New York Civil Rights Legal Questions

You may have a case against the store, depending on exactly what happened after you were stopped for shoplifting. Assuming you were falsely accused, if you were detained in a room and not allowed to leave for an extended amount of time, you could have a claim for false arrest against the store, even if the police were not called. If there is video surveillance tape available, you should request it immediately. ... Read More

New York's SLAPP Act will almost certainly control this claim. You have to prove the statements are objectively false (as opposed to opinion) and maliciously made to injure you. If you can't, you may end up paying the defendant's attorneys' fees but more likely, you won't be able to find an attorney to take the case. ... Read More

Hi Irene...I am sorry to hear what happened to you.  I would need to know more about the background to be able to answer your question.  Feel free to reach out to me at kkerner@kernerlaw.com or 212-964-1098 if you would like to discuss further.   Thank you.   Ken Kerner   ... Read More

That is a very interesting question. You really need to speak with some employment lawyers. Free speach of civil servants has limitations. A laeyer will want to confidentially examine whether your post was regarding a matter of public concern and possibly more importantly whether you spoke as a private citizen or whether your speech concerned matters which were within your wheelhouse. There are cases out there where police officers or school principals air the dirty laundry of their own departments in public and that is often off limits. But if those persons discuss matters of great public concern, maybe that they are forced to work in a "sick building" and that affects not just the speaker/employee but everyone in the building and they have no control over the building since it is leased from some 3rd party, that might be a matter of great public concern for which they are speaking as a public citizen would and not just for themselves as a disgruntled employee might. Civil servant free speech is not unlimited and you need a lawyer who can dig deeply into what was posted and how that posting made the speech that of a private citizen over the public concern, if it did? Private employees don't have such protections regarding their own employers unless they are attempting to unionize or discuss terms and conditions of employment on their own time. Other speech regarding private employers by their employees might breach duties of loyalty or master servant doctrine which are good law in common law jurisdictions.... Read More

It's a process which appears to be designed to encourage self-reporting and self-policing but it does not always work that way. Since it is very difficult to regulate some of these facilities [employers], the Justice Center relies on employees to be its eyes and ears. Anyone who works within any of these "vulnerable persons" organizations is best served by: 1) Truly understanding the rules and regulations which govern what they do 2) Studying their employer's policies and procedures 3) Having good communication with supervisors as well as human resources 4) Not be afraid to report incidents which truly appear to be potential abuse or dangerous to vulnerables. The problem, as with any system, is that sometimes employees try to use the system in their own defense which really messes it up for everyone. When an employee maybe has been reported, they realize that what they did or did not do may have been questionable, so the "subject" decides to report others and the whole process spirals out of control. Not that they are perfect but the Justice System invests a ton of time into a process to try to come up with the right result. They probably get it right the majority of the time but of course some people fall through the cracks. For example, an employee who does not want to raise flags, report others, etc... does not do very well in this type of process. Every employee who is a mandatory reporter needs to report everything that they reasonably believe is a violation. Not a personality conflict or another employee they don't like but truly harming vulnerables. If every employee just looked at this process as what's in the best interest of the residents or vulnerable persons and not in their own interests or their friends' interests the system would work a lot better. But until every employee sees that it's not about them or about their friends but it's truly about the residents and vulnerables there will be more employees who need to find other lines of work. The DA's offices do go after criminal activity with the Justice Center but the worst thing that happens when someone does not timely, regularly report, aside from potential criminal charges, is they have to find another way to earn a living. If you have to rank who is most important in this type of a system it goes something like: 1) Vulnerable citizens are top priority 2) Justice Center is next 3) Employer's interests 4) Employee's own career 5) Co-workers careers The employees who view these priorities backwards or from bottom up are the ones who get burned the worst. Some employers try to paint the Justice Center as the enemy and that really skews how their workforce follows or does not the law.          ... Read More

I am sorry for your heartbreaking and shameful situation- not shameful for YOU, but shame on the system that forces a working, educated person to live in a shelter because of the insane cost of housing. The question is, why is nobody helping you to find affordable housing?  You don't want a transfer to a shelter- you want an affordable apartment (or share) in Queens or Western Nassau within a reasonable distance from your job. Look on Craig's list- especially in Nassau, homeowners are always looking for tenants or housemates to help them cover the exhorbitant cost of living on Long Island- and you're exactly what landlords want- a person with a JOB who is out of the house all day. There is a reasonably priced bus system that goes from Nassau to Jamaica so you can avoid the astronomical LIRR. If this is out of your price range, this is still not a situation that requires a lawyer- you need a social worker who can point you in the direction of organizations that can help you get affordable housing, subsidized, if you qualify, and any other assistance you're entitled to that will lead you to a PERMANENT home- not a shelter.  ... Read More

It all depends on what actually caused the loss of vision. If the assault cost him his vision, there's no case. If there was a possibility of saving his vision with timely treatment, he can absolutely sue the prison for negligence, and possibly the doctors for medical malpractice.  It all depends upon whether a doctor who reviews his records can testify with a reasonable degree of medical certainty that but for the delay, your son would not have lost his vision. If it's a case of improper treatment once he was seen by a doctor, it's the same standard to prove medical malpractice. But you MUST serve a notice of claim on the county or state (depending on which prison) within 90 days of the day of the injury = before December 4th- in order to preserve his claim. ... Read More

This isn't a civil rights case- it's a nuisance case, at best. First find out if the store is violating any state or local laws by disposing of meat in the way you describe and if so, file complaints. You can also call the USFDA for an inspection- if enough nasty things are going on inside the meat store, who knows. You may shut them down or get them to clean up their act, inside and outside, for good. And if not, you may be able to sue them for private nuisance and maybe public nuisance, if this impacts other neighbors as well. If, however, it turns out that this meat store is doing absolutely nothing in violation of the law, there may be little you can do. I assume the area is zoned for mixed residential/commercial use, so the existence of the store (or at least of the commercial space) in such proximity to your house was not a secret when you bought it. It might be a good time to sell.   ... Read More

Why do they think you don't look like a student?  If it's because of the color of your skin, or something connected with your religion, or your accent, or simply because you're older, you may have a good case for discrimination.  If, on the other hand, it's because you drive a monster truck, or a limousine with tinted windows accompanied by people who look like the cast of the Sopranos, or dress like a homeless person and stagger around campus smelling like drugs and like you haven't bathed for weeks.... you have no case.  So, which is it?... Read More

Probably yes. If this took place less than three years ago, it was a private facility, the abuse was serious, and it took place in the course of the staff person performing their job, the facility is responsible, and you may have a case.  If the facility was run by a government entity, you had 90 days to serve a notice of claim in order to preserve your right to sue.  ... Read More

Find an apartment you like and don't mention anything about your dog or disability until after you sign the lease and move in. If the lease questionnaire asks if you have a pet, the answer is "no", and that's no lie. You don't have a pet- you have a service animal. Once the lease is signed, the burden will be on the landlord to break the lease and evict you- and the landlord will either never try or if they try, they'll lose- and pay your legal fees. Good luck!... Read More

If your children are injured at school, you must serve a notice of claim on the school board within 90 day of the injury, and start a lawsuit within one year and 90 days of the injury. If your son has been continually bullied, you may also have a case against the school, depending on the severity, which is often determined by whether your son needed outside therapy. Although you dont have an action against the school for the busted lip, you should let the school board know about the incident, and the details of the failure to supervise. If you want to switch schools but the BOE says you're missing paperwork- give them the paperwork. ... Read More

Probably yes. NY Public Health Law section 1399 prohibits smoking in workplaces, defined as any indoor area in the control of an employer, and commercial establishments used for any profession and trade. The doctor's office lobby falls into the prohibition on smoking.  Put your complaint to the managment company in writing- there should be an on-site managment company employee available to enforce the no smoking law.... Read More

You may have a very good case for money damages against the prison, for negligence and civil rights violations, due to the prison failing to allow the prisoner to seek treatment. if you can prove the delay in treatment negatively effected his prognosis- in other words, if it's now too late for treatment. I hope the attorney who forced the prison to finally let him get medical care filed a notice of claim against the prison (meaning against the state or county, depending on which government entity controls it). There is a 90 day deadline to file a notice of claim against a government entity, which runs from the time of the injury. Service of a notice of claim is a prerequisite to starting a lawsuit against any government entity, and once it's served, the lawsuit must be filed within one year and 90 days of the injury. ... Read More

Wrongful imprisonment and false arrest are absolutely illegal, and if you were falsely arrested or detained for an extended period and then released with no charge, you might be able to sue for violation of your civil rights. Please provide more details. If you were wrongfully imprisoned by police, there is a 90 day deadline from the time of the imprisonment to file a notice of claim against the city or state. However, if you were incarcerated after a trial and feel you were wrongfully convicted, that is a criminal matter that should be taken up with a criminal defense attorney.... Read More

Pet custody cases are increasing in number, and courts take them seriously. While courts consider many factors, if your husband can prove that he was the main caretaker for the dogs and paid all the vet bills, he will likely win, regardless of whether his ex wife shows up in court. However, I'm not sure that you're in the right court. The only court that sends notification to the party you're suing is small claims court, and small claims court doesn't have jurisdication over the kind of case you need to file. That could be why the ex is ignoring him- she might have seen a lawyer who told her he was in the wrong court.  ... Read More

Your landlord has a legal obligation to keep your apartment habitable, and that includes fixing the conditions you listed. You can start an action (or hire a lawyer to start an action) to force him to make the repairs. You may be entitled to a rent reduction if the conditions are serious enough and you can prove he ignored your requests for a significant time. If the lead poisoning can be linked to paint used in the apartment, you may have a serious lawsuit on behalf of your child, as well.... Read More

For starters, you need to retain a good criminal defense attorney to help you defend against the criminal charges in question.  You may well have civil rights claims against the officers, but I would need a lot more information to be able to evaluate them, including a copy of the warrant.  Generally, if police officers rely on a properly executed warrant, they are in the clear for a later search, but there are exceptions.   ... Read More