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Panelists included Joanne Poole, a REALTOR® and 2020 NAR Chairperson of the Multicultural Real Estate Leadership Advisory Group; Dr. Danette O’Neal, Professor, Author-LEED educator, HGTV alumna, entrepreneur, and REALTOR®;  Sarah L. Ware, the principal and managing broker of the Ware Realty Group, LLC; Zeke Morris, past president of the Chicago Association of REALTORS®, and REALTORS® Arthur and Marlon Briscoe from Queens.

Far more than the law, [Mr. Mohammedi] spoke to human rights as a person and the audience of Realtors understood.

Susan L. Sommers, SRES Chairperson of the Fair Housing and Cultural Diversity Committee

Mr. Mohammedi’s presentation received overwhelmingly positive feedback as Mr. Mohammedi spoke about his own personal experiences, including times where he went above and beyond his duties as a civil rights attorney.

In her email to Mr. Mohammedi, Susan L. Sommers, SRES Chairperson of the Fair Housing and Cultural Diversity Committee (sommershomes.com), said “The feedback we received from Attendees was they really appreciated the honest conversation and learned much. Many felt enlightened and everyone said it was great. You spoke from your heart not just as a Civil Rights Lawyer which would have been enough but far more. Far more than the law, you spoke to human rights as a person and the audience of Realtors understood.”

In another email, Hind Hatoum, from the NYSAR Board of Directors (2019-2020), said that Mr. Mohammedi’s presentation reminded her of her own experiences with clients who felt discriminated in their housing opportunities due to their wearing of the hijab or headscarf. She said, “It felt as if no matter how many times I reminded the agents in a most respectful way, that they were violating the Fair Housing rules and that needed to educate their homeowners on the importance and seriousness of fair housing, there was no regard or accountability for their behaviours. It hurts, and it deprives any consumer from their rights to equal and fair treatment.”

It felt as if no matter how many times I reminded the agents in a most respectful way, that they were violating the Fair Housing rules and that needed to educate their homeowners on the importance and seriousness of fair housing, there was no regard or accountability for their behaviours. It hurts, and it deprives any consumer from their rights to equal and fair treatment.

Hind Hatoum, NYSAR Board of Directors (2019-2020)

Mr. Mohammedi’s presentation was critical in reminding real estate professionals and members of the community that our country’s policy on discrimination is simple- there is zero-tolerance for discrimination.

11/17/14  SAMIR HASHMI V. NYPD, INDEX NO. 101560/2013— The New York County Supreme Court on November 17, 2014 issued a decision stating that the New York Police Department cannot evade its obligations under the State Freedom of Information Law by invoking Glomar. The Court opined that undercover operatives or others providing confidential information to the police, are types of documents that are exempt from FOIL disclosure. Therefore, in order to invoke these exemptions, the law enforcement agency must first acknowledge the existence of documents.

7/5/16 TALIB W. ABDUR-RASHID V. NYPD (FOIL) THE APPELLATE DIVISION DECISION — On July 5, 2016, OTMLAW filed a motion with the highest court in New York State, The New York State Court of Appeals, seeking permission to appeal the decision to the Appellate Division, First Department. This is to fight the ruling that the NYPD can respond to a New York State Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) request by neither “confirming nor denying” the existence of records responsive to a FOIL request

Application submitted to The New York State Court of Appeals.

Appellate Division, First Department decision.

10/16/16 THE COURT REJECTED THE HANDSCHU PROPOSED GUIDELINES TO PROTECT AGAINST THE NYPD SPYING — On October 16, 2016, Judge Haigh, issued an Order rejecting the proposed settlement as “Not Fair and Reasonable” to protect the New York Muslim Community against the NYPD’s illegal surveillance. The Order was issued following a major opposition by the New York community against the weak provisions in the settlement proposal. In his decision, Judge Haigh referred to the brief OTMLAW submitted as well as the oral argument made requesting stronger provisions to protect the community, including its clients Iman Abdur-Rashid and Samir Hashmi. The two clients have related cases pending before the New York Court of Appeals. 

OTMLAW letter to Judge

Judge’s Order

11/21/16 COURT OF APPEALS GRANTED LEAVE OF COURT TO FILE AN APPEAL IN OTMLAW FOIL CASE — The Court of Appeals granted  Imam Abdur-Rashid and Samir Hashmi its application for leave to Appeal the Appellate Division, First Department’s decision which allowed the NYPD to use the federal Glomar theory “it cannot confirm of deny the existence of information”. Such theory does not exist under the New York State Freedom of Information Law (“FOIL”). The Court of Appeals grants only 2% of these applications.

Court Order Granting The Appeal

Petitioners Appeal Brief

2/20/17 OTMLAW FILES THE APPEAL ON BEHALF OF ABDUR-RASHID AND SAMIR HASHMI BEFORE THE COURT OF APPEALS CHALLENGING THE NYPD SURVEILLANCE AND ITS GLOMAR RESPONSE TO FOIL — This matter arises originally from a decision by the Respondents– Respondents, the New York Police Department (hereinafter referred to as “NYPD”) to deny two separate record requests by the Petitioners–Appellants (Talib W. Abdur-Rashid and Samir Hashmi) pursuant to the New York State Freedom of Information Law (New York State Public Officer Law (“POL”), Article 6, Sections 84-90) (hereafter referred to as “FOIL”). OTMLAW files an appeal brief for Abdur Rashid V NYPD before the Court of Appeals.

4/17/17 MAINSTREAM MEDIA FILE AN AMICUS BRIEF AGAINST THE NYPD TO SUPPORT OTMLAW APPEAL AGAINST THE NYPD ILLEGAL SURVEILLANCE AND FOIL CASE — Law Firm of Omar T. Mohammedi, LLC, (“OTMLAW”) is pleased to announce that an [Amici Curiae brief) (friend of the court brief) of 31 media organizations, including but not limited Bloomberg L.P. and Forbes, the New York Times, the Daily News and the Reporters Committee For the Freedom of the Press, is filed with the New York State Court of Appeals in support of OTMLAW’s appeal filed on February 20, 2017 on behalf Abdur-Rashid and Samir Hashmi against the New York Police Department (“NYPD”) in a surveillance and Freedom of Information Law (“FOIL”).

Media Amicus Curiae Brief

6/8/17 OTMLAW FILES A REPLY BRIEFS ON BEHALF OF ABDUR-RASHID AND SAMIR HASHMI BEFORE THE COURT OF APPEALS — Law Firm of Omar T. Mohammedi, LLC, (“OTMLAW”) has filed its reply brief on behalf of Talib W. Abdur-Rashid and Samir Hashmi against the New York Police Department. The reply brief challenges both the NYPD’s use of the Glomar in Freedom of Information Law (“FOIL”) requests and the NYPD’s use of the Handschu Guidelines as a shield to conceal their violation of FOIL.   The appeal is now fully briefed and is pending before the Court of Appeals.

12/27/17 OTMLAW ANNOUNCES THE FILING OF AN AMICUS CURIAE BRIEF BY THE NEW YORK CITY COUNCIL’S BLACK, LATINO/A AND ASIAN CAUCUS — On December 27, 2017, the New York City Council’s Black, Latino/a and Asian Caucus (BLAC) filed amicus curiae brief in support of our clients, Abdur-Rashid and Samir Hashmi in their FOIL litigation against the NYPD. The Caucus consists of twenty-four (24) duly elected members of the City Council who represent about nine (9) million New Yorkers. Caucus members bear the responsibility of protecting New Yorkers civil liberties, including those guaranteed under FOIL.

BLAC Amicus Curiae Brief

2/6/18 OMAR T. MOHAMMEDI, MANAGING PARTNER AT OTMLAW AND ASSOCIATE LIZ KIMUNDI, APPEAR BEFORE THE NEW STATE COURT OF APPEAL FOR ORAL ARGUMENTS ON ABDUR-RASHID AND SAMIR HASHMI V. NYPD — On February 6, 2018 the New York State Court of Appeals, heard oral arguments in a first impression case, where the NYPD has the federal Glomar response to State FOIL requests. The case was heard by all seven justices of the Court. Arguing for Appellants Abdur-Rashid and Samir was Mr. Mohammedi, arguing for the City was an Assistant Corporation Counsel.

In the Press:

The Divide: How the NYPD keeps its surveillance secret Article by The Alt. Read More.

New Jersey man’s suit over Muslim surveillance advances to highest court in NY Article by NorthJersey.com. Read More.

Court considers Cold War secrecy over Muslim surveillance Article by The Washington Post. Read More.

Court considers Cold War secrecy over Muslim surveillance WRAL. Read More.

New York court considers granting NYPD Cold War Secrecy Article by the Independent. Read More.

The New York Police Department overstepped its reach when it used a Cold War-era legal tactic to conceal information about whether it put two Muslim men under surveillance, a lawyer representing the men argued Tuesday before New York’s highest court. By The Associated Press Read more

Top NY Court Grapples With Records Demand Mired in Spy Secrecy Article by Courthouse News. Read More.

Court considers Cold War secrecy over Muslim surveillance Article by San Francisco Chronicle. Read More.

Samir Hashmi learned the NYPD may have been surveilling him when he was a student at Rutgers University in Newark and the treasurer of the Muslim Student Association. WNYC: Read full article here

MUSLIM NEW YORKERS NOW HAVE SOMEONE WATCHING THE COPS WHO WATCH THEM WNYC 

Some in the legal community can neither confirm nor deny that the New York City Police Department’s policy of using the so-called Glomar doctrine as an exemption to open records requests is a good thing. Read more here…

The NYPD wants to torpedo a request for information about its surveillance methods by citing a national security argument first employed during the CIA’s construction of a deep sea vessel during the Cold War. New York Daily News Read more here…

NYPD SURVEILLANCE OF MUSLIMS (FOIL UPDATES) 2017 A federal judge has formally approved a settlement that installs a civilian watchdog on an NYPD surveillance panel to protect Muslims from unconstitutional monitoring, the Daily News has learned. NY Daily News Judge approves settlement to install civilian watchdog on NYPD surveillance of Muslims New York Law Journal NY Court Taps U S Doctrine

The Court of Appeals agreed Monday to hear a case challenging the New York City Police Department’s refusal to acknowledge the existence of records sought under the state Freedom of Information Law. The New York Law Journal

By Omar T. Mohammedi: CAN THE NYPD COMPLY WITH BASIC RULES? The recent report by Philip K. Eure, the inspector general of the New York City Police Department, solidifies the lack of trust minorities have towards the NYPD. Read more here…

JUDGE REJECTS PARAMUS MAN’S CLAIM TO POLICE RECORDS LINKED TO SURVEILLANCE OF N.J. MUSLIMS A New York judicial panel has ruled that a Paramus man is not entitled to records he believed the NYPD had kept on him during a period of surveillance on New Jersey Muslims. Read more here…

APPELLATE COURT SIDES WITH NYPD ON MUSLIM SURVEILLANCE DOCUMENTS The unanimous decision by the judges accepted the department’s so-called Glomar defense—a provision related to federal Freedom of Information Act that allows federal agencies to avoid acknowledging or denying the existence of certain sensitive information if it rises to a level of “harm cognizable” to law enforcement and public safety. Read more here…

Samir Hashmi V. NYPD and Abdur-Rashid cases have been profiled in this Village Voice Article. Read all the details of this article from the Village Voice.

The NYPD has a well-documented record of spying on law-abiding Muslims, and yet refuses to acknowledge even the existence of information that relates to its controversial surveillance program. Read more here..

North Jersey reports, Paramus man continues fight for police surveillance records. Read more here…

Read More about the Six Imams case: Shqeirat v. US Airways Group, Inc., 645 F.Supp.2d 765 (D.Minn. 2009) Shqeirat v. US Airways Group, Inc.>, 2008 WL 4232018 (D.Minn. Sept. 9, 2008) Shqeirat v. US Airways Group, Inc., 515 F.Supp.2d 984 (D.Minn. 2007)

11/6/06 Six Imams Ejected from US Flight

3/13/07 OTMLAW files suit on behalf of Six Imams profiled by US Airways and Airport Police — The imams, most of whom are from Arizona, were returning from a religious conference in November when they were taken off a plane in Minneapolis, handcuffed and questioned. They had prayed on their prayer rugs in the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport before the flight, and after they boarded, a passenger passed a note to a flight attendant.

4/5/07 Paula Zahn Interviews Omar Mohammedi regarding The Six Imams Case. Find the transcript here.

11/20/07 The Six Imam reached a settlement in their lawsuit against the US Airways and the Minnesota Police Department. The settlement amount against US Airways remains confidential.

11/21/07 OTMLAW prevails against defendants’ motion to dismiss — U.S. District Judge Ann Montgomery said in a 41-page opinion late Tuesday that the imams, who say they were discriminated against when they were removed from a flight last year, have a plausible claim that their constitutional rights may have been violated 11/21/2007

Court Order, Court Decision

4/5/14 Brooklyn Federal Court Judge Sandra Townes rejected a MTA motion to dismiss the lawsuit Stephanie Lewis filed in 2004. Lewis was transferred off her bus route and eventually fired for not agreeing to put a NYC Transit division logo on her headscarf due to religious reasons.

4/5/14 The family of a Muslim bus driver who battled the MTA for years for the right to wear a head scarf at work won a major legal victory — a year after her death — when a federal judge ruled her civil rights were violated. Stephanie Lewis started driving in 1989, and wore a scarf called a khimar, that matched her blue uniform.

11/1/14 OTMLAW files employment discrimination suit against the MTA on behalf Muslim client – The Justice Department sued the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and New York City Transit yesterday, charging them with discriminating against Muslim and Sikh employees who wear turbans and head scarves for religious reasons.

Omar T. Mohammedi speaks on the Diallo Case on Court TV

2/16/00 The Justice Department has agreed to meet with the parents of slain African immigrant Amadou Diallo to hear their grievances about the murder trial being moved to Albany from the Bronx.

2/22/00 Omar Mohammedi, Esq. quoted on acquittal of officers charged with murder of Amadou Diallo. — A demonstration at the state courthouse in Brooklyn, New York has drawn several hundred protesters chanting against police brutality. Most of the protesters are students. The demonstration was called in the wake of several high-profile cases in New York City involving police alleged police brutality and officers shooting civilians.

1/7/04 OTMLAW settles a $3 Million wrongful death lawsuit against the NYPD. — Almost five years after Amadou Diallo, an unarmed immigrant from West Africa, died in a hail of 41 police bullets in the Bronx, his family agreed yesterday to a $3 million settlement of its civil lawsuit against New York City.

6/12/07 NYC SUED ON BEHALF OF TEEN NAMED OSAMA, CBS NEWS ON — The parents of a New York teen named Osama have sued the school system, claiming their son was constantly harassed by teachers while school officials did nothing. Osama al-Najjar, a Jordanian-born Muslim, eventually plunged into a deep depression and tried to commit suicide over the incessant references to the infamous al Qaeda leader, Osama bin Laden, CBS station WCBS-TV correspondent Andrew Kirtzman reported.

Read More about the 9/11 Litgation:

In re Terrorist Attacks of September 11, 2001, — F.Supp.2d —, 2010 WL 3783702 (S.D.N.Y. Sept. 13, 2010)

In re Terrorist Attacks of September 11, 2001, 718 F.Supp.2d 456 (S.D.N.Y. 2010)

In re Terrorist Attacks of September 11, 2001, 538 F.3d 71 (2d. Cir. 2008)

TOP COURT LETS STAND SAUDI IMMUNITY IN 9/11 CASE — The justices refused to review the ruling by a U.S. appeals court in New York that the Saudi defendants were protected by sovereign immunity in the lawsuit brought by victims of the attacks and their families. The Law Firm of Omar T. Mohammedi also represents defendants involved in this case.