Civil Rights Lawyers Advocating for Citizens in the Bronx and Elsewhere in NYC
The personal injury lawyers at Jesse Minc Personal Injury Law represent people who have suffered injuries in a wide range of unfortunate circumstances, including discrimination and violations of important civil rights by officers of the law such as false imprisonment, wrongful arrest, and excessive force. Our team of attorneys offers decades of experience in personal injury, medical malpractice and civil rights litigation, and many of our attorneys have received recognition from their peers as leaders in their fields. In addition to legal expertise, our Bronx civil rights lawyers offer top-quality investigators, including a retired NYPD detective, who work tirelessly to locate witnesses and secure evidence in support of our clients’ claims so that the truth can be proven in court. We also offer our clients access to a pool of experts in fields like public safety, police procedures, forensics, accident reconstruction and medicine; and when we hire experts for our clients’ cases, we put our own money up for our clients, and they only have to pay us back if we settle their case or win their case at trial, thus placing the financial risk squarely upon our shoulders, rather than on our clients. Our firm’s greater than 95 percent success rate in obtaining judgments and settlements for our clients in the cases that we accept into our firm speaks for itself.
Police officers do a very difficult, dangerous job, but the limits placed on them by the Bill of Rights are crucial to maintaining our system of laws and rights. We are firmly of the belief that, while the police should generally be supported, when an officer crosses the line and violates the civil rights of a citizen, no matter the circumstance, he or she must be held accountable if our system of laws and civil rights is to have any real meaning. The government vigorously defends itself against civil rights claims, and victims need tough and aggressive lawyers in their corner to fight to preserve their rights and obtain the compensation due to them when these rights are violated.
Claims for civil rights violations are important for many reasons, and we believe that they should be brought no matter how vigorous a defense the government may put forward against them. These claims allow people who have been injured because of civil rights violations, such as excessive force by police officers, to obtain compensation for their injuries and other losses. They also hold officers, government agencies, and governments accountable when they exceed their legal authority, which is essential to upholding the integrity of the system, and to supporting the officers who do comply with their duties to uphold the rights of every citizen.
Claims Based on Wrongful Arrests
The Fourth Amendment places several very important restrictions on the conduct of police in New York City and around the country. By prohibiting “unreasonable searches and seizures,” it requires police, with some exceptions, to obtain a warrant before searching someone’s person or premises, seizing their property, or placing someone under arrest. In all cases, police must have probable cause to suspect that a search or an arrest is directly related to a criminal act. Arresting someone without probable cause violates that person’s civil rights under the Fourth Amendment, and can give rise to claims for money damages, especially when the violation results in serious physical injuries to the victim of the wrongful arrest
Article 120 of the New York Criminal Procedure Law defines the procedure for obtaining and executing arrest warrants in the Bronx and throughout New York City. Police officers are authorized to arrest a person without a warrant if they have probable cause to believe that the person has committed a criminal offense. In some cases, an officer has witnessed a person in the course of committing an offense, but sometimes police also arrest people based solely on suspicion that the person has committed, or is about to commit, an offense. Whether this suspicion was reasonable and supported by evidence or not is a common dispute in both criminal proceedings and civil rights claims. Sometimes, police officers arrest people for reasons other than suspicion of a specific offense.
Wrongful arrest typically involves placing a person under arrest and taking them into custody without legal authority or justification. This can include an arrest that is not based on probable cause but instead on reasons like police profiling or other prejudices, or mistaken identity. A related civil rights claim, false imprisonment, involves confining a person without legal authority.
Laws like Section 1983 allow individuals to file suit and recover damages for civil rights violations. Before a person can file a lawsuit, the doctrine of governmental immunity requires them to file a notice of claim describing their planned lawsuit if the claims are brought pursuant to State law; however, for claims brought under Federal law (e.g., Section 1983), no notice of claim is necessary and a lawsuit can be brought in State of Federal court. Our lawyers will bring your case in the appropriate forum, and will decide where to bring the case with your best interests in mind.
Speak to a Bronx Attorney About Your Wrongful Arrest Case Today
As a client of Jesse Minc Personal Injury Law, you will always have direct access to the lawyer handling your case, rather than going through a paralegal or assistant. In order to ensure that each of our clients receives the attention that they need and deserve, we limit the number of cases that we undertake. We represent people in the Bronx, Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens, as well as Nassau, Suffolk, and Westchester Counties. All of our investigative and legal services are available at no up-front cost to you. We pay all of the costs associated with preparing your case for trial, and you have no obligation to pay us back unless we recover damages for you. Our services include assistance with insurance, Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security claims. To schedule a free, no-obligation initial consultation, contact us through our website or at (718) 354-8000. Se habla español.
