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11/19/2021
by Alex
Civil rights are an essential component of any free society. They help maintain our democracy, support our dignity, and allow us to exist as individuals. Every person in America has certain rights that exist that cannot be denied by police or law enforcement.
In New York City especially, understanding your civil rights is doubly important. With so many people coexisting closely alongside those with different backgrounds, civil rights are part of what allows the fabric of society to function. When those rights are violated, it can be destructive on many fronts.
Shulman & Hill, as one of New York’s preeminent law firms, has long specialized in helping injured New Yorkers secure compensation for the harm done to them through our personal injury and workers’ compensation practices. Now, our legal experts are pleased to announce the firm’s expansion into creating a new civil rights division. This new department will continue Shulman & Hill’s long history of success in speaking up for those who have been harmed by someone else’s actions.
With the firm’s expansion into civil rights, Shulman & Hill can help even more New Yorkers seek justice and financial recourse for damages done. Civil rights cases can be complex, sometimes reaching into various different aspects of local, state, and even federal law. Our experts use our collective years of experience and extensive resources to investigate claims of civil rights violations, pinpoint accountable parties, and fight for the rights of New Yorkers.
Shulman & Hill now accepts a wide variety of civil rights cases and complaints. Specifically, the firm now accepts cases that feature:
Shulman & Hill is pleased to be joined by partner Cary London, who will be leading the civil rights division. Mr. London is a magna cum laude graduate of the University of Virginia and New York Law School. He is an insider expert in civil rights law, having worked previously for the NYPD, the Bronx District Attorney’s Office, the Brooklyn Defender Services, and clerked under Bronx County Supreme Court Justice Richard Lee Price. Mr. London brings his years of experience and history of success fighting for those who have suffered wrongful convictions, excessive force, false arrests, police brutality, and other civil rights violations to Shulman & Hill’s team.
Joining Cary London is Cass Luskin. A Harvard Law School graduate, Mr. Luskin previously worked as a defense investigator in Washington D.C. as well as as a public defender in both Louisiana and Brooklyn. He brings a wide range of experience in criminal cases, from drug offenses all the way up to murders. He speaks from a place of deep knowledge about the inner workings of the criminal justice system, including its many structural inequities and inequalities.
Together, Luskin and London are proud to have stood beside their communities as they seek fair treatment from the justice system, and look forward to representing New Yorkers under the banner of Shulman & Hill.
The NYPD is tasked with maintaining safety for one of the largest and most diverse metropolises in the world. They impact so many peoples’ lives on a daily basis, helping the city function smoothly and securely. While doing so, it is imperative that law enforcement officials respect the civil rights of every person that they come into contact with. Doing so is part of their job, alongside maintaining civic order.
Recently, there have been a number of alleged violations of New Yorker’s civil rights. As many as 323,911 allegations of police misconduct by the NYPD have been released online in the past year alone.
Current New York Attorney General Letitia James recently filed a “landmark lawsuit” against the NYPD, alleging numerous instances of excessive force, police brutality, wrongful arrests, and other misconduct. Many of the instances named were said to have taken place during last summer’s protests over the death of George Floyd, but others go back even further in time. The wide-ranging lawsuit seeks to appoint an independent monitor to examine the actions of the NYPD and to discover if widespread wrongdoing has taken place.
In 2020 alone, 13,741 lawsuits and claims against New York City were settled for a total of $1.03 billion, according to data from the New York City Comptroller’s Office. In one specific case, a Bronx man imprisoned for 19 years is due to receive an $11 million settlement from the city for the treatment he experienced, after coercive law enforcement practices led to his wrongful conviction.
While no amount of money can make up for the years lost and harm done due to coercive, flawed, and sometimes even violent law enforcement misdeeds, financial compensation can help begin to make amends and hold those accountable for their actions. An experienced civil rights attorney can help you understand fully what your rights are, and speak up for you when they have been trampled by those in power.
If you suspect your civil rights have been ignored or violated, lean on a civil rights expert with Shulman & Hill to understand fully what recourses may be available to you. Contact us to learn more about your rights during a no-cost, no-obligation legal evaluation. We can examine the facts, and advise you about how best to proceed.
Read More: Shulman & Hills’ Historic Win for Civil Rights
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