In response to the wave of the protests that swept across New York following the tragic death of George Floyd,  the criminal defense attorneys at Friedman & Ranzenhofer, PC have been offering free legal defense to protestors who have been arrested while engaged in peaceful demonstrations.  On July 22, 2020, at our first appearance in Buffalo City Court representing two peaceful protestors who had been arrested in Niagara Square for disorderly conduct, attorney Justin Friedman made a motion to dismiss the charges based on the insufficiency of the criminal complaint.  Despite opposition by the assistant district attorney, the court granted the motion to dismiss. The court granted a similar motion that he made on August 12, 2020 on behalf of a peaceful protestor who had been charged with obstruction of governmental administration.  According to Friedman, “My pro bono work on these cases reflects our firm’s overall commitment to racial equality and the importance of providing legal representation to protect the civil rights of those who would otherwise have limited legal options.”   While at the Catholic University Columbus School of Law, Friedman organized naturalization seminars for immigrant communities, lead groups to New Orleans to assist in public defense, and participated in the school’s Clemency Clinic, investigating claims for the Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project and filing petitions for executive pardons and sentence commutations.  If you arrested for peacefully protesting in New York, contact us for free representation at (716) 333-5144 or jrf@legalsurvival.com.
