So the NYC police have been arresting people using a statute against panhandling that had been declared unconstitutional a decade ago. A class-action lawsuit was filed yesterday, and NYC prosecutors have already said they will take steps to stop the practice.
It's a nice topic for illustrating conflict theory in criminology courses. (But my favorite illustration of this was when Rudy Giuliani had the police arresting homeless people because they administrative sanitation regulations on proper disposal of trash. He instituted this program of sweeps because a mentally ill, "homeless" man attacked a woman leaving work, and Giuliani told the city that he was going to get these miscreants off the streets. Except the guy wasn't homeless. This was a little hard to teach in the immediate aftermath of 9/11 -- you know, when "everything changed" and Giuliani was a God. It's easier now.)
Anyway, this story is on the blog because of the lawsuit. The suit was brought by Matthew D. Brinckerhoff, a private attorney who filed the case with the Bronx Defenders. Indeed, the lawyers are not acting on behalf of a social movement organization (although I have a friend, Margareth Etienne at the U of I Law School who has a paper on public defenders as cause lawyers). The public defenders are also in a unique position to identify injustices like these -- they see lots of the same kinds of cases brought against individuals, and the lawyers can "collectivize" them.
Also, Brinckerhoff is a private attorney -- he's doing well by doing good. The core practice areas of the firm are civil rights and commercial law, which is an interesting combination. He's a cause lawyer, right? I mean, just because his offices are on Madison Avenue, and he makes some money doesn't mean he can't be a cause lawyer.
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Usually I do not post on blogs, but I would like to say that this article really forced me to do so! Thanks, really nice article.
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