Lawsuit for Press Passes

Here’s the lawsuit filed today against the city by three journalists who say they’ve unfairly been denied press passes by the city’s police department.

The plaintiffs include David Wallis, whose writing has appeared in the New York Times, the New Yorker, and other publications; Ralph Smith, who writes for The Guardian Chronicle, which covers local law enforcement issues, and noted City Hall gadfly Rafael Martinez-Alequin, who writes online.

The complaint says, “Defendants have no compelling government interest to obstruct the Plaintiff’s efforts to provide news coverage to their readers.”

The suit was filed earlier today in a federal court in Manhattan by civil rights attorney Norman Siegel.