New York City has settled a class action over routine strip-searches at Rikers Island and other city jails for people arrested for misdemeanor drug and weapons charges. In papers filed late yesterday with Judge John G. Koeltl, the city agreed to pay $33 million to settle all claims made by the plaintiffs, including two women who say they were subjected to forced gynecological exams in city jails. The way was paved for a settlement in McBean v. City of New York, 02 Civ. 5426, seven months ago, when then-Southern District Judge Gerard Lynch granted summary judgment to a class of people who had been arrested, but not convicted, between July 15, 1999 and Oct. 4, 2007, when an injunction settlement was reached by the parties. “It is bedrock law that, whatever the relevant misdemeanor charge—whether it relates to narcotics or weapons—misdemeanants have a right not to be strip-searched at intake absent reasonable suspicion,” Judge Lynch wrote (NYLJ, Aug. 18, 2009). Under the agreement, class members can receive between $1,800 but no more than $2,900, depending on how many claimants respond. Richard Emery of Emery Celli Brinckerhoff & Abady was class counsel. He could not be reached for comment. Genevieve Nelson, senior counsel in the special federal litigation division and Muriel Goode-Trufant, chief of the division, represented the city. In a statement, Ms. Nelson said the settlement was the final step in a process “during which the Department of Correction’s intake search procedures were modified in 2007.” – Mark Hamblett
Winners of Botein Award Are Announced
Presiding Justice Luis A. Gonzalez of the Appellate Division, First Department, has announced the names of the five Unified Court System employees who have been selected for this year’s Bernard Botein Award for “outstanding contributions to the administration of justice.”
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law are third party online distributors of the broad collection of current and archived versions of ALM's legal news publications. LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law customers are able to access and use ALM's content, including content from the National Law Journal, The American Lawyer, Legaltech News, The New York Law Journal, and Corporate Counsel, as well as other sources of legal information.
For questions call 1-877-256-2472 or contact us at [email protected]
