STOP, ECBAWM Win Motion To Dismiss NYPD ‘Hijab Removal’ Lawsuit

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View this email in your browser For Immediate Release STOP, ECBAWM Win Motion To Dismiss NYPD ‘Hijab Removal’ Lawsuit The decision rejects New York City’s motion to block a lawsuit challenging a NYPD policy that forces religiously observant New Yorkers to undress to provide the NYPD with photos for their facial recognition database.   ([NEW YORK, NY, 09/30/2020] – Today, the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project (S.T.O.P.), a New York-based privacy group, and the law firm of Emery Celli Brinckerhoff  Abady Ward & Maazel LLP (ECBAWM), a leading civil rights firm, won a motion to dismiss their putative class action lawsuit against the NYPD for forcing suspects to remove the hijab and other religious attire for mugshots. The decision comes as the NYPD faces allegations it illegally retains mugshots as part of its facial recognition surveillance program.   SEE: N.Y. Times - Hijab Removal by New York Police Prompts Lawsuit https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/16/nyregion/hijab-police-lawsuit-new-york.html   Medium OneZero - The NYPD Is Using Sealed Mug Shots in Its Facial Recognition Program https://onezero.medium.com/exclusive-the-nypd-is-using-sealed-mug-shots-in-its-facial-recognition-program-bd5678ad5632   “This is a milestone for New Yorkers’ privacy and religious rights,” said STOP Executive Director Albert Fox Cahn. “No one should be forced to undress just to be fed into a facial recognition database.”   “This decision allows all religious New Yorkers to pursue their claims against the NYPD for gratuitously stripping them of their religious clothing,” said O. Andrew F. Wilson, a partner at ECBAWM. “These rights should be vindicated.”   The motion allows the lawsuit to move forward, demanding that the NYPD end its discriminatory policy. S.T.O.P. and ECBAWM also continue to seek damages for those forced to remove religious head coverings in the past.   NYPD Hijab Removal Oversight Page https://www.stopspying.org/hijab   The Surveillance Technology Oversight Project is a non-profit advocacy organization and legal services provider hosted by the Urban Justice Center. S.T.O.P. litigates and advocates for privacy, fighting excessive local and state-level surveillance. Our work highlights the discriminatory impact of surveillance on Muslim Americans, immigrants, and communities of color.   Emery Celli Brinckerhoff  Abady Ward & Maazel LLP is a litigation boutique that focuses on civil rights, commercial, criminal, and ethics matters. The firm represents individuals, businesses, and institutions in all aspects of litigation and pre-litigation dispute resolution, from negotiation, mediation and arbitration, through hearings, trials, and appeals.   - END –     Copyright © 2019 Surveillance Technology Oversight Project, All rights reserved.