NYPD must stop sharing, accessing sealed arrests without court order

[Kamaji]

NYPD must stop sharing, accessing sealed arrests without court order: judge

By Craig McCarthy and Priscilla DeGregory
March 29, 2023

The NYPD must crack down on cops improperly obtaining and sharing information about sealed cases, a Manhattan judge ruled Wednesday as he ordered the department to overhaul its records-access systems.

The ruling by Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Lyle Frank ends a more than five-year legal battle — barring any appeal — between The Bronx Defenders and the NYPD over the department’s alleged improper use and disclosure of sealed arrest records.

The NYPD will now have to put together a list of select police personnel who can access such data — specifically for the purpose of issuing gun licenses or for limited criminal prosecutions, including probation, parole or supervised release violations, according to the court order.

“Today’s decision ensures that the NYPD will no longer flout the law by using sealed arrest records to surveil, harass, and target people,” said Niji Jain, a senior staff attorney with the Bronx Defenders.

The public defenders group and a private law firm law firm, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP, in 2018 filed a class action lawsuit accusing the NYPD of routinely unlawfully accessing sealed arrest records — which they argued should only be done with a judge’s approval.

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Source:  https://nypost.com/2023/03/29/nypd-must-stop-sharing-accessing-sealed-arrests-judge/