SILICON VALLEY - Covington partner Stanley Young has been recognized as the “Community Impact Honoree” at the Asian Law Alliance’s 39th Anniversary Dinner. The award is in recognition of his pro bono work representing a group of Latino plaintiffs in a class action against Sheriff Joe Arpaio and the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO).
Mr. Young and his team successfully brought the racial profiling lawsuit against the MCSO in response to crime suppression sweeps conducted in Arizona, under a stated policy to “go after illegals, not the crime first.” Covington served as co-lead counsel to the plaintiffs with the ACLU and Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund and contended that Latinos in Maricopa County, Arizona were unconstitutionally targeted for investigation of potential immigration violations and were subjected to pretextual vehicle stops, detentions, questioning, searches, and other forms of law enforcement action, which created a climate of fear among the County’s Latinos.
In 2013, the MCSO was permanently enjoined from using race as a factor in its decision making, and the court ordered a number of remedies for the violations. In April 2015, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the District Court’s injunctions almost in their entirety, marking another significant victory for Mr. Young and his team.
Asian Law Alliance is a nonprofit corporation which aims to provide quality legal services, decent housing, justice in the immigration process and access to basic human rights for the Asian/Pacific Islander community of Silicon Valley.
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