Byrd v. Westchester County Police Department
- Laura Swain
- 1:24-cv-09547
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 1
In Byrd v. Westchester County Police Department, Judge Swain dismissed the action and denied appeal-related fee-waiver status.
The action brought by Jenel Shannone Byrd was dismissed, affecting Byrd and the named defendants. Byrd was also denied permission to appeal without prepaying filing fees.
What happened
Jenel Shannone Byrd brought this action against the Westchester County Police Department and other defendants. The judgment does not describe the claims or the parties’ arguments.
The court dismissed the action for the reasons stated in its May 21, 2025, order. The judgment itself does not explain those reasons.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain also ruled that any appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied Byrd permission to appeal without paying the filing fees. The judgment was entered on August 21, 2025.
The detailed version
- Byrd v. Westchester County Police Department · No. 1:24-cv-09547
- Laura Swain
- Aug. 21, 2025
Background
The opinion is a civil judgment in an action brought by Jenel Shannone Byrd against the Westchester County Police Department and other defendants. The judgment does not state the claims, the factual allegations, or the parties’ positions. It refers to a May 21, 2025, order for the reasons supporting dismissal, but that order is not included in the provided text.
Ruling
The court dismissed the action. Because the judgment relies on the earlier order without repeating its reasoning, the provided opinion does not establish whether the dismissal was based on the merits, a procedural defect, or another ground.
The court also certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that any appeal from the judgment would not be taken in good faith. It therefore denied Byrd permission to appeal without prepaying the required filing fees. The judgment was signed by Chief United States District Judge Laura Taylor Swain on August 21, 2025.
Read the full 1-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.