The Legal Aid Society filed an amicus brief in Uniformed Fire Officers Association, et al. v. Bill de Blasio against union efforts to deny New Yorkers access to critical law enforcement officer disciplinary records, as reported by Amsterdam News.

On June 12, 2020, Governor Andrew Cuomo enacted legislation that fully repealed Police Secrecy Law 50-a. Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP partnered with Legal Aid in drafting and filing the amicus brief. In a backdoor effort to stymie the repeal of Section 50-a, law enforcement unions filed the aforementioned lawsuit. The matter is currently pending before the Honorable Katherine Polk Failla, a federal judge for the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.

“This lawsuit is a baseless attempt to undo the Legislature’s decisive repeal of Police Secrecy Law 50-a, and restore the toxic culture or impunity for police harassment and abuse of predominantly Black and Latinx New Yorkers. We urge the Court to deny the preliminary injunction and allow for the disclosure of these records to promote accountability for officers who commit acts of misconduct and betray public trust,” said Corey Stoughton, Attorney-in-Charge of the Special Litigation Unit with the Criminal Defense Practice at The Legal Aid Society.