Stop-and-Frisk Judge

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/04/opinion/stop-and-frisk-judge.html

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To the Editor:

Re “Stop-and-Frisk Judge Says Bloomberg and Kelly ‘Didn’t Seem to Get It’ ” (news article, May 2):

Judges can, and often do, make a difference. When the executive and legislative branches of government violate or ignore civil rights, we turn to the judiciary to uphold those fundamental rights.

Judge Shira A. Scheindlin, who has stepped down after almost 22 years on the federal bench, will be remembered as a judge who made a big difference, especially in the landmark New York City stop-and-frisk litigation, in which she ruled that the practice violated the rights of racial minorities. Her legacy will be that of someone who exhibited courage, intellect and commitment to the principles and values of equal justice under the law.

NORMAN SIEGEL

New York

The writer is a civil rights lawyer.