Fernandez

handle is hein.journals/clrj41 and id is 73 raw text is: Review: Netflix's The Trials of Gabriel Fernandez Charlotte Hinkamp* I. INTRODUCTION Parents and families have unique protections and rights in the United States, but the idea of children's rights is relatively new. As a result, the State has a responsibility and right to intervene in family matters when necessary. In Gabriel Fernandez's case, the State's interest in protecting Gabriel outweighed his mother's parental rights. Yet, the State failed to exercise its power to protect Gabriel and remove him from his home. Netflix's six-part series, The Trials of Gabriel Fernandez, details the torture, abuse, and murder of Gabriel Fernandez by his mother and her boyfriend, as well as the media and government's response. In the months preceding Gabriel's death, his teacher and family members reported signs of abuse to social services and the sheriff's office. Nonetheless, Gabriel was never removed from his home. The tragedy of Gabriel Fernandez highlights two important questions: how to ensure that the State properly uses its power to protect abused children and who pays when the State's failure to act leads to a child's death? II. SUMMARY OF THE TRIALS OF GABRIEL FERNANDEZ The Trials of Gabriel Fernandez is a limited series that premiered on Netflix in 2020. The six-part series details Gabriel's life from birth to his heartbreaking death. Gabriel was born on February 20, 2005 to Pearl Fernandez and Arnold Conteras. Shortly after his birth, Pearl gave him away and he was raised by his grandparents and his uncle. Gabriel was raised by his uncle and his uncle's husband for the first four years of his life, until his grandfather decided that two gay men should not be raising a child. Gabriel's grandparents then raised him until 2012, when Pearl decided to seek custody of Gabriel to obtain welfare money. Gabriel lived with Pearl and her boyfriend, Isauro Aguirre, for eight months until his murder on May 23, 2013. Gabriel's first grade teacher, Jennifer Garcia, became concerned for Gabriel's welfare after he asked her if it was normal to be beaten with a belt and bleed. After school, Garcia called the child welfare hotline and reported the incident. The next day, Stephanie Rodriguez, an emergency response worker, called Garcia and informed her that she was assigned to the case. When an incident of child abuse is reported, case workers must bring the child to a special child abuse doctor partnered with the Los Angeles Department of Child and Family Services (DCFS) to be evaluated. Gabriel was never taken to a doctor. A few weeks later, Gabriel arrived at school with a fat lip and chunks of hair missing. He told Garcia that his mom punched him in the mouth. Garcia called Rodriguez to report the incident. A few days later, Gabriel came to school and told his teacher that his * Charlotte Hinkamp is a 2022 J.D. candidate at Loyola University Chicago School of Law.