New York Business Litigation Attorney Blog

A state lawmaker is trying to figure out a way to adjust New York education law in order to punish students for cheating.

In the wake of the Great Neck SAT cheating scandal that officials have determined was going on for several years throughout Long Island, many officials are looking into the problem.

As we previously reported on our Great Neck education law blog, one teen, now a student at Emory University in Atlanta, devised a scheme where he would take Scholastic Aptitude Tests for students in exchange for money. The plan went so far as boys dressing as girls in order to get into testing sites where they could take the test for another person. It fell apart, the teen told 60 Minutes recently, when some of the test-takers were caught and confessed.

Newsday is reporting that Sen. Kenneth LaValle, R-Port Jefferson, said that the recent arrests of 20 past and present students is cause for concern. He wants tougher enforcement measures put in place for students taking tests in order to determine their eligibility. Prosecutors have previously said that the victims in the scandal were honest test-taking students who were overshadowed by cheating students.

The senator wants to overhaul a 20-year-old law that gives students accused of misconduct in taking the college entrance exam legal protection. LaValle, head of the state Senate Higher Education Committee, said he wants to make one-of-a-kind changes.

The committee will be meeting to discuss potential changes, including increased test security and increases in criminal penalties for those found guilty of cheating. He believes new legislation that would deal with exam fraud will be drafted this winter.

The senator didn't provide many specific changes he wants to make, but told Newsday he wants to change a section of the law that provides legal due process for those accused of cheating. Students whose scores are invalidated can have the test fees refunded, retake the test or seek legal arbitration. The senator has said he wants to amend the 1992 law to reduce students' rights.

The law was put in place to protect students from having the stigma of cheating surround them if they are accused. Some officials argue that colleges and universities should be told if a student was caught or accused of cheating.

Students who are accused of cheating, without relevant proof, shouldn't have their futures destroyed because of school officials' allegations. If students are accused of cheating and then re-take the test and pass, why should universities be informed that school officials made a mistake? Students require rights so that their futures can remain bright.

These laws were enacted for a reason. In fact, they went into place after an incident in Los Angeles where 12 students were asked to retake an AP calculus test after suspected cheating. When all 12, who were students of teacher Jamie Escalante, passed, their experience was made into the move "Stand and Deliver." The New York law was put into place based on that situation, which got much attention.

Continue reading "NY Lawmaker Wants to Strenghten Education Laws For Great Neck Cheating Students" »

The New York Civil Liberties Union recently reported that nearly 90 percent of the arrests of summer school students were of students of color, raising some Long Island civil rights issues.

Some people view civil rights issues as problems of the past dealing with race relations, voting and women's rights. But today there are plenty more issues that have come up as our country becomes more and more diverse.

Immigration, for instance, has become a major topic that brings up arguments daily, including some of which turn violent. States have attempted to create laws that many called racist, while politicians are constantly trying to cash in on the topic. Other issues that deal with civil rights are problems that deal with workplace labor law issues.

This can include discrimination, wage issues, sexual harassment or even physical harassment. Freedom of speech issues, whether at work or in public, can also happen on a daily basis.

NY1 recently reported that the New York Civil Liberties Union studied the numbers of arrests by New York police at the city's 63 public schools between July and September. The organization determined that 68 percent of African-American students were charged by police in that time frame and 90 percent were classified as students of color.

The organization's leaders believe this is disturbing trend and a disparity that must be changed. Black students make up only 29 percent of the student population year-round, yet make up nearly 70 percent of the arrests.

Some students said that they don't feel school safety officers treat all students fairly. Some believe the police treat Hispanic and African-American students more harshly than Asian and Caucasian students. One student told the news station that he had to spend time in jail after being accused of stealing a cell phone and now that will stay on his record permanently.

ACLU officials believe that school officials should take a look at police actions and determine if students are being arrested by officers simply for minor school infractions. Police officials reported that in the last decade there has been a 50 percent drop in major crimes and a 45 percent dip in violent crimes in the schools.

Police and school officials always have a difficult time with this balancing act. On the one hand, they must provide an education that can help students succeed in the future, but they also must provide a safe environment, but one that doesn't lead to unnecessary charges by bullying police officers.

Officers and teachers alike must not be quick to try to blame a student of color based on some type of deep-seeded bias or based on other past events. Each situation must be handled on a case-by-case basis. Students must be given the benefit of the doubt and not punished for something that could hurt their future without probable cause.

Continue reading "Are Black Students' Civil Rights Being Violated in New York?" »

A New York City police officer was arrested recently and charged with civil rights violations after he allegedly falsely accused a man of resisting arrest and followed that up with a racial slur, The New York Times reports.

This is the second recent example of a NYPD officer being charged with a civil rights violation. In Brooklyn recently, we reported on our blog that a seven-year veteran of the force was charged with pepper spraying and handcuffing a person, then accessing state and federal databases to check the person's background after an incident outside a bar owned of one of the officer's relatives.

Accusations of civil rights violations in New York can not only spark outrage, but can demoralize an entire police department. Big-city departments seem to constantly come under fire for race-related allegations, which sometimes lead to criminal charges.

Both the officers who face these charges and the victims who have been cast aside as second-class citizens require legal representation. A lawyer who has the experience on both sides of the issue should be hired to analyze the situation and best represent the client.

In this case, the 32-year-old white police officer is accused of approaching a black man on Targee Street in Staten Island in plain clothes and unmarked police cruiser in April and frisking him.

When the officer found nothing illegal, the man complained about the treatment and asked for his badge number. The officer arrested him and charged him with resisting arrest, telling the man he didn't appreciate being treated with disrespect, The New York Times reports.

The officer's report states the man flailed his arms, kicked his legs and pushed the officer during the arrest. The man spent 36 hours in custody. According to a federal complaint filed against the officer, investigators found text messages and intercepted phone calls on the night of the arrest that show the officer exaggerated facts in the report.

He not only is charged with a misdemeanor civil rights violation, but also extortion and insurance fraud, which could add up to 20 years in prison. The extortion charge is unrelated to this incident, but relates to the officer, who runs a plowing business on the side. Allegedly he lured a man he believed stole his snowplow to a parking lot, where the man was beaten by eight men.

The insurance fraud charges come from him allegedly telling a snow plow worker to bash a truck he owned and then say it was an accident. Investigators allegedly have a recording of the officer's voice saying "these guys are dead" after learning he was being investigated for the beating.

This will be an interesting case for several reasons. The first is that federal prosecutors rarely file charges in a criminal complaint. They typically take the case to a grand jury, which has to decide whether or not to indict. Perhaps they feel the evidence is insufficient.

Second, the case is based on three completely different situations, which could be difficult for the jury to figure out. Whatever the resolution, let's hope the victim and the officer receive fair treatment.

Continue reading "Civil Rights Issue Arises In NYPD Officer Arrest" »

A veteran New York police officer, with seven years of service, was arrested recently and charged with violating the civil rights of a person he allegedly sprayed with pepper spray in Brooklyn, Thomson Reuters reports.

Civil rights charges filed against police officers are far too common. While there are hundreds of charges a person can face, including theft crimes, drug crimes, assault and battery and even murder in New York, an officer's worst nightmare is facing a criminal charge for an offense allegedly committed while on duty.

Officers require a strong criminal defense just like the average citizen. But while there are thousands of crimes committed every hour nationwide, that means there are thousands of victims as well.

And while not every defendant charged with a crime is guilty, that still leaves victims needing answers. They require legal representation as well. Victims need a strong voice in order to be heard.

In the instance of the police officer, the 31-year-old now faces up to 17 years in prison if he is convicted in federal court of the charges for which he has been indicted. According to Thomson Reuters, the officer allegedly used pepper spray in 2008 during an argument over parking in front of a bar owned by the cop's cousin.

While on duty and in uniform, the officer allegedly said "no one (expletive) with my cousin's place," before he handcuffed and detained the unnamed victim. A second person was also pepper sprayed.

Prosecutors also allege the officer used the department's computer systems to access information about the victim. They say he also used the computer system to access federal databases on behalf of his cousin, who is being investigated by the FBI on drug trafficking allegations.

If true, this is obviously a disturbing story because police officers have so much authority. To think officers will, while on duty, violate citizens' rights in order to protect a family member's business is tough to swallow.

But another thing that must be taken into consideration here is the possibility that this officer -- whose cousin is being investigated by the FBI -- may have been unfairly targeted.

In a criminal case, all angles must be considered. When a person's liberty is on the line, everything must be looked at in order to ensure justice is done.

And the victims deserve justice as well. That means getting compensation in cases where they had to pay for medical care or to reimburse them for the emotional and physical turmoil that so often comes with civil rights violations in New York. This is why the legal system was created. All sides must be represented and what is fair must be the outcome.

Continue reading "NYPD Officer Faces Civil Rights Violation, Criminal Charges After Brawl" »