On March 8th, there will be a hearing on the FOIL matters involving the surveillance of Imam Talib Abdul Rashid and Rutgers University students. The two cases are being appealed from the lower Supreme Courts following two decisions of the Trial Courts arrived at conflicting decisions as to whether the NYPD has the authority to claim Glomar to state “we cannot confirm or deny the existence of documents.” The Glomar theory is afforded to the CIA and NSA and not to the NYPD. In Hashmi, the Court denied the NYPD’s motion and held: “the adoption of Glomar” [to state FOIL request] “would effect a profound change to a statutory scheme that has been finely calibrated by the legislature. Therefore, the decision to adopt the Glomar doctrine is one better left to the State Legislature, not the Judiciary.” The NYPD is appealing this ruling.
We all know the revelations of such illegal spying by the NYPD on the Muslim community via the Associated Press. The NYPD once again is trying to hide its tactics as well as avoid embarrassment to continue spying on our communities. The NYPD is asking the judiciary not to question it even if it acts beyond the statutory provisions such as FOIL. If the NYPD is allowed to do so against the Muslim community without being monitored by the Court, it will have a chilling affect not only Muslims but on all New Yorkers statewide.
The Oral argument on both cases will be held on Tuesday March 8, 2016, at 2:00 pm at Appellate Division First Department, located at 27 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10010. Due to the importance of this issue, members of the community will be in attendance which will be followed by a Press Conference following the hearing at 3:15 pm where members of the community and lawyers will make comments about the NYPD surveillance concerns and issues. We invite you to attend the press conference.
Imam Talib and the Rutgers students are represented by the Law Firm of Omar T. Mohammedi, LLC.”
