A court filing on December 17, 2024, revealed a legal battle over allegations of sexual misconduct and access to disciplinary proceedings. Nichole Beiner, the plaintiff, filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York against Angelicque M. Moreno and other officials with the New York State Grievance Committee.
The case centers on accusations that law professor Tracy Maclin sexually assaulted and harassed Beiner while she was his student.
An independent investigation by a law firm substantiated these claims, finding that Maclin had engaged in unwanted sexual contact with Beiner on multiple occasions.
When Beiner filed a formal complaint with the New York State Attorney Grievance Committee in April 2023, the committee initially dismissed it without investigation.
After Beiner's insistence, the committee conducted what she describes as a "perfunctory" investigation, issuing a private decision without granting her access to the findings or process.
Beiner’s lawsuit argues that this lack of transparency violates her First Amendment rights. She cites a recent ruling from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York in Civ. Rts. Corps v. LaSalle, which found that grievance committees cannot deny complainants access to documents and decisions in attorney disciplinary investigations of public importance. The court stated: “The public cannot have faith in a process that it cannot see.”
Beiner seeks declaratory and injunctive relief to ensure that all records and proceedings related to her complaint are made public and accessible.
She argues that New York Judiciary Law § 90(10), which mandates confidentiality in such cases, is unconstitutional as applied to her case. Her legal team contends that the provision serves no legitimate government interest in protecting complainants who seek transparency.
Beiner is represented by attorneys Hal R. Lieberman, Zoe Salzman, and Sydney Zazzaro of Emery Celli Brinckerhoff Abady Ward & Maazel LLP. The case is labeled under Case ID 1:24-cv-08600.