Posts in Category ‘2018’

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Columbia Sociologist Lauds ECBAWM in Sociological Forum

Sociologist Shamus Khan, Chair and Professor of Sociology at Columbia University, praises the work of ECBAWM in a forthcoming article in Sociological Forum magazine. The article, entitled “The Subpoena of Ethnographic Data,” describes the ethical and legal challenges faced when Prof. Khan, a renowned scholar of gender, sexuality, and cultural elites, received a document subpoena seeking the production of ethnographic data. The data in question was collected by Prof. Khan at St. Paul’s School, an elite prep school which Khan profiled in his ground-breaking book Privilege: The Making of an Adolescent Elite at St. Paul’s School. The subpoena arose from a civil suit brought by a young woman who, as a student at St. Paul’s, alleged that she had been sexually assaulted by another student. The case gained national attention and the accused young man was found guilty of statutory rape. The subpoena sought, among other things, copies of Prof. Khan’s contemporaneous field notes of observations he had made of students, faculty, and administrators while living on the campus of St. Paul’s in 2004-2005. Describing ECBAWM as a “powerful law firm” and thanking ECBAWM partner Andrew G. Celli, Jr. for “his counsel,” the article details the firm’s successful effort to force the withdrawal of the subpoena. The firm invoked case law that extends the First-Amendment-based “journalist’s privilege” to academic researchers like Prof. Khan. In addition to Mr. Celli, firm associate David Lebowitz handled the matter for Prof. Khan.

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ECBAWM and Co-Counsel File Suit Against New York City and Albany County for Illegal Transfer of Young Rikers Pretrial Detainees to “Black Site” Albany Jail

Today, four young men who were pretrial detainees at Rikers Island until 2018, when the City of New York abruptly transferred them to an upstate “black site” jail, filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the City of New York, New York City Department of Correction (“DOC”) Commissioner Cynthia Brann, Albany County, Albany County Sheriff Craig D. Apple, Sr., and individual correctional officers.

Since 2015, when it banned solitary confinement for inmates ages 21 and younger, the City and DOC have illegally rendered dozens of young Rikers inmates to Albany County Correctional Facility (the “Albany County Jail”). Plaintiffs in this case were taken by DOC from Rikers to the Albany County Jail. Upon arrival, they were systematically subjected to brutal beatings and sexual assaults by jail guards. Plaintiffs suffered severe injuries, including a perforated eardrum, concussion, rectal bleeding, black eyes, and lacerations. For the entirety of their time at the Albany County Jail, the Rikers detainees were held in solitary confinement, cut off from meaningful human contact, and isolated from family, adequate medical care, and their lawyers.

Plaintiff Davon Washington is a 22-year-old man who resides in the Bronx, New York. He was released from custody on December 24, 2018. Plaintiff Steven Espinal is a 19-year-old man, and Plaintiff Pariis Tillery is a 25-year-old man, both of whom are still detained in solitary confinement at the Albany County Jail pending trial. Plaintiff John Doe is a 24-year-old man who was previously detained at the Albany County Jail and is now serving a sentence in state custody.

Today’s lawsuit, filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, seeks injunctive relief and damages. Plaintiffs Espinal and Tillery seek to be transferred out of the Albany County Jail, where they fear daily for their safety. Plaintiffs are represented by Katie Rosenfeld and Douglas E. Lieb of Emery Celli Brinckerhoff Abady Ward & Maazel LLP and Steven Goldman of the Law Office of Goldman & Associates.

“Young Inmates Say They Were Shipped Upstate, Held in Isolation and Beaten,” New York Times

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ECBAWM Represents Jazmine Headley, Brooklyn Mother Wrongfully Attacked and Arrested by HRA and NYPD While Holding Her Toddler Son

ECBAWM is proud to represent Jazmine Headley, a 23-year-old Brooklyn woman who was subjected to appalling mistreatment by the New York City Human Resource Administration (HRA) and the New York City Police Department (NYPD) at a Brooklyn HRA office last week and is now speaking out on her own behalf. After taking the day off of work to address a problem with her son’s childcare voucher, and waiting hours to be seen, Ms. Headley sat on the floor next to her son’s stroller. In response, HRA and NYPD officers grabbed her, attacked her, ripped her son out of her arms, arrested her, and separated her from her son for several days. The incident was caught on cellphone videos. All charges were dropped, and both the Mayor and HRA Commissioner ultimately issued public apologies to Ms. Headley. However, in her recent interview with the New York Times, Ms. Headley discussed how this horrific mistreatment is unfortunately all too common for New Yorkers in this situation.

ECBAWM partner Katie Rosenfeld represents Ms. Headley, along with ECBAWM attorney Michele Yankson.

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Inmate at Auburn Correctional Facility Sues Prison Personnel After Brutal Assault by Correctional Officer

ECBAWM filed a federal civil rights lawsuit on behalf of Matthew Raymond, an inmate at Attica Correctional Facility, against the Superintendent of Auburn Correctional Facility, eight Auburn correctional officers, and two Auburn medical personnel. ECBAWM’s Katie Rosenfeld and Emma L. Freeman represent Mr. Raymond.

The suit—filed in the Northern District of New York—charges that, on September 14, 2016, Mr. Raymond was viciously assaulted by Lieutenant Troy Mitchell, an employee of New York State’s Auburn Correctional Facility. Mitchell—a notorious and violent abuser who has cost the State of New York nearly one million dollars in settlement payouts—took Mr. Raymond into a private room in Auburn’s medical unit. With Mr. Raymond shackled and immobile, Mitchell cursed at Mr. Raymond and beat him about the head, neck, chest, and groin, using his fists and officers’ baton.  Throughout the attack, five other officers, including Sgt. Thomas Harte and Correction Officers Charles Thomas, Thomas Phillips, and Thomas Giancola, stood by and watched.

The assault left Mr. Raymond with severe and permanent injuries. He will never be able to urinate on his own again and must be permanently catheterized. He may not be able to father children. He suffers from near-constant kidney and urinary tract infections. And he suffers from what appear to be neurological symptoms that impact his ability to walk.

As the suit details, in the aftermath of the assault and in retaliation for Mr. Raymond’s decision to file grievances against the officers involved, medical care personnel at Auburn ignored Mr. Raymond’s serious medical needs and neglected to provide him with remotely adequate care. Only months after the beating was Mr. Raymond taken to an outside medical facility and given the care he required.

Although Mr. Raymond attempted to use Auburn’s internal grievance procedure to spur an investigation of the assault, Auburn personnel papered over the incident and, instead, levied false disciplinary charges against Mr. Raymond that led to weeks in solitary confinement.

“For decades, DOCCS employee Lt. Mitchell systematically abused prisoners in the New York State prisons,” said Katie Rosenfeld, a partner at ECBAWM. “He also corrupted other officers to join this abuse. DOCCS’ Office of Special Investigation repeatedly turned a blind eye to the truth. OSI always credited Lt. Mitchell over the reports of prisoners. DOCCS and OSI must stop covering it up when serial abusers in the ranks hurt people like our client Matt Raymond. Brutal abuse is not part of the sentence that courts hand down to people in New York State.”

“This lawsuit seeks to remedy the vicious attack perpetrated by Troy Mitchell and his cohort against Matthew—and DOCCS’s long history of ignoring predators in its midst,” said Emma L. Freeman. “It is long past time for state facilities to take meaningful responsibility for correctional officers tasked with caring for inmates.”

To learn more, read coverage from the New York Daily News and coverage from the Times Union.

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Ilann Maazel Article on Gender-Motivated Violence Prevention Act Published in the New York Law Journal

In “The New York City Victims of Gender-Motivated Violence Protection Act,” Civil Rights Litigation columnist Ilann M. Maazel writes: “Here in New York City, we have another statute, virtually unknown and unused. It is the New York City Victims of Gender-Motivated Violence Protection Act (for present purposes, ‘the Act’). In the #MeToo era, every civil rights lawyer in New York City should know, and where appropriate, use, the Act.”

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ECBAWM Sues NYPD for Shackling Woman in Labor

On December 6, 2018, ECBAWM filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of a pregnant woman who was shackled by the NYPD for approximately 30 hours after she was arrested in the Bronx for a misdemeanor. The woman, who is known as Jane Doe in this suit, was repeatedly restrained by numerous different NYPD officers even as she went into labor and was taken to Montefiore Medical Center in the early morning of February 8, 2018. She was forced to labor in shackles, in extreme pain. Although officers partially removed the shackles minutes before Jane Doe gave birth, they reapplied them shortly after. Jane Doe was forced to welcome her baby into the world with her arm chained to her hospital bed.

The shackling of pregnant women is a barbaric and degrading practice. It is universally denounced by medical and correctional experts as dangerous and unnecessary. It has been illegal in New York for years. Doctors at the hospital reportedly warned the officers that their use of shackles posed serious health risks to Jane Doe and her child, and violated the law. The officers ignored these warnings, claiming that the Patrol Guide required the use of shackles and superseded any law to the contrary.

Through her suit, Jane Doe seeks to end the NYPD’s use of this draconian and illegal practice and ensure that no pregnant woman is shackled by the NYPD again.

Jane Doe is represented by ECBAWM attorneys Katie Rosenfeld and Ashok Chandran. The case was covered by the New York Times.

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“48 Hours” Investigates Shooting of DJ Henry and ECBAWM Client Brandon Cox

CBS news program 48 Hours presented an in-depth review of the fatal police shooting of Danroy “DJ” Henry, a Pace University student. The segment investigates the cause of the tragedy and includes interviews with DJ’s family, witnesses, DJ’s childhood friend Brandon Cox, and others. Mr. Cox was seated beside DJ in the car when an officer shot into their vehicle, killing DJ, and wounding Mr. Cox.

ECBAWM attorneys Jonathan S. Abady, O. Andrew F. Wilson, Debra Greenberger, and Jessica Clarke represented Brandon Cox in the related civil case against the police shooter and others.

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Historic Settlement in Pennsylvania

ECBAWM has settled the 2016 Pennsylvania recount case brought by presidential candidate Jill Stein and Pennsylvania voters. The lawsuit challenged Pennsylvania’s use of paperless voting systems, as well as its byzantine, anti-voter recount procedures.

The settlement requires Pennsylvania to provide voter-verifiable paper ballots to all voters by 2020, and automatic, robust, statewide election audits by 2022.

“With this settlement, Pennsylvania will go from an election integrity backwater to a national leader,” said Ilann M. Maazel. “We will be watching closely to ensure Pennsylvania implements every one of these important election reforms.”

The Pennsylvania plaintiffs are represented by Ilann M. Maazel, Ali Frick, and Doug Lieb, as well as co-counsel Montgomery McCracken Walker & Rhoads. In addition, Jonathan Abady and Andrew G. Celli Jr. represented the overall Stein 2016 recount effort.

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ECBAWM Files Class Action Complaint on Behalf of Victims of Brooklyn DA’s Illegal Wiretap Operation

On November 26, 2018, ECBAWM, along with co-counsel Wiggin & Dana LLP, filed a class action complaint against Tara Lenich, the City of New York, Brooklyn DA Eric Gonzalez, and other employees of the Kings County District Attorney’s Office (“KCDAO”). The complaint alleges that Tara Lenich, a supervisor at the KCDAO, used KCDAO equipment and facilities to conduct an illegal wiretapping operation. For approximately eighteen months, Lenich illegally intercepted phone and text communications that were sent to and from a fellow KCDAO attorney and an NYPD detective. Lenich is currently serving a federal prison sentence as a result of her misconduct. The complaint, which was filed on behalf of all people who communicated with the attorney and/or the detective, alleges that the putative class members had their communications unlawfully intercepted in violation of the federal Wiretap Act.

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