The mission of the task force is to understand the issues leading to police brutality and to provide recommendations to policymakers, law enforcement and the judiciary to end deleterious policing practices that disproportionately impact persons of color.
As we relearned in 2016, a candidate can win the national popular vote and lose the presidency. Hillary R. Clinton received 2.87 million more votes than Donald J. Trump, but lost the Electoral College 304 to 227, with 270 votes needed to win. When the electors met in December, two Trump electors in Texas bolted … Continued
Editor’s Note: It has been 20 years since Vice President Al Gore contested the presidential election results in Florida. With Texas Gov. George W. Bush leading by fewer than 300 votes out of 6 million cast, the Gore team requested a manual recount in four heavily Democratic counties. John Hardin Young, an election lawyer on … Continued
In January, Christopher R. Riano, then assistant counsel to Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, was appointed to chair the New York State Bar Association’s (NYSBA) Committee on LGBTQ People and the Law. Since then, the committee has drafted an amicus brief that NYSBA filed with the U.S. Supreme Court in Fulton v. Philadelphia, arguing that a … Continued
NYSBA President Scott M. Karson commended the House of Representatives for approving $465 million for the Legal Services Corporation, $25 million above last year’s allotment. He called upon the Senate to follow suit. “I applaud this important action taken by the House of Representatives, which will benefit so many New Yorkers who are suffering from … Continued
As Congress returns today to Washington, D.C., the New York State Bar Association is urging lawmakers to expand coronavirus relief to student borrowers, rural residents who lack access to broadband and nonprofits. NYSBA president Scott M. Karson called upon the New York Congressional delegation to extend the moratorium on student loan payments, expand relief to … Continued
The House passed the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2020, a broad reform measure addressing use of force, racial and religious bias and national police standards. The legislation passed the House 236–181. The measure: Bans chokeholds and no-knock warrants Creates a national registry of police misconduct by all federal, state and local law … Continued
Attorney well-being is taking on added urgency as New York State Bar Association President Scott M. Karson makes it a focus of his tenure.
The New York State Legislature voted for sweeping police reform in a package of 10 bills, known as the “Say Their Name” Reform Agenda, which Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo signed into law on Friday. Gov. Cuomo signed two laws today, requiring police officer to use body cameras and creating the new Law Enforcement Misconduct Investigative … Continued
This public health emergency requiring people to remain in their homes to the extent possible plays right into the hands of domestic abusers.