Barry Friedman

Courses

• Criminal Procedure: Fourth and Fifth Amendments

  Generally speaking, this course covers the first half of the criminal process, focusing on police investigation of crimes. Much of the relevant law has been constitutionalized; thus, the primary focus of the course is on the Fourth and Fifth Amendments. The topics are the law of search and seizure, and interrogation of suspects by the police. We will devote attention to some of the most topical issues of the day: data mining and DNA collection, the war on terror and wiretapping surveillance, the war on drugs, racial profiling, etc.

• Democratic Policing Seminar

  There is an emerging consensus that policing is troubled—and that in many communities police officials have lost the trust of the residents they serve. This is evident in the public protests over officer-involved shootings, the over-use of stop-and-frisk and consent searches, and the secretive use of drones and other surveillance technology. It also is reflected in the growing recognition that—due to implicit and explicit biases, as well as profound social and economic inequalities—various policing practices have disproportionately affected racial and ethnic minorities, as well as other marginalized groups. It has become a habit to try to address many of these problems with after-the-fact remedies like judicial review, Civilian Review Boards, Inspectors General and now body cameras. Yet all too often these after-the-fact remedies fall short. In the Democratic Policing Seminar, students will examine in depth the various problems facing policing, and explore an entirely new approach to tackling them: by using ordinary before-the-fact mechanisms of democratic government, such as legislation, administrative rulemaking, and more informal engagement with residents about how police should operate in their communities. Over the course of the semester, students will discuss a variety of topics. We will discuss existing models of police governance and their shortcomings; explore whether policing tactics such as stop and frisk or consent searches really work; and discuss the possibility of bringing tools like cost-benefit analysis to bear on policing. We also will take up some of obstacles to getting policing on a more democratic footing, including: police unions and collective bargaining agreements; police “culture” that at times can interfere with transparency; and the challenge of ensuring that policing agencies do indeed hear from—and respond to—all of the communities that depend on them for service. Assignments will be organized around real-world problems communities and policing agencies are facing. Students will have one major writing assignment, which they will have an opportunity to present in front of expert practitioners from the legal or policing worlds. We also will have prominent visitors in class from the policing, social change, and public interest communities to work with us on the problems we tackle.

• Furman Scholars Seminar

  Seminar for Furman Scholars

• Policing Project Externship

  The Policing Project at NYU Law is dedicated to bringing “front-end” accountability to policing, which is to say that instead of focusing on remedying policing misconduct after the fact, our attention is on changing policing policy and practice before things go wrong. We draft rules and best practices for policing agencies. We are working with police and communities all over the country—in Camden, Cleveland, Tampa, Tucson, Los Angeles, and New York—to give the public voice in policing practices and policies. We are working with policing agencies and methodologists from various fields to subject policing practices to rigorous cost-benefit analysis—including assessing the social costs of practices like stop-and-frisk or new surveillance technologies. We are ramping up to conduct a strategic litigation campaign to persuade courts to disallow novel policing practices unless there is democratic authorization, and to make sure those practices are applied in a non-discriminatory way. Students in the Policing Project Externship work closely with the Policing Project at NYU Law as well as its coalition partners on all these various endeavors. To the extent school schedules allow, our externs travel to our demonstration sites to work with community members and policing agencies. The Externship is offered in both Fall and Spring, and students may sign up for either or both semesters. Taught by Barry Friedman and Maria Ponomarenko or Farhang Heydari (Offered Fall 2018 and Spring 2019) To apply for this Externship, please go to this page: http://www.law.nyu.edu/node/24553