Accountability New York
Prosecutors are some of the most powerful lawyers and are only rarely held accountable for professional misconduct. In New York, journalists have documented dozens of court findings of prosecutorial misconduct with no consequence. The New York Times Editorial Board wrote in 2018, “there’s no reliable system for holding prosecutors accountable for their misconduct, and they certainly can’t be entrusted with policing themselves.”
Starting in 2021, we worked in coalition with law professors and other community members as Accountability NY to file dozens of complaints with the Grievance Committees that are supposed to regulate attorney misconduct in New York. Nearly all the complaints referenced a court finding of improper conduct by the prosecutor and the remaining few involved improprieties noted by a District Attorney’s Office itself.
The complaints alleged a wide range of prosecutorial misconduct, including knowingly allowing a prosecution witness to lie, withholding exculpatory evidence, and purposeful racial discrimination against prospective jurors. Some of the complaints address cases where reversed convictions followed years–even decades–of incarceration.
Media Coverage:
Prosecutors Wrongfully Convicted Three Men Who Spent 24 Years Behind Bars. Will They Be Disbarred? | Gothamist | May 6, 2021
Partners:
Cynthia Godsoe, Professor of Law, Brooklyn Law School
Daniel S. Medwed, University Distinguished Professor of Law and Criminal Justice, Northeastern University School of Law
Justin Murray, Associate Professor of Law, New York Law School
Nicole Smith Futrell, Professor of Law, CUNY School of Law
Steven Zeidman, Professor of Law, CUNY School of Law
More from the Accountability
Horton v. Rangos. In 2022, we filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of individuals detained at Allegheny County Jail against three Allegheny County judges, as well as other county, jail, and probation department officials.
Holland v. Otero. On January 29, 2025, Civil Rights Corps filed a lawsuit against 6 Houston Police Department officers on behalf of Houston resident Terrence Holland. Mr. Holland has multiple physical, cognitive, and psychological disabilities, including PTSD, hearing impairments, and a traumatic brain injury. The complaint alleges that defendant HPD officers used overwhelming and excessive force on Mr. Holland when they repeatedly hit, kicked, punched, and tased him during a minor traffic stop.
Civil Rights Corps v. LaSalle. In response to the filing of the first Accountability NY complaints in 2021, NYC Corporate Counsel sent a letter to the Grievance Committees claiming that the professors had engaged in “misuse and indeed abuse of the grievance process" that "should not be countenanced.” In November 2021, we filed a federal lawsuit and won a big victory for transparency in June 2022, when the court granted our motion for partial summary judgment.
Civil Rights Corps worked with an amazing group of organizers at Silicon Valley De-Bug and law professor Lara Bazelon on an ethics complaint alleging judicial misconduct in San Mateo County, California. The complaint, citing court transcripts, court watchers’ observations, and local and statewide reports, was filed in August 2024, alleging that multiple judges and judicial […]
Rise v. Bagshaw. In 2024, Civil Rights Corps filed a landmark lawsuit challenging alleged police brutality in Washington, DC, against the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) and the United States Capitol Police (USCP).
McWashington v. Rodgers. Mr. McWashington, a Black man, was pulled over for slow rolling through stop signs in Houston. Our lawsuit alleges that, despite the fact that Mr. McWashington complied with commands to get out of the car – at one point laying on the ground with visibly empty hands – Houston Police Department officers released an out-of-control K9 on him, which mauled and harmed him grievously.
Harrington v. Lancaster. In January 2024, Civil Rights Corps filed a federal lawsuit against three members of the Harris County Constables, Precinct 2 on behalf of Harris County resident Tyler Harrington. The complaint alleges that officers James Lancaster, Nathaniel Cano, and Jared Lindsay conducted a warrantless no-knock entry into Mr. Harrington’s home in the middle of the night and held him at gunpoint. The complaint raises several claims against the defendants, including violations of the Fourth Amendment for unlawful entry, unlawful search, unlawful seizure, and excessive force.
Lewis v. District of Columbia. Our lawsuit alleges that, on two separate occasions, Malaika Lewis and her minor daughter, N.L., were subjected to horrendous treatment at the hands of police officers. After Ms. Lewis contacted police for help locating her older daughter, the lawsuit alleges that police officers separated Ms. Lewis from her younger daughter, N.L., for hours while attempting to illegally search her apartment based on one officer's unfounded hunch that she was somehow hiding a boyfriend who had committed an unspecified crime.
Ramos v Erwin. In 2023, Civil Rights Corps filed a lawsuit against 5 Houston Police Department officers on behalf of Houston resident Alberto Ramos. The complaint alleges that defendant HPD officers racially profiled, hogtied, and arrested Mr. Ramos without probable cause.