Legal Aid Society

News

LAS, Advocates Urge Repeal of Law 50-A That Hides Police Misconduct Records

The Legal Aid Society joined the New York Civil Liberties Union, the Innocence Project, and other organizations in a letter to New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo urging the immediate repeal of Civil Rights Law 50-A, which blocks the public from accessing police disciplinary information. In 2016, the New York City Police Department reversed its decades-long practice of releasing some of this information. The Legal Aid Society and others have since challenged the legality of this in court, according to the New York Daily News.

“Governor Cuomo, you have a unique opportunity to catch New York up to the rest of the country on the issue of police transparency and accountability,” the letter reads in part. “We urge you to support a full statewide repeal of 50-A in your State of the State address and work with the legislature to end officially sanctioned secrecy for police misconduct.”