By Phil Corso
The 2nd Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals denied the city’s request to vacate U.S. District Judge Shira A. Scheindlin’s ruling defining the city Police Department’s controversial stop-and-frisk policy as discriminatory.
An appeals panel temporarily suspended a lower court ruling last month, ordering a stay of Scheindlin’s Aug. 12 order to reform certain Police Department practices, including the appointment of an independent monitor and retraining officers. The panel also removed Scheindlin from the case.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s administration appealed the case, arguing Scheindlin’s removal should also void her rulings.
“Following the appellate panel’s shocking decision to remove the district court judge from our case, the city sought to double down and ask that the entirety of the judge’s decision be vacated without further briefing on its merits,” a spokesman for the Center for Constitutional Rights said after the appellate panel denied the city’s request. “The appellate panel has correctly rejected this request and will allow full briefing on the appeal to move forward as scheduled.”
The spokesman went on to speculate how a new mayoral administration under Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio might influence the stop-and-frisk fight once Bloomberg leaves office for good in January.
“We hope Mayor de Blasio will drop the city’s desperate appeal to undo the district court’s carefully considered ruling and work with plaintiffs and the community to enforce every aspect of the remedial order,” the Center for Constitutional Rights said. “He has an extraordinary opportunity to use the expertise of a court monitor and policing experts to end discriminatory policing in NYC.”
Reach reporter Phil Corso by e-mail at pcorso@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4573.
