On October 4, 2017, ECBAWM and co-counsel Romano & Kuan PLLC filed a federal class-action lawsuit on behalf of presumptively innocent criminal defendants held for hours or days in New York City jails despite being entitled to release on bail. The complaint alleges that the City has been deliberately indifferent to the problem of unreasonable systemic delays in accepting bail payments and in processing detainees for release once bail is posted. The suit details a Kafka-esque system where antiquated technology, inadequate staffing, and indifference conspire to keep thousands of
New Yorkers each year in jail for hours or days without any legal basis.

ECBAWM’s Matt Brinckerhoff, Debbie Greenberger, and David Lebowitz, along with Julia Kuan of Romano and Kuan, represent the plaintiffs.

To read the complaint, click here.

“City jails regularly violate detainees’ rights by keeping them locked up too long after bail is posted: lawsuit,” New York Daily News