Constitutional Law and Civil Rights
Goldberg Segalla’s Constitutional Law and Civil Rights Practice Group helps public entities, private enterprises, and individuals succeed in complex cases involving constitutional rights and obligations. Our team has decades of combined experience handling state and federal constitutional claims and matters. Goldberg Segalla has successfully litigated cases involving freedom of speech, defamation, libel and slander, the right to court access, the right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures, procedural and substantial due process, equal protection, and the right to bear arms.
We provide staunch and knowledgeable representation in resolving constitutional disputes. Our trial and appeal teams have deep experience with a wide range of litigants: we have fought aggressively and successfully to vindicate the constitutional rights of our clients, and we’ve also helped them avoid constitutional liability and maintain compliance with constitutional mandates. From our experience, we understand the heightened sensitivity and potential for exposure that often accompany these types of matters, and we work closely with clients to handle them as effectively, efficiently, and discreetly as possible.
Experience Highlights
We have defended numerous government agencies, elected officials, police officers, corrections officers, and counties and local governments in civil rights suits in federal and state courts. We’ve successfully defended free speech claims, allegations of police misconduct, and municipal liability claims. We proactively counsel and defend clients facing alleged violations of the First Amendment, the Fourth Amendment (unreasonable search and seizure), the due process and equal protection clauses, and claims arising under 42 U.S.C. § 1983.
A small sampling of our experience includes:
- Successfully defending a Long Island town and its public safety department against wrongful death and civil rights claims — with a $40 million demand — stemming from the high-profile murder of an immigrant by teenagers
- Obtaining dismissal of the First Amendment claims of a high school art teacher disciplined for a classroom speech soliciting student participation in a planned art school involving nude models
- Achieving dismissal of a First Amendment claim arising from disciplining of an elementary school student for writing a story about murder and sex involving other students
- Defending a town police department and its officers against a federal malicious prosecution claim that included allegations of unconstitutional restraint on liberty
- Providing training for municipal governments for compliance with state and local human rights laws
- Representing the plaintiffs in the constitutional challenges to Connecticut’s Act Concerning Gun Violence Prevention and Children’s Safety and New York’s Secure Ammunition and Firearms Enforcement (SAFE) Act
Goldberg Segalla has extensive experience handling the unique challenges presented by the complex, myriad laws found in state constitutions as well as local ordinances. Our capabilities range from cases involving state-specific human rights laws to the codes impacting project finance, development, and land use.
Our Constitutional Law and Civil Rights practice works closely with our Appellate and Municipal and Governmental Liability and Counsel teams, providing municipal and private entities alike with representation and proactive advice fueled by deep experience with constitutional issues at the federal, state, and local levels.
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