New York Civil Liberties Union and others request court overturn ruling that declined release testimony after decision not to indict officer for Garner’s death

The New York Civil Liberties Union is joining a coalition of petitioners in asking the state’s highest court to unseal the grand jury minutes and testimony in the case of Eric Garner, a black man who died after being placed in a chokehold by a white New York police officer.

The civil liberties organization, along with New York city public advocate Letitia James and others, has requested that the New York court of appeals hear arguments to overturn lower court rulings that declined to make public the grand jury’s transcript, as well as the evidence presented and instructions the jury was given.

“No one has been held accountable for the death of Eric Garner and the community doesn’t know why,” said NYCLU executive director Donna Lieberman in a statement. “As New Yorkers continue to demand answers and ask if black lives matter, we hope the court will put an end to the secrecy surrounding the Garner Grand Jury records and provide transparency that is a first step in rebuilding people’s trust in the criminal justice system.”

Garner died in police custody on 17 July 2014 after NYPD officers attempted to arrest him for allegedly selling loose, untaxed cigarettes on Staten Island.

In December, a grand jury declined to bring charges against NYPD officer Daniel Pantaleo, who applied the chokehold – a restraint tactic banned by the department – that led to Garner’s death. The decision led to weeks of protests in New York and across the US. It also gave rise to a debate over grand jury secrecy and the role of prosecutors in the process.

A group of petitioners, including the NYCLU, the NAACP and the Legal Aid Society, asked a judge to release the grand jury minutes and other documents, contending that the public has the right to know how the decision was reached, but he denied their request. In July, the appellate division, second department upheld the Staten Island judge’s decision to keep secret the grand jury records.

“New Yorkers have insisted on reform since the Eric Garner grand jury decision, and they and their representatives need to know what if anything is broken before they attempt to fix the problem,” said NYCLU legal director Arthur Eisenberg.

“Without understanding how or why the grand jury reached its decision, major policy discussions on grand jury reform with potentially lasting implications are taking place blindly. So much is at stake regarding criminal justice reform in this case that the public’s need to know what happened outweighs any current interest in maintaining the secrecy of the Garner proceedings.”