Lester v. City of New York
- John Cronan
- 1:21-cv-06877
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Lester v. City of New York, Magistrate Judge Lehrburger unsealed specified arrest records for limited use in the civil case.
The parties to Lester’s civil action and the witnesses whose May 30, 2020 arrest records are covered by the two specified Civilian Complaint Review Board investigations.
What happened
In Lester v. City of New York, the parties jointly asked the court to unseal records concerning the May 30, 2020 arrests of witnesses identified in two Civilian Complaint Review Board investigations.
The court found that the records were relevant to the pending civil action and ordered them unsealed under New York law. The records could be used in the case but had to remain confidential.
Magistrate Judge Robert W. Lehrburger ordered that the records be used only to prosecute or defend Lester’s claims in the civil action.
The detailed version
- Lester v. City of New York · No. 1:21-cv-06877
- John Cronan
- Apr. 29, 2022
Background The parties jointly applied to unseal records concerning the May 30, 2020 arrests of any witnesses listed in Civilian Complaint Review Board investigations numbered 2020-06126 and 2020-04096. The application stated that the records were believed to be sealed and protected from disclosure under New York Criminal Procedure Law §§ 160.50 and 160.55.
Court’s reasoning The order states that the requested information was material and relevant to the pending civil action. It also states that the federal court had authority to unseal the records in connection with the case.
Ruling The court ordered that the specified arrest records be unsealed and made available for use in the civil action. It further ordered that the records remain confidential and be used only for prosecuting and defending the plaintiff’s claims in the lawsuit.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.