Kramer Levin Receives Legal Aid Society Pro Bono Award

Kramer Levin received a Legal Aid Society 2016 Pro Bono Award for “Outstanding Advocacy in Championing the Rights of the Accused.” The award was presented by Chief Judge Janet DeFiore in recognition of an Appellate Division brief prepared by Jeff Braun and Anna Ostrom in a case brought to enforce a Freedom of Information Law request for Civilian Complaint Review Board records pertaining to the NYPD officer accused of placing Eric Garner, a Society client, in a fatal chokehold. The Society also has given individual awards for their pro bono work to David S. Frankel, Marjorie E. Sheldon, Kurt M. Denk, Leah S. Friedman and Max J. Goldman for assisting the Society in drafting an amicus brief, the analysis of which the New York Court of Appeals largely adopted in a June 28, 2016 decision underscoring that trial courts may abuse their discretion by prohibiting defendants from impeaching law enforcement witnesses based on prior bad acts alleged in civil rights complaints filed against them.