Newman Ferrara attorney, Professor Randy McLaughlin, continues to advocate for the rights of Nassau County residents and is now representing a prominent civil rights attorney against the county government.
Reuters Legal News featured Newman Ferrara's most rec ent suit, filed on behalf of Frederick Brewington, a Long Island civil rights lawyer, and two of his clients.
McLaughlin advocated side-by side with Brewington for the voting rights of Nassau residents against a racially discriminatory redistricting plan, and prevailed when that plan was struck down in September.
Since the two filed suit in July 2011, Peter Schmitt, the presiding officer of the Nassau County Legislature, has refused to bring Brewington's individual client settlements to a vote.
Newman Ferrara's suit condemns the county's retaliatory suspension of the settlements, as motivated by "personal animus" towards Brewington for protecting the civil rights of Nassau residents.
The full text of the Reuters article follows:
Firm says lawmakers blocked votes over civil-rights suit
NEW YORK, Nov 29 (Reuters) - A Long Island civil-rights law firm has accused Nassau County lawmakers of blocking votes on two settlements in retaliation for the firm's role in a lawsuit over the county's legislative redistricting plan.
The Law Offices of Frederick K. Brewington, which specializes in civil-rights litigation on behalf of victims of government misconduct, had represented plaintiffs in two different suits against Nassau County: a job discrimination claim, and a negligence claim by the survivors of a woman who had been murdered by her ex-boyfriend. The firm said it reached tentative settlement agreements for confidential amounts in both cases.
While negotiating the settlements, the firm filed a separate lawsuit against the county on behalf of voters who said the county's proposed plan to redraw the lines of the county's legislative districts, championed by the legislature's Schmitt, would disenfranchise minority voters.
Neither of the two settlements, which were delivered to the legislature in July for final approval, was put up for a vote.
According to the complaint, filed last week against Nassau County, the county legislature and presiding officer Peter Schmitt, Schmitt and other lawmakers "engaged in actions, or refused to act, so as to intimidate, retaliate and otherwise harm the Brewington plaintiffs and their clients."
The suit said the county representatives told Brewington that it had no control over the legislative calendar and that both deals were still being "considered by the legislature."
'PERSONAL ANIMUS'
According to the complaint, Schmitt referred to the redistricting suit during a Nov. 18 interview with a TV reporter about the delayed settlement votes.
Schmitt told the reporter that he "did not feel comfortable voting on a settlement that would put a couple million dollars into" Brewington's firm "or his pocket while we were being sued, so I requested an opinion of the County Board of Ethics to see that there was no conflict there," according to the suit.
The complaint alleged that because of Schmitt's "personal animus" against the plaintiffs in the redistricting case, he "deliberately refused" to put the settlements before the legislature for their consideration.
According to Brewington, the retaliation has continued. Lawmakers had planned to schedule a vote on one of the settlements for December, he said, but pushed that back indefinitely because of the new complaint.
"It's more of the same, unfortunately," Brewington said in an interview with Reuters. "We find that to be disturbing and shocking."
In a statement, Schmitt said he looked forward to "the swift resolution of this matter."
A spokeswoman for the Nassau County executive declined to comment on the lawsuit. Calls to the legislature's Republican and Democratic press offices Tuesday were not returned.
The redistricting suit was administratively closed on Sept. 23, in the wake of a New York Court of Appeals decision in August in a related case, Yatauro v. Mangano, which struck down the redistricting plan.
The case is Dorsett et al v. County of Nassau, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, no. 11-5748.
For the plaintiffs: Randolph McLaughlin of Newman Ferrara and Scott Korenbaum
For the defendants: Not immediately available
(Reporting by Jessica Dye)