Civil Rights and Personal Injury and General Practice Law Firm, Dedicated to Social Justice
The Law Offices of Frederick K. Brewington is a well-respected litigation firm with an office in Hempstead, Long Island. Our focus is primarily in the area of civil rights, voting rights, employment discrimination, police misconduct, personal injury, medical malpractice, wrongful death and criminal law. However, the Law Offices of Frederick K. Brewington is a full- service law firm handling matters in numerous areas of law and providing a wide range of services from contract formation to litigation and trial practice.
Court Denies Separation of Case Dealing with Systematic Problems at Rikers Island
U.S. District Court Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein of the Southern District of New York recently denied an attempt made by the City of New York to separate the case dealing with systematic problems at Rikers Island Correctional Facility. Mr. Jose Bautista, a client of The Law Offices of Frederick K. Brewington, was left scarred for life after treatment at Rikers Island. Depositions from two high-ranking officials from the City of New York are being taken as a result of the decision.
The initial case was filed as related to Nunez v. City of New York, before the Hon. Laura Taylor Swain. Similar to Bautista v. City of New York, Nunez is a civil rights case in which twelve present and former inmates alleged they were subject to a pattern of excessive force by employees of the New York City Department of Corrections (DOC). The lawsuit alleges that this pattern violates the Constitution of federal and state law, along with their individual claims. The plaintiffs in Nunez, like Mr. Bautista, are seeking declaratory and injunctive relief on a class-wide basis and damages for their individual injuries.
This motion comes after a year and a half of litigation, numerous court conferences, extensive factual and documentary evidence discovery concerning individual claims, and Monell claims. Mr. Brewington argued that the indifference to the level of violence and the lack of supervision and training, which were part of the underlying facts, contributed to Mr. Bautista's brutal beating. He asserted that the evidence supports an existing culture which creates a high-risk level of illegal and volatile conduct by DOC staff, which is directly linked to treatment and injuries suffered by Mr. Bautista. The case asserts that the violent incident involving the plaintiff indicates that — in addition to the systematic failures identified in the reports as well as the failures Mr. Brewington identified during discovery — there is a lack of training, lack of supervision and an accepted culture of disregard and indifference to the needs of detainees who are or were jailed at Rikers Island. Paul Thomas Layton, Esq, is co-counsel on this case with the Law Offices of Frederick K. Brewington.
556 Peninsula Blvd., Hempstead, New York 11550 | Phone: 516-489-6959 | Fax: 516-489-6958
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