BLS Library Blog

The current BLS Library New Book List has listed many titles including The Outrageous Rubenstein: How a Media-Savvy Trial Lawyer Fights for Justice and Change by Sanford Rubenstein, a memoir of Brooklyn Law School graduate Sanford (“Sandy”) Rubenstein, Class of 1971. He proudly describes the arc of his career as “from the projects to the penthouse.” A famed civil rights attorney, Rubenstein handled some of New York’s most famous cases, from that of police torture victim Abner Louima for whom he won an $8.75 million settlement from New York City and the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association to the case of unarmed African immigrant Ousmane Zongo, mistakenly gunned down by police in a Manhattan storage facility leading to a wrongful death suit in which the City of New York agreed to pay $3 million to his family. The book also tells the story of an 11-year-old boy, Vasean Alleyne, killed by a drunken driver. His death sparked legislation toughening DWI penalties. 

The book has portraits of his late colleague Johnnie Cochran, his friend and client Reverend Al Sharpton, and other giants of the legal and civil rights community. In less than 200 pages, the covers five cases that probably have enough detail to be the content of a single book each. For academics attempting to understand the inside story on fighting civil rights, or law students trying to find material to demonstrate the importance of the media in making cases work, this book is worth reading. Rubenstein’s approach to fighting difficult cases is something worth studying. The website for his law firm, located near BLS, provides addtional details about the cases.

Flamboyant, outspoken, and committed to social justice, Rubenstein offers an inside look at his methods and motivation. “My hope and goal,” he writes, “is to use the power of our civil justice system to help create a safer and more equitable society for everyone.” In the preface, he writes:

There’s been a lot of talk lately about how civil lawsuits are hurting America. Jury awards are being blamed for everything from rising medical costs to corporate bankruptcies, and right-wing politicians are trumpeting the need for “tort reform,” such as financial caps on medical malpractice lawsuits. Trial lawyers are now held up as the new villains, responsible for everything that’s wrong with our nation. . . [T]he ability of an average person to pursue a civil case – to bring a suit against an individual, a corporation or other group, or a government entity, and have his or her case heard by a jury of fellow citizens – is one of the most important rights we have as Americans. The U.S. civil justice system levels society’s playing field, by giving ordinary people a means of fighting back when they’ve been wronged.

Earlier this month the White House issued a Presidential Proclamation designating October 2011 as Domestic Violence Awareness Month, stating that “an average of three women in America die as a result of domestic violence each day. One in four women and one in thirteen men will experience domestic violence in their lifetime.” Domestic Violence Awareness Month has been observed nationally starting with the Day of Unity observed in October 1981. In 1989, the U.S. Congress designated the first Domestic Violence Awareness Month commemorative with passage of S.J. Res. 133 as Pub. L. 101-12.

The BLS Library recently added to its collection the 2011 edition of Domestic Violence: Practice and Procedure by Isabelle Scott a comprehensive volume for practitioners which offers analysis of domestic violence case law and statutes, scientific and medical information, practical advice, and proven tips. Discussion covers the full sweep of domestic violence law, including criminal, civil, tort, divorce, child custody, immigration, civil rights, and equal protection.

A settlement agreement filed in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York in Lacovara v. Hard Rock Cafe International (USA), Inc. ends a proposed class action complaint that Hard Rock Café locations in New York failed to pay certain gratuities to hourly private event food and beverage service workers. The settlement fund of $230,000 will go to 469 servers who worked at Hard Rock Café’s 57th Street and Time Square locations. The lead plaintiff, who worked as a bartender for Hard Rock from October 2009 to June 2010, brought the suit last October, claiming the restaurant’s New York locations misappropriated an 18-20 percent gratuity fee that was charged to customers during private parties, in violation of state labor laws. 

In preparing a class on Administrative Law for the Advanced Legal Research class at Brooklyn Law School, we found that earlier this year, the Wage and Hour Division of the Department of Labor (DOL) issued a Final Rule interpreting the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The new regulations, which became effective May 5, 2011, made significant changes to tip credit regulations. The new regulation provides employers must provide employees with proper notice in order to use the tip credit. The must pay their tip employees wages of at least $2.13 per hour. However, the amount of tip credit they using against actual tips plus the actual cash wage they pay must equal the minimum wage of $7.25. A “tipped employee” is defined as one who is engaged in an occupation in which the employee customarily and regularly receives more than $30 a month in tips, 29 U.S.C. § 203(t). A tip is a sum presented by a customer as a gift or gratuity in recognition of some service performed for the customer, 29 C.F.R. § 531.52. It is distinguished from payment of a charge, if any, made for the service. Whether a tip is to be given, and its amount, are matters determined solely by the customer, and generally he or she has the right to determine who shall be the recipient of the gratuity. The FLSA now address ownership of tips even in cases where employers already pay at least the full minimum wage in cash. The amended regulations state that tips “are the property of the employee whether or not the employer has taken a tip credit.” 29 C.F.R. § 531.52

In June, the National Restaurant Association and other organization filed a complaint against the Labor Department over the agency’s new tip-credit-notice regulation, claiming that it failed to provide employers with sufficient notice to comment and comply with the new rule and that the new rule is arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, and contrary to established law. If successful, the lawsuit would nullify the new rule.

We are currently showcasing the Faces of Liberty digital exhibit on several computers throughout the library.  This exhibit will be on display until the end of the semester.  The Faces of Liberty, produced by the New York Civil Liberties Union, celebrates New Yorkers who over the years took difficult stands to defend civil rights and civil liberties for everyone.  The New York Civil Liberties Union, founded in 1951 as the New York affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union, is a nonpartisan, not-for-profit organization with chapters throughout the state.

The exhibit is composed of 29 panels, each telling a different story through words and pictures.  The exhibit describes a range of issues, including racial justice, freedom of speech, freedom of religion, voting rights, the rights of students and the rights of the disabled.  Several of the stories involve court cases that led to landmark decisions in the United States Supreme Court.  In one, Engel v. Vitale, a group of parents in New Hyde Park sued to contest mandatory prayer in state public schools.  In 1962 the Supreme Court held that the mandatory daily prayer violated the First Amendent, setting a precedent that remains to this day.

Graphic artist Chris Yong-Garcia created the digital exhibit.  It was adapted from a traveling exhibit composed of framed photographs and accompanying text that the library also displayed in 2005 and 2008.

An article in the New York Law Journal reports that Brooklyn Law School alumna Chief Administrative Judge Ann T. Pfau will leave her current position on December 1. In an interview, Judge Pfau described her current position, “It’s a very demanding position that takes total commitment and energy, and there comes a time when it’s somebody else’s turn to do it.” Judge Pfau, BLS Class of 1984, is not retiring but will begin hearing medical malpractice cases in Brooklyn Supreme Court and will join a pilot program there aimed at settling malpractice suits out of court.

Earlier this year Judge Pfau was presented with the Golda Meir Memorial Award from The Jewish Lawyers Guild at its 35th Annual Dinner in March 2011. She was appointed Chief Administrative Judge in May 2007 by then Chief Judge Judith S. Kaye. Her duties through more than four exceptionally tumultuous years included overseeing the administration and operation of the courts $2 billion budget, 3,600 state and locally paid judges and over 15,000 non-judicial employees. Judge Pfau served as First Deputy Chief Administrative Judge of New York from 2004 to 2007. Prior to that, she was the Administrative Judge of the Supreme Court, Second Judicial District.

[Open Book] is something different and really worth recommending. Here are a few reasons why I would love my students to read the book and its online content.
First, the book imparts fabulous advice on why law profs give exams and how those exams directly connect to law practice and the whole law school endeavor.
Second, the website has so many practice exams (in all of the core areas) with marked up answers that explain the reasons behind the prof’s thinking and evaluation of the answers. This is an incredible help: students learn what worked on the exam and why.
Third, the joy that the authors take from teaching and the practice of law leaps off the page — it’s so clear how wonderful they are as teachers and mentors. Their enthusiasm and respect for what lawyers do is obvious and inspiring. The pedagogy will appeal to law professors, and it is an entertaining read, nicely illustrated. The website is full of useful content (those practice exams and feedback I talked about).