Motion to Quash and Amicus Curiae Brief from ACLU-NJ

Thanks to all who showed up for the press conference yesterday to mark the filing of the motion to quash the subpoenas on Leo and Luke. Your support is vitally important to showing Mr. Straus and the NYU Law administration that the NYU Law community is united in support of student free speech.

We are happy to be able to provide you with access to both the actual Motion to Quash filed and an Amicus Brief filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of New Jersey on Luke and Leo’s behalf. NYU Law Professor Burt Neuborne, a noted First Amendment scholar, is “of counsel” on the amicus.

While we are grateful for the support from you all, from the ACLU of New Jersey, and from Professor Neuborne, we would note that Mr. Straus, who has a petition with over 500 signatures sitting on his desk, could and should end this all by simply withdrawing his subpoena request, instead of wasting judicial resources on his fishing expedition.

Amicus Brief ACLU-NJ

Motion to Quash

Press Conference Friday April 25th at 4:30 PM

Hey everyone!

We hope all of you can turn out for the press conference we have scheduled for Friday, April 25th at 4:30 PM right across Washington Square South from Vanderbilt Hall (SW corner of Washington Square South). It’s really important that the NYU Law community  come out in force in support of Luke and Leo and our right to free speech!

 

Press Release: April 23, 2014

*** FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE***

Press Conference in Washington Square Park Friday at 4:30 PM for NYU Law Students Subpoenaed After Criticizing School Trustee on Labor Practices

Contact: Leo Gertner, lkg265@nyu.edu, 617-501-0993

Luke Herrine, lh1323@nyu.edu, 610-639-8324

Amanda Bass, acb558@nyu.edu, 413-362-9216

Andrew Lyubarsky, al3888@nyu.edu, 267-255-01469

More information: https://concernedatnyulaw.wordpress.com

After filing motions to quash subpoenas served on them by the company of NYU Trustee Daniel Straus, NYU Law students Leo Gertner and Luke Herrine will hold a press conference Friday April 25th at 4:30PM on the SW corner of Washington Square Park, immediately across from Vanderbilt Hall (40 Washington Square South).

The subpoenas were served on the students only weeks after they circulated a petition asking for a meeting with Law School Dean Trevor Morrison to discuss multiple NLRB findings of unfair labor practices at Straus’s company, CareOne. Issued pursuant to civil RICO litigation between CareOne and SEIU, the subpoenas demand that Mr. Gertner and Mr. Herrine hand over all documents relating to the issue, including email and text messages.

The NYU Law community has responded to these subpoenas with great concern. “All of the students and faculty I have spoken with fear that the ability to subpoena students with impunity will discourage controversial speech on campus,” Mr. Herrine says. “Can a trustee who thinks it is appropriate to subpoena students really make decisions with students’ interests in mind?” A petition calling on Mr. Straus to withdraw the subpoenas garnered over 500 signatures from NYU students, faculty, and alumni in one week, and was delivered to Care One on April 18. No action has been taken as of yet.

The NYU Law administration has provided legal counsel to the students, and has made a statement that it “vigorously supports the right of our students to express their views and to organize and participate in lawful demonstrations and other protest activity.” However it declined to offer criticism of Mr. Straus or of the subpoenas themselves. Mr. Gertner and Mr. Herrine are being represented by John Cuti, a partner at Cuti Hecker Wang LLP.

“When an inappropriate action is taken within our community, there should be questions raised and consequences considered,” says Mr. Gertner. “NYU Law should clearly condemn Mr. Straus’s actions and the Board of Trustees should open an investigation into his conduct.”

 

 

Concerned about Freedom of Speech on Campus?

Welcome!

This site is a resource for information about the campaign to support NYU Law students who have been subpoenaed by NYU Law Trustee Daniel Straus after circulating a letter critical of the labor practices of his healthcare company, CareOne. Please feel free to explore the tabs at the top of the website for more information, or reach out to us directly at concernedatnyulaw@gmail.com.

“What Happened?” provides a brief summary of the background information behind the subpoenas, and actions that students have taken since.

“What Do We Want?” describes the actions that we believe Mr. Straus and the NYU Law administration, respectively, should take in response to this matter.

“Sign the Petition!” takes you to the petition supporting the NYU students, which has garnered over 500 signatures so far!

“Media Coverage” provides a run-down of all of the press that has covered this story so far.

“Official Statement to Dean Morrison” is our official response to Dean Morrison’s update to the community on April 17, 2014.

 

Breaking News: Local New York Outlets Cover Straus Subpoena Story

Thanks to the great student support that we’ve gotten for free speech on NYU Law’s campus, a number of local news outlets picked up on the story today. Getting media is a key part of our strategy to get Daniel Straus to withdraw the subpoena and to encourage NYU Law to take a strong stand on the propriety of the issues

DnaInfo – Find the first scoop here.

Gothamist – Despite the silly pictures that they put up of Luke and Leo, it’s a good way to reach a wide cross-section of young New Yorkers!

Washington Square News – NYU’s own student paper on the case.

Please disseminate these widely so that word gets out to as many people as possible!