The International Municipal Lawyers Association (IMLA) has presented Miller Barondess partner Nadia Sarkis with the distinguished Amicus Service Award for her support of the IMLA Legal Advocacy Program in the Duarte v. City of Stockton case. The Amicus Service Award seeks to recognize those lawyers who have done exemplary work to protect and advance local government interests. Nadia was recognized at the IMLA Mid-Year Seminar in Washington, D.C., on April 18, 2024.
The amicus brief was written on behalf of IMLA in support of the City of Stockton’s petition for certiorari in Duarte v. City of Stockton. The amicus brief addressed a circuit split regarding the scope of Heck v. Humphrey, 512 U.S. 477 (1994), in the context of pretrial diversion programs, following a guilty plea, and discussed the harmful collateral consequences for both criminal defendants and local governments in narrowing Heck to allow Section 1983 litigation to go forward in this context.
The amicus brief was written along with Miller Barondess associate Michael Fisher and can be accessed here.