Carla Sanderson, Esq.

01/19/2023

Even though we are very much open for business this page will no longer be updated. Please visit our website www.carlasandersonlaw.com for more information.

High quality legal representation tailored to your needs.

04/17/2020

With COVID-19 spreading rapidly in prisons and jails I'm preparing compassionate release motions to request early release for federal inmates. As a society we were not prepared for this virus. When it comes to the prison system this is even more obvious. Conditions are often unsanitary, medical care is lacking and there is no ability to socially distance. People are dying at alarming rates. Attempts at stopping COVID result in harsh lockdowns and barring family and attorney visits.

It was high time to decarcerate before COVID-19 and now it's more urgent than ever.

01/16/2019

In addition to banning the dangerous practice of conversion therapy, this important legislation adds gender identity and expression to the existing New York Human Rights Law. This means that trans and gender nonconforming folks will have legal protections against discrimination in employment, housing, education and access to public accommodations. The bill also adds gender identity as a protected ground in the state's hate crime laws.

After more than a decade of impasse in the Senate, GENDA passes both chambers; legislation protecting LGBTQ youth from “conversion therapy” also passed.

01/02/2019

Happy New Year from Carla Sanderson Law

2018 was full of new and exciting challenges and, thankfully, multiple success stories including my recent appointment to the Criminal Justice Act (CJA) Panel in the Eastern District of New York, a full acquittal in a felony s*xual abuse trial against Cy Vance’s Manhattan DA Office, helping to expose a Brady violation committed by Southern District of New York prosecutors in a homicide case, bringing a Batson challenge alleging racial discrimination in jury selection, and multiple settlements won on behalf of LGBT employees for workplace discrimination. Thank you to friends, family, mentors and clients!

It was a huge year for the firm and I am looking forward to continuing the fight for justice in 2019.

10/21/2018

Creating a new definition of s*x and/or gender that erases transgender people is wrong on so many levels. Transgender people exist and are entitled to the same rights as every other person. This is not up for debate. Any government attempt to erase an entire population through defining them out of existence will ultimately fail. In the meantime, as an ally and a lawyer who represents transgender clients, I will continue to advocate even more zealously during these hostile times.

The Trump administration is considering a legal definition of gender as immutable and fixed at birth, the most drastic in a series of moves against transgender people.

10/10/2018

On Kavanaugh's first day the Court heard arguments on an issue that may not affect everyone in the country but is extraordinarily important to those who it does impact. The ACCA provides for harsh and excessive mandatory minimum sentences for certain people with criminal records who possess a firearm (it does not matter whether the possession was innocent or in good faith). The ACCA mandatory minimum has nothing to do with the facts of the case and is based only on a person's prior record, even if the convictions are decades old or were youthful offenses as a teenager. The future of many people will depend on what the justices believe the meaning of "violent force" is and whether minuscule force such as a pinch, shove, grab, or a tug is violent force.

Let's hope that the Supreme Court makes the only rational and just ruling on this.

Asking just five questions during his first day at the Supreme Court, Justice Brett Kavanaugh focused on precedent Tuesday in oral argument for a criminal case about the classification of violent f…

08/13/2018

Bryan Stevenson has had a fascinating legal career fighting for justice on behalf of those who need it most. His work is so inspiring! I highly recommend his book "Just Mercy." Stevenson urges lawyers to do things that are "uncomfortable and inconvenient, because justice doesn’t come when you only do the things that are comfortable and convenient.” He reminds us that now is the time to keep fighting, to stave off hopelessness - the enemy of justice- and to do more: “We’ve got to find new ways to create justice, to open doors that have been closed for too long, to create opportunities for people who feel marginalized and excluded.”

Bryan Stevenson, founder and executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative, urged his fellow attorneys to deepen their commitment to justice, be willing to get uncomfortable and never lose hope.

07/21/2018

The Brooklyn Community Bail Fund posted bail for a client today. Some people can’t afford even low bail and would otherwise sit on Rikers for months awaiting an outcome - or take a guilty plea when they otherwise would not just to get out. This penalizes the poor.

07/05/2018

The lack of remedies for prosecutorial misconduct is a serious problem in New York and beyond. With pressure to win, prosecutors may intentionally or unintentionally fail to identify and disclose exculpatory evidence that is favorable to a defendant- “Brady evidence”- increasing the likelihood of a wrongful conviction. As evinced by numerous exonerations, there needs to be greater incentive for prosecutors to understand and abide by their disclosure obligations and repercussions if they don’t.

The association representing New York state’s district attorneys is urging members of the State Assembly to vote against a bill that would create a commission to investigate misconduct by prosecutors.

03/27/2018

After a week long jury trial justice was served today with a NOT GUILTY verdict for our innocent client charged with felony s*x abuse by the New York County DA's Office. What a team Andrew Mancilla and Erik Chen!

12/21/2017

Mark Denny was freed today after spending almost 30 years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit. Denny was convicted based on identification evidence alone. Eyewitness misidentification is one of the greatest contributing factors to wrongful convictions. Denny’s identification was likely the result of “commitment effect”: the victim was shown Denny’s photo in a photo array, did not select him, but later selected him from an in-person lineup. Under New York State policy, police are advised against the use of multiple identification procedures involving the same suspect due to the risk of misidentification. When Denny was arrested and incarcerated he was 17 years old. He is now 46.

Mark Denn walked out of a Brooklyn courtroom a free man after serving nearly 30 years for a r**e and robbery.

10/05/2017

An unprecedented sealing law will go into effect on this Saturday, October 7, in New York State. The law will enable people convicted of certain crimes to move to have them sealed as long as 10 years have gone by since their conviction or release from prison. Sealing under this law is discretionary and must be applied for with notice to the prosecution. For those who have served their time and have remained out of trouble sealing will help them avoid the unfair stigma and discrimination that an old conviction carries.