

New York City Police detain and handcuff Fifth Grader who leaves School after Teacher tells Student
The New York Law Journal Headline read that "A Manhattan judge ruled that two New York City police officers lawfully detained a non-English speaking public school student who left school and went home without permission after his teacher told him that he could not take part in a class field trip." The infant-plaintiff was W.C., a fifth grade student at P.S. 137, who was not allowed to go on a school field trip but, instead, simply left the school without anyone letting his pa

Federal Judge Grants Class Action Certification to Hearing Impaired Prisoner under the Americans wit
Plaintiff was an inmate who suffered from hearing problems. He sued under the Americans with Disabilities Act ("ADA"), claiming that the correctional facility of which he was housed did not provide appropriate accomodations to prisoners suffering from hearing impairments. Plaintiff moves for class certification pursuant to Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Rule 23(a) provides that a court may certify a class only if: (1) the class is so numerous that joinder of
Supreme Court reaffirms that Plaintiff's Civil Rights Lawsuit must be Frivolous, Unreasonable or
The Idaho Supreme Court decided to go against the longstanding precedent set forth by the Supreme Court nearly 40 years ago. Under federal law, a court has discretion to "allow the prevailing party, other than the United States, a reasonable attorney’s fee” in a civil rights lawsuit filed under 42 U. S. C. §1983. 42 U. S. C. §1988. In Hughes v. Rowe, 449 U. S. 5 (1980) (per curiam), the Supreme Court interpreted §1988 to permit a prevailing defendant in such a suit to recover
Adult-Oriented Establishment fails to Assert Standing for First Amendment Challenge
Courts require standing, a case or controversy, under Article III before a Court will even touch a First Amendment issue. Here, Keepers, Inc. markets itself in providing services to the consenting adult public. At one point a cabaret club, Keepers, Inc. is an adult-oriented establishment who is challenging a regulation on First Amendment grounds (for the purpose of this article). Both the District Court and the Second Circuit did not reach the issue. Why - Standing. The Seco
Immunity denied for Prosecutors - Jury Verdict Upheld
Facts: Dr. Leonard Morse was a dentist who had a successful practice in Brooklyn, that was until the Defendants alleged he was committing fraud. Defendants here are John Fusto, a former prosecutor with the New York State Attorney Generalʹs Office Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, and Jose Castillo, a former audit‐investigator with the Unit. "The defendants suspected that Morse, a dentist with a practice in Brooklyn, New York, was perpetrating Medicaid fraud by submitting false bil
African American “not fitting in” and Caucasian employee “fitting in better” considered pretext and
The Second Circuit assumed that denial to the van was an adverse employment action and evaluated two statements of which the District Court excluded: (1) Department of Public Safety employees sharing comments that Plaintiff “did not fit in” with the other Van Members; and (2) Statements from Department of Public Safety supervisors that, Payette, a white male, would “fit in better” than Plaintiff, an African American. The District Court found that “there is insufficient eviden
Defendant NYC Police Officers are not entitled to Qualified Immunity for the mass arrests that occur
Garcia v. Jane and John Doe, 12-2634-cv (Aug. 21 2014) In their complaint, the Plaintiffs attached video footage and photographs that became part of the complaint and, therefore, were considered on appeal. The Plaintiffs allege violations of their First, Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments. While the District Court denied the motion to dismiss these claims against the individual officers, the District Court granted the motion to dismiss claims against the NYC, Mayor Bloomberg an
Kirkland v. Cablevision Systems, 13‐3625‐cv (2d Cir. July 25, 2014)
Plaintiff Garry Kirkland, who was (2008) the only African-American Area Operations Manager in Cablevision, represented himself in a discrimination claim against Cablevision for discrimination on the basis of race and retaliation for his complaints about unequal treatment. After deposition testimony, the District Court granted Cablevision summary judgment and Mr. Kirkland appeal to the Second Circuit. The Second Circuit vacated the Orders of the District Court, finding that th