A federal appeals court blocked a judge’s ruling that required changes to the controversial New York Police Department’s stop-and-frisk program. Thursday’s ruling from the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals also removed Judge Shira Scheindlin, The Associated Press reports.
According to the AP, Scheindlin ruled that the city had violated the Constitution, and the rights of the city’s minorities, with its often criticized program. However, the city appealed her decision and her orders to make changes to the stop-and-frisk policy. The appeals court heard arguments on the requested stay of the judge on Tuesday, the AP reports.
The appeals court removed the judge because she had “run afoul” of the judiciary’s code of conduct by displaying an “appearance of partiality surrounding this litigation,” the New York Times reports. According to the AP, the appeals panel also criticized the judge for being involved in media interviews and public statements that responded to criticism of the court during the case.
The Times reports that by removing the judge, the changes she ordered will be “effectively put off.” Some of those changes include postponing the activities of the monitor overseeing reforms to the department’s stop-and-frisk practices.
According to the NYT, the appeals court judges also ordered that the stop-and-frisk lawsuit be reassigned to a new judge, but ordered the incoming judge to hold off on “all proceedings and otherwise await further action.” The 2nd Circuit has not ruled if Judge Scheindlin’s decision was correct, the Times notes.
The court’s two-page order stated, “In taking these actions, we intimate no view on the substance or merits of the pending appeals.” Instead, the court is considering the city’s request to put off all of the changes Scheindlin had ordered, the Times reports.
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