Category Archives: Civil Rights
NYPD & New York City Sued For Misusing Arrest Records
On April 24th, a class action lawsuit was filed against the NYPD police department and the city of New York alleging that the department illegally kept and accessed sealed arrest records in order to target particular communities for investigations and law enforcement activities. The lawsuit alleges that the department used the records in the… Read More »
When Criminal Justice, Environmental Justice, And Racial Profiling Overlap
There are many instances where criminal justice and environmental justice overlap, as recently highlighted in this a recent article published by Grist. For one, police and judges often sentence environmental activists to prison terms, conveniently finding connections between peaceful protests and “felony assault.” Sadly, this can also frequently result in a racial discrimination/inequity/environmental justice… Read More »
Two New Jersey Police Officers Arrested For Misconduct
Two New Jersey police officers—Jonathan Bustios and Eudy Ramos—were recently investigated and arrested by the FBI for illegally stopping and searching vehicles, detaining the occupants, and stealing items from them. Both officers worked for the Paterson police department for four years and were assigned to the Hillcrest neighborhood and St. Joseph’s Regional Medical Center…. Read More »
New York’s Marijuana Arrest Statistics Shock Many And Reveal Room For Progress
As we previously discussed, in January, Governor Cuomo ordered a study to be conducted on the recreational use of marijuana via the New York State Department of Health. That study has since been released, and has shocked a number of New Yorkers. The arrest statistics alone are alarming: There have been close to 900,000… Read More »
Rikers Island Facility May Close Early To Better Protect Inmates’ Civil Rights
A 70-page report delivered to Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature on February 14th documents the rise in violent incidents and violations of inmates’ constitutional rights at Rikers Island, leading the state commission that oversees New York City’s jail system (the Commission of Correction) to possibly try to close the… Read More »
New Jersey Book Ban Violates Prisoners’ First Amendment Rights
New Jersey has a sordid history when it comes to civil rights issues and prisons: The state leads the nation in racial disparity between black and white inmates, where African-Americans lead the incarceration rate 12-to-1 (in the face of a 5-to-1 national average). Perhaps most shockingly, black inmates represent 60 percent of the state’s… Read More »
Defense Attorneys’ Protest Outside Of Brooklyn Courthouse Highlights Flaws In Immigration & Criminal Justice Overlap
On November 28th, nearly 100 New York criminal defense attorneys organized a protest, making a statement against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, who arrested one of their clients on an immigration charge at the Brooklyn courthouse. For defense attorneys committed to representing their clients, every courthouse represents a safe haven that is… Read More »
Judge Cracks Down: New York Police Eavesdropping On Criminal Suspects Without A Warrant
In an important decision protecting Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable searches, during the week of November 15th, New York Justice Martin P. Murphy (New York State Supreme Court) made a groundbreaking decision announcing that police officers first need to obtain an eavesdropping warrant to track the cellphones of criminal suspects. This officially raises the… Read More »
Indigent Defendants’ Lawsuit Declares Public Defender System Significantly Compromised
A class-action lawsuit that was just allowed to move forward by a judge in Louisiana could have implications for the criminal justice system around the country. The lawsuit was filed by a group of 13 prison inmates who allege that their constitutional right to counsel was denied due to an insufficiently funded public defense… Read More »
Be On the Lookout for False Arrest in New Jersey Due To Immigration Status
In the last seven months, we’ve covered a significant number of topics related to deportation defense precisely because so many people are being arrested—not due to police having reasonable suspicion or probable cause—but simply because they were suspected as being immigrants. While some New York legislators have worked to make progress in protecting these… Read More »
