Martin A Schwartz

October 09, 2009 | New York Law Journal

Martin A. Schwartz, a law professor at Touro College-Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center, analyzes a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling which held that convicted criminal defendants do not have either a substantive or procedural due process right of access to evidence for the purpose of DNA testing, even at the defendant's own expense.

By Martin A. Schwartz

13 minute read

April 15, 2002 | New York Law Journal

Martin A. Schwartz is a law professor at Touro College Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center of in Huntington, N.Y. Professor Schwartz also is the co-chair of the Practising Law Institute annual program in Section 1983 litigation and cochair of its annual Supreme Court Review Program. He is the author of Section 1983 Litigation: Claims and Defenses (3d ed. 1997), Section 1983 Litigation: Federal Evidence (3d ed. 1999), and co-author (with George Pratt) of Section 1983 Litigation: Jury Instructions (1999).

By Martin A. Schwartz

12 minute read

October 11, 2011 | New York Law Journal

In his Public Interest Law column, Martin A. Schwartz, a professor at Touro Law Center, writes that despite an attempt in Harlow v. Fitzgerald to simplify and streamline qualified immunity, 30 years later the Supreme Court is still struggling to resolve a seemingly unending tangle of issues. A major problem has been that whether an official violated clearly established federal law frequently requires resolution of disputed issues of fact.

By Martin A. Schwartz

17 minute read

March 04, 2008 | New York Law Journal

Martin A. Schwartz, a law professor at Touro College, writes that the lower federal courts seem to have rapidly received the signal from Scott v. Harris that when a videotape supports the officers' view of the incident, the officers may be granted judgment as a matter of law. However, reasonable people can draw different conclusions from the conduct depicted on a tape. In a close case, the issue should be left to the jury.

By Martin A. Schwartz

21 minute read

December 29, 2010 | Daily Business Review

Florida homeowners in newly built residential communities may have additional warranty protection, while developers may face potential additional liability for community facilities they construct.

By Martin A. Schwartz and Alex Schimel

4 minute read

December 04, 2006 | New York Law Journal

Martin A. Schwartz, a law professor at Touro College - Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center, writes that the law of punitive damages has undergone some significant changes during the past decade. These changes must be considered in formulating jury instructions for �1983 punitive damages.

By Martin A. Schwartz

15 minute read

August 04, 2005 | New York Law Journal

Martin A. Schwartz, a law professor at Touro College's Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center, writes that a party who has lost in state court may try to make a "federal case of it" by filing suit in federal district court in an attempt to overturn the state court judgment. These federal suits are often brought under �1983 and allege that the state judgment violated the plaintiff's federally protected rights.

By Martin A. Schwartz

9 minute read

December 11, 2009 | New York Law Journal

Martin A. Schwartz, a law professor at Touro College-Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center, writes: The law of §1983 is permeated with an array of significant immunity defenses. Some officials, most notably judges, prosecutors and legislators, are usually shielded from personal liability under §1983 by absolute immunity. Most officials sued for monetary relief under �1983 are entitled to assert the defense of qualified immunity. Thus, for example, law enforcement and other executive officials sued for Fourth Amendment violations may assert qualified immunity. This defense is not as potent as absolute immunity, but nevertheless affords officials very substantial protection.

By Martin A. Schwartz

12 minute read

April 21, 2010 | New York Law Journal

Martin A. Schwartz, a law professor at Touro College-Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center, writes that although the Supreme Court has instructed the lower federal courts that a fee application under the Civil Rights Attorney's Fees Award Act "should not result in a second major litigation," such fee applications frequently result in exactly that.

By Martin A. Schwartz

16 minute read

June 09, 2006 | New York Law Journal

Martin A. Schwartz, a law professor at Touro College - Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center, writes that First Amendment retaliation claims often give rise to difficult legal and factual issues. For example, in public employee free speech cases courts have to determine whether the employee's speech was a matter of public concern and, if so, how to weigh the competing interests of the employee and government.

By Martin A. Schwartz

10 minute read