Young v. City of Providence

In an important victory for vigorous advocacy by civil rights attorneys, the U.S. Court of Appeals in Boston today reversed District Court Judge Mary Lisi’s sanctions on attorneys in the Cornel Young, Jr. civil rights case for allegedly misrepresenting the judge’s position in court papers. The Rhode Island ACLU had filed a “friend of the court” brief in support of the attorneys. The brief, filed by volunteer attorney Amy R. Tabor, had argued that Judge Lisi’s actions “not only violated the due process and First Amendment rights of both the plaintiff and her attorneys, but will, if not reversed, chill and undermine the independent and vigorous advocacy that is an indispensable component of our system of justice.”

The Rhode Island ACLU today filed a “friend of the court” brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals in Boston, challenging District Court Judge Mary Lisi’s sanctions on attorneys in the Cornel Young, Jr. civil rights case for allegedly misrepresenting the judge’s position in court papers. The brief, filed by ACLU volunteer attorney Amy R. Tabor, argues that Judge Lisi’s actions “not only violated the due process and First Amendment rights of both the plaintiff and her attorneys, but will, if not reversed, chill and undermine the independent and vigorous advocacy that is an indispensable component of our system of justice.” Last year, the ACLU sought to file a similar brief on these issues before Judge Lisi when she was considering whether to sanction the attorneys, but Judge Lisi denied the ACLU’s request to file the brief.

Calling the decision “deeply disappointing,” the ACLU announced that U.S. District Court Judge Mary Lisi had today denied the organization’s request to submit a friend of the court brief to address the issue of imposing sanctions on the three attorneys in the Cornel Young, Jr. civil rights case. They are facing sanctions for allegedly misrepresenting the judge’s position in court papers.