Christopher Dunn

June 06, 2013 | New York Law Journal

In his Civil Rights and Civil Liberties column, Christopher Dunn, the associate legal director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, reviews the 15 decisions that the office of Mayor Bloomberg claimed show that Judge Shira A. Scheindlin grants suppression motions in a uniquely high percentage of cases.

By Christopher Dunn

11 minute read

December 06, 2012 | New York Law Journal

In his Civil Rights and Civil Liberties column, Christopher Dunn, associate legal director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, writes: As the U.S. Supreme Court long ago recognized, because public employees often are in the best position to reveal serious government misconduct, protecting them from retaliation is essential for assuring government accountability. Six years ago, however, the Supreme Court added a new hurdle for public employees asserting constitutional protections against retaliation. Since then, the lower courts have expanded on this ruling to the point that the First Amendment rights of public employees are now in serious jeopardy.

By Christopher Dunn

11 minute read

August 15, 2012 | New York Law Journal

In his Civil Rights and Civil Liberties column, Christopher Dunn, the associate legal director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, writes that as criticism of the NYPD's stop-and-frisk program has grown in recent months, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Commissioner Raymond Kelly increasingly have sought to justify the program by asserting it prevents gun violence by recovering illegal weapons or deterring people from carrying them.

By Christopher Dunn

10 minute read

October 04, 2012 | New York Law Journal

In his Civil Rights and Civil Liberties column, Christopher Dunn, the associate legal director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, writes that, just last week, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority was poised to ban all advocacy ads in response to litigation brought in the Southern District of New York over the MTA's rejection of an ad that characterized Muslims as savages.

By Christopher Dunn

12 minute read

June 07, 2012 | New York Law Journal

in his Civil Rights and Civil Liberties column, Christopher Dunn, the associate legal director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, writes that U.S. Supreme Court's 'Florence' decision presents an important opportunity for the New York courts to take advantage of the oft-stated but infrequently acted-upon principle that the New York Constitution can extend beyond the federal Constitution.

By Christopher Dunn

11 minute read

April 05, 2012 | New York Law Journal

In his Civil Rights and Civil Liberties column, Christopher Dunn, associate legal director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, analyzes a case heard by the U.S. Supreme Court on Mar. 21 that arose out of a 2006 incident in which a man whom Secret Service agents overheard making a comment critical of former Vice President Dick Cheney arrested the man after he touched Cheney.

By Christopher Dunn

10 minute read

April 04, 2013 | New York Law Journal

In his Civil Rights and Civil Liberties column, Christopher Dunn, associate legal director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, writes that although the Supreme Court has grappled with the rules governing employee speech that takes place in government offices or happens outside the workplace but is about the work of government, it has rarely confronted the scope of First Amendment protections for public employees who speak as private citizens away from the workplace on issues having nothing to do with their work.

By Christopher Dunn

11 minute read

September 09, 2011 | New York Law Journal

By Christopher Dunn

3 minute read

April 14, 2004 | New York Law Journal

Christopher Dunn, the associate legal director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, previews two highly publicized cases raising fundamental issues about the constitutional authority of the Executive Branch to detain in domestic military facilities U.S. citizens allegedly involved in terrorist activity.

By Christopher Dunn

11 minute read

August 25, 2009 | New York Law Journal

Christopher Dunn, the associate legal director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, writes: Arbor Hill and Simmons spell trouble for civil rights litigators. The suggestion that fee awards should be based on what the client would actually pay the lawyer, taking into account issues like the lawyer's willingness to work pro bono or the nonmonetary benefits that the case might yield, poses a substantial threat to fees awards in cases brought by public-interest organizations and private lawyers with pro bono practices. These organizations and practitioners always are prepared to represent clients for free, but this cannot be a basis for reducing or eliminating their fee awards. Indeed, the very purpose of statutes authorizing the award of attorney's fees is to encourage exactly this type of representation.

By Christopher Dunn

10 minute read