2020 NEWS ARCHIVE
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JUly 17, 2020
david b. shanies named chair of federal bar council civil rights committee
The Federal Bar Council has named David Shanies as Chair of the Council’s newly formed Civil Rights Committee. The Federal Bar Council is an organization of lawyers who practice in federal courts within the Second Circuit. It is dedicated to promoting excellence in federal practice and fellowship among federal practitioners and committed to encouraging respectful, cordial relations between the bench and bar and to promoting the rule of law.
JUNE 29, 2020
SHANIES LAW ADVOCACY ADVANCES MAJOR JAIL REFORM IN New York CITY
MAYOR CALLS FOR AN END TO SOLITARY CONFINEMENT IN LAYLEEN POLANCO’S NAME
Recent developments in the case of Layleen Polanco culminated in the New York City Mayor’s announcement that the Department of Correction will implement immediate reforms in its use of solitary confinement while a newly created task force puts together a plan to end the controversial practice altogether.
The mayor’s announcement came on the heels of a scathing report issued by the New York City Board of Correction, which detailed the numerous institutional and individual failures that caused Layleen’s tragic death. Immediately after the report’s release, the mayor announced the commencement of disciplinary proceedings of 17 jail staffers involved in the misconduct that caused Layleen’s death. Earlier in June, Layleen’s sister Melania Brown spoke at the historic March for Black Trans Lives in Brooklyn. David Shanies gave interviews on behalf of the Polanco family and vowed to continue the fight for Justice for Layleen.
FEBRUARY 9, 2020
SHANIES LAW and innocence project TEAM UP TO FIGHT Malcolm X WRONGFUL CONVICTIONS
Today the New York Times reported on the Firm’s collaboration with the Innocence Project on the case of Muhammad A. Aziz, one of two men wrongfully convicted for the murder of Malcolm X in 1965. For many years, scholars and historians have maintained that Mr. Aziz and his co-defendant Khalil Islam were innocent of the crime, and decades ago, Malcolm’s admitted assassin named his four co-conspirators. Yet there has been no legal action in the case since attorney William Kunstler tried unsuccessfully to challenge Aziz and Islam’s convictions in 1978.
The Firm began representing Mr. Aziz last year after documentary filmmakers completed a new Netflix series that revealed startling new information about the case. As the Times reported, Shanies Law and the Innocence Project have engaged with the Manhattan District Attorney’s Conviction Integrity Program about a conviction integrity review of Mr. Aziz’s case. After the District Attorney acknowledged the review to the Times, the Firm and the Innocence Project jointly released the following statement:
We are grateful that District Attorney Vance quickly agreed to review the conviction of Muhammad Aziz. Given the historical importance of this case and the fact that our client is 81 years old, we are especially encouraged that Mr. Vance has assigned two highly respected prosecutors, Peter Casolaro and Charles King, to work on this re-investigation. Mr. Casolaro did extraordinary work on the case of the Exonerated Five and Mr. King is an experienced leader in the DA’s Conviction Integrity Program. We look forward to working cooperatively with them to see that justice is done.
Relevant information about the assassination of Malcolm X and the wrongful convictions of Mr. Aziz and Mr. Islam should be directed to the Firm at (212) 951-1710 or info@shanieslaw.com, or to the Innocence Project at info@innocenceproject.org.
