2019 NEWS ARCHIVE
CLICK HERE TO NAVIGATE TO CURRENT NEWS PAGE
NOVEMBER 26, 2019
SHANIES LAW SCORES VICTORY IN FEDERAL LAWSUIT OVER GEORGIA TRANSGENDER INMATE’S DEATH
Last month the firm scored an important win in a federal lawsuit arising from the death of a transgender woman incarcerated in state prison in Georgia. The case has been covered by numerous news outlets, and the recent victory was first reported by Q Magazine, run by Atlanta-based non-profit Project Q.
The firm has teamed up on the case, brought on behalf of the parents of the late Jenna Mitchell, with the ACLU of Georgia and its Legal Director, Sean Young. The case is pending in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Georgia. In October 2019, the Court denied the defendants’ motion to dismiss the case and allowed the plaintiffs to add additional claims relating to Jenna’s death.
Jenna died by suicide in 2017, the suit alleges, as a result of deliberate indifference by corrections officers and the Georgia state prison system. The complaint alleges that prison officials, knowing that Jenna intended to attempt self-harm, declined to conduct a “suicide watch” and instead placed Jenna in solitary confinement. There, the suit alleges, corrections officers ignored other inmates’ warnings that Jenna was in the process of committing suicide — and officers even taunted Jenna, encouraging her to commit suicide. The suit asserts claims under the United States Constitution and the Americans with Disabilities Act.
NOVEMBER 22, 2019
SHANIES LAW client layleen polanco and family’s lawsuit profiled on nowthis NEWS
NowThis News, a youth-oriented and social media-focused news organization, profiled the late Layleen Polanco, a transgender woman of color who died on Rikers Island in June 2019, whose estate the firm represents in its lawsuit against the City of New York. NowThis interviewed David Shanies and Layleen’s older sister, Melania Brown, and the piece addresses both the lawsuit and broader issues facing transgender people of color.
OCTOBER 23, 2019
SHANIES LAW SETTLES SEX ABUSE CLAIMS AGAINST MANHATTAN LUXURY SPA
On October 23, 2019, New York Magazine’s “the Cut” published an article detailing a lawsuit the firm filed against a high-end Manhattan spa over allegations that the firm’s client was sexually abused during a massage. The piece discussed how difficult it can be for abuse victims to seek justice through the civil courts. The article included quotes from David Shanies about the lawsuit.
The case against the spa settled on the eve of trial. Non-confidential portions of the settlement agreement included numerous changes to the business’s written policies for massage therapists and handling complaints of sexual misconduct, updates to its website, and new training requirements.
AUGUST 12, 2019
SHANIES LAW FILES CIVIL RIGHTS LAWSUIT OVER THE DEATH OF Layleen Polanco, TRANSGENDER WOMAN KILLED ON Rikers Island
Today, our Office filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of Layleen Polanco’s estate over Layleen’s death while in custody on Rikers Island. Our initial investigation has revealed serious misconduct, which we will pursue with this lawsuit. The City and its officials improperly placed Layleen in punitive segregation, failed to monitor her, and medically cleared her for placement in a dangerous situation that predictably caused her death. While we can never bring Layleen back, this lawsuit is a step toward holding the City and its employees accountable. The complaint is available here.
JUNE 10, 2019
SHANIES LAW REPRESENTS Layleen Polanco, TRANSGENDER WOMAN KILLED ON Rikers Island
On June 7, 2019, Layleen Xtravaganza Cubilette-Polanco, a 27 year-old, Latinx, transgender woman, died in Rikers Island’s Central Punitive Segregation Unit. Layleen had been in jail for more than two months because she was unable to post $500 bail for low-level, misdemeanor charges. Layleen’s death in custody sparked outrage over many levels of unfairness to which poor, LGBTQ+ persons of color are subjected in the criminal justice system. On June 10th, dozens of organizations, including the Anti Violence Project, Sylvia Rivera Law Project, Bronx Defenders, and Lambda Legal, organized a rally at Foley Square in lower Manhattan. David spoke on behalf of Layleen’s surviving family, promising to seek answers and obtain justice for Layleen.
MARCH 28, 2019
SHANIES LAW NAMED FINALIST FOR NATIONAL LAW JOURNAL ELITE TRIAL LAWYERS HONORS
The National Law Journal honored the David B. Shanies Law Office as a Finalist for this year’s Elite Trial Lawyers honors. The firm was recognized in three categories: Civil Rights, Discrimination, and Racial Discrimination. The Elite Trial Lawyers awards will be presented on July 18 at the Palace Hotel in New York City.
MARCH 28, 2019
DAVID B. SHANIES HOSTS FEDERAL BAR COUNCIL JUDGES RECEPTION
David B. Shanies, together with Rita M. Glavin of Seward & Kissel LLP, hosted the Federal Bar Council’s annual Judges Reception in honor of the federal judges within the Second Circuit. This year’s Judges Reception, held at the Union League Club in Gramercy, honored the Women Judges of the Second Circuit. David presented the Council’s honors to Circuit Judge Reena Raggi, who accepted on behalf of the more than 70 women judges of the Second Circuit.
FEBRUARY 15, 2019
SHANIES LAW CLIENTS AND RECENT TRIAL WIN COVERED BY THE New York TIMES
Today The New York Times wrote extensively about Jessica Sunderland, a transgender veteran for whom the firm recently won a groundbreaking jury verdict. The article told Jessica’s story of standing up for her rights, persevering through years of litigation, and emerging victorious. Another Shanies Law client, Alyssa Giordano, was also quoted and her pending case discussed in the article. Shanies Law is proud of both clients and their bravery in sharing their important stories and fighting for their fundamental rights.
FEBRUARY 6, 2019
DAVID B. SHANIES speaks at CITY HALL ABOUT WRONGFUL CONVICTIONS
David B. Shanies joined a group of government officials, exonerees, and advocates gathered at City Hall to address the scourge of wrongful convictions in New York State and discuss ways to prevent and correct them. The rally was organized by Families of the Wrongfully Convicted, a non-profit organization dedicated to assisting the victims of wrongful convictions and their families. Other speakers included New York State Assemblyman Dan Quart, City Councilman and Queens District Attorney candidate Rory Lancman, Derrick Hamilton, Jeffrey Deskovic, Shabaka Shakur, Sundhe Moses, and Ron Kuby. David spoke on behalf of his client Tyronne Johnson, discussing, among other issues, the need for a conviction review unit in Queens County.
FEBRUARY 4, 2019
DAVID B. SHANIEs addresses bronx wrongful conviction issues in New York law journal
David B. Shanies penned an op-ed commentary in today’s New York Law Journal addressing the recent exoneration of Huwe Burton and its parallels to the Brooklyn District Attorney’s recent experience with Louis Scarcella. The article observes that a systematic review of convictions tied to the disgraced former detective has resulted in an astonishing 14 exonerations to date. David encouraged Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark to devote the resources necessary to conduct a comprehensive review in light of the fact that Mr. Burton’s is the third wrongful conviction tied to the detectives who handled his case. The text of the op-ed appears below.
Last week, Huwe Burton walked out of a Bronx courtroom an exonerated man, after having served 19 years in prison for the murder of his mother. Arrested at age 16, Mr. Burton was convicted based chiefly on what he and his lawyers insisted was a coerced, and false, confession. Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark touted her decision to vacate Mr. Burton’s conviction and “clear his name.” This case, given its parallels to the Brooklyn District Attorney’s recent experience with disgraced Detective Louis Scarcella, should serve as a call to action for Ms. Clark.
In March 2013, David Ranta’s exoneration led former Brooklyn District Attorney Charles J. Hynes to begin a comprehensive re-investigation of cases handled by the now-infamous Detective Scarcella. Faced with the public’s growing awareness of the problem of wrongful convictions; numerous reports of troubling behavior by the former detective; and an electoral challenge from Kenneth P. Thompson, who would ultimately unseat him; District Attorney Hynes charged his Conviction Integrity Unit with reviewing a large number of Scarcella-related convictions. District Attorney Thompson and his successor, current District Attorney Eric Gonzalez, have continued that effort, which thus far has resulted in a staggering 14 exonerations attributable to Detective Scarcella, with more likely to come. The systematic review of Mr. Scarcella’s work has uncovered troubling patterns by the detective and his colleagues, including the extraction of false confessions, subornation of perjury, and suppression of exculpatory evidence. That process was greatly facilitated by conviction review prosecutors’ working collaboratively with defense attorneys to investigate suspected wrongful convictions and, where appropriate, to correct them.
Mr. Burton’s recent exoneration highlights indicia of a similar pattern in the Bronx. The detectives responsible for Mr. Burton’s conviction – Frank Viggiano, Stanley Schiffman, and Sevelie Jones – are linked to other alarming allegations suggesting what may be a pattern of misconduct. Mr. Burton’s lawyers with the Innocence Project identified the case of Dennis Coss and Kelvin Parker, two young men from whom the same trio of Bronx detectives procured confessions that led to murder charges later dismissed after the confessions were exposed as false. Two of the three detectives – Viggiano and Schiffman – were also responsible for the conviction of Calvin Buari, another recent exoneree whose case involved subornation of perjury and suppression of exculpatory evidence. The connection of Mr. Burton’s case to Mr. Buari’s has not yet been reported by the media.
In the aftermath of Mr. Burton’s exoneration, District Attorney Clark evidently told the New York Times that her office would review other cases these detectives had worked on. She also told the Times, however, that what these detectives did to Mr. Burton “was not necessarily wrong” because “that is the way things were done then.”
District Attorney Clark now has the opportunity to demonstrate her commitment to the prevention and correction of wrongful convictions. Ms. Clark has already taken great strides in that regard, including her decision to hire wrongful conviction expert Seth Steed, who as deputy chief of the Bronx Conviction Integrity Unit was instrumental in the Burton exoneration, though he has since moved on the run the Neighborhood Defenders Services of Harlem’s criminal defense practice. By focusing on what Brooklyn has done right – in particular, the systematic review of convictions tied to investigators behind other known wrongful convictions, and a focus on cooperation with defense counsel – the Bronx may be able to right many more wrongs. Ms. Clark should now advance that process with the utmost haste and commitment.
David B. Shanies is a civil rights attorney in New York and has handled numerous cases involving wrongful convictions attributed to Detective Louis Scarcella, including those of Carlos Davis, Vanessa Gathers and Shawn Williams.