Civil Rights

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Last week, Judge Broderick granted NYU’s motion to dismiss a class action complaint brought by a “John Doe” alleging that NYU Law Review gives “preferential treatment to women, non-Asian racial minorities, homosexuals, and transgender people when selecting its members” due, in part, to the journal’s practice of “requir[ing] each applicant to submit a statement of interest that provides ‘a more comprehensive view of [him or her] as an individual.’” John Doe is a first-year law student, who “aspires to join his school’s law review.”Continue Reading Judge Broderick Rejects as Speculative Anonymous Plaintiff’s Claims that NYU Law Review’s Diversity Policies Unlawfully Discriminate

In a new putative class action complaint filed today, former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores accuses the NFL of racial discrimination in hiring. One aspect of the allegations concerns the “Rooney Rule,” by which teams are supposed to interview at least one diverse candidate when coaching and management vacancies arise.
Continue Reading Complaint: Bill Belichik’s Text to the Wrong “Brian” Proves Giants Engaged in “Sham” Interview of Black Coaching Prospect

Earlier today, the Attorney General of the State of New York brought an action to “end the pervasive use of excessive force and false arrests” by the NYPD in “suppressing overwhelmingly peaceful protests” following the police killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. According to the complaint:

From May 28, 2020 to December 11, 2020, NYPD Officers of various ranks (“NYPD Officers”) repeatedly and without justification used batons, fist strikes, pepper spray, and other physical force against New York Residents at the Protests. Protesters—many of whom were never charged with any crime and were merely exercising their First Amendment rights—suffered concussions, broken bones, cuts, bruises, and other physical injuries.

Continue Reading New York State Sues New York City Over NYPD Response to Police Brutality Protests

A mentally disabled man named Karl Taylor died in prison, and his estate has sued, accusing prison guards of beating and choking him to death.  In defending the case, New York State proposed to offer expert testimony “that in the time leading up to and at the time of his death, Mr. Taylor was experiencing acute symptoms of his psychotic illness.”

In an order today, Chief Judge McMahon granted a motion in limine to exclude the testimony, and, in doing so, warned the defendants about trying to devalue the life of Mr. Taylor:
Continue Reading In Case Over Inmate Death, Judge McMahon Tells NY: Good Luck Arguing that Mental Disabilities Reduced the Value of the Inmate’s Life

In an opinion today, Judge Ramos denied a motion to preliminary enjoin recent changes to the admissions process for New York City’s eight elite, specialized schools, which generally admit students based solely on a highly competitive test.  Last summer, the City announced modified the criteria somewhat to set aside a larger proportion of each class for disadvantaged students, with the aim of creating greater diversity.

The challengers alleged that the changes discriminate against Asian-Americans, but Judge Ramos, in denying a preliminary injunction, found that they were unlikely to succeed on that claim:
Continue Reading Judge Ramos Refuses to Enjoin Initiative to Diversify NYC’s Elite “Specialized” Schools

In an opinion last week, Judge Daniels denied a motion to dismiss a case alleging that extreme delays in the Bronx Criminal Court system violated the constitutional guarantee of a speedy trial.  While Judge Daniels found that the named plaintiffs lacked standing because their cases had been resolved, Judge Daniels allowed 30 days for the plaintiffs to be replaced with plaintiffs having pending cases in the Bronx Criminal Court system.

On the merits, he found that the plaintiffs had stated a claim:
Continue Reading Judge Daniels Denies Motion to Dismiss Challenge to Delays in Bronx Criminal Court

Yesterday, Judge Sweet granted in part a motion for sanctions against the City of New York and the NYPD for spoliation of evidence in a class action over the NYPD’s alleged quotas for issuing summonses even when the officers lacked probable cause.  Judge Sweet found that the City failed to implement and maintain a litigation hold which, when combined with the NYPD’s robust document destruction policies already in place, led to the destruction of key evidence.  The lack of document preservation led to little or no documents being produced for key custodians, including no emails from former Commissioner Raymond Kelly.
Continue Reading Judge Sweet Grants Sanctions Motion Against City and NYPD for Spoliation of Evidence in Summons Quota Class Action

Judge Sweet denied last week the City of New York’s request to unseal 850,000 criminal court records for putative class members in a civil rights class action against the City.  The complaint, originally filed in 2010, alleges that the City of New York and the NYPD violated the class members’ civil rights by requiring officers to meet minimum quotas of summonses issued regardless of whether a crime had occurred or probable cause existed.  The records were sealed pursuant to a privilege codified in New York’s Penal Law.  The City argued that the records should be unsealed so that defendants could identify potential class members and then seek discovery from them in order to challenge class membership.
Continue Reading Judge Sweet Won’t Unseal 850,000 Criminal Court Records in Summons Quota Class Action Against NYPD