‘Culture of Toxicity’ — Commission finds pervasive racism among NY court officers
An independent commission tasked with reviewing institutional racism in the New York court system detailed a “culture of toxicity and unprofessionalism” among court officers across the state in a report released Thursday.
The Equal Justice in the Courts task force, led by former U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson, interviewed hundreds of people in the New York legal-justice system, including judges, lawyers, clerks, court officers and litigants, over the course of four months.
Their work culminated in the extensive report highlighting institutional bias and racial and ethnic disparities throughout the court system. The most explicit accounts of racism in the report pertained to the conduct of court officers.