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Civil Procedure Keyed to Babcock
The Reassignment of Floyd v. City of New York
Citation:
736 F.3d 118 (2d Cir. 2013)Facts
In 2008 and 2012, two class action lawsuits (Floyd and Ligon) were filed challenging the New York City Police Department’s stop-and-frisk practices as unconstitutional. Both cases were assigned to Judge Shira Scheindlin as related to earlier cases over which she had presided. In August 2013, Judge Scheindlin ruled against the City in both cases, finding that the NYPD had violated plaintiffs’ Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment rights, and ordered extensive remedial measures. The City appealed and sought a stay of the remedies. On October 31, 2013, the Second Circuit granted the stay and, without prior notice, reassigned the cases to a different district judge. The Second Circuit’s decision to reassign was based on two concerns: (1) statements made by Judge Scheindlin during a 2007 hearing in Daniels v. City of New York that appeared to encourage the filing of a new lawsuit and its designation as related to come before her, and (2) interviews Judge Scheindlin gave to the media during the pendency of the Floyd case that could create an appearance of partiality.
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