Milbank LLP and The Legal Aid Society have filed a putative class action against New York City over the New York Police Department’s (“NYPD”) practice of illegally accessing, using and disclosing sealed arrest-related records of New York youth ages 7 through 17.
The lawsuit, filed on behalf of three young New Yorkers, seeks to end this unlawful NYPD practice and enforce the statutory rights of the thousands of New Yorkers whose sealed records are routinely accessed, used and disclosed by the NYPD.
Under New York State law, when a juvenile is arrested and the arrest ends with a favorable termination (i.e., there is no adjudication of wrongdoing), the records of that arrest must be sealed and may not be made available to any person or agency, public or private, including the NYPD.
Nevertheless, the NYPD regularly accesses sealed records and uses them or allows them to be used to make consequential decisions, including whether to arrest or detain young people. Additionally, the NYPD routinely shares the information in these sealed records with prosecutors and press.
These illegal practices have a profound impact on the privacy, safety and futures of young New Yorkers, in particular Black and Latinx youth.
Milbank special counsel Melanie Westover Yanez said: “We are troubled by the NYPD’s blatant disregard of the straightforward laws around sealed records. We are proud to take this first step to protect the privacy rights of New York City’s youth.” Milbank Litigation partner Tawfiq Rangwala added: “It is time to stop the NYPD from using records of youth arrests that went nowhere to make law enforcement decisions, with devastating consequences for children and adults who were arrested as children.”
The Milbank pro bono team includes Litigation & Arbitration partner Tawfiq Rangwala, special counsel Melanie Westover Yanez, associates Carmit Patrone, Allison Kempf, Davis Campbell, Amna Rashid and summer associate Carley O’Toole.
