Check out our March roundup of CAG in the news!
WA to limit sale of lethal chemical behind 10 lawsuits against Amazon
The Seattle Times, March 16, 2025
By Lauren Rosenblatt
In March, The Seattle Times published an update on our Amazon cases and about our law that limits the sale of high concentrations of Sodium Nitrite to verified commercial businesses. This will make it hard for individuals to access and misuse the substance. It also reported that in February, our firm, representing 28 families who lost loved ones to suicide by accessing Sodium Nitrite on Amazon, asked theWashington state Supreme Court to take up the first of the 10 lawsuits, hoping to reverse the appellate court ruling to dismiss the case.
“Regulation is to prevent similar conduct in the future. Litigation is the tool to hold (companies) responsible for prior harms…[Corporations] don’t have heartbeats or emotions. We cannot simply trust a corporation to choose what is right. We have to make them.” – Carrie Goldberg & Naomi Leeds
A ruling in favor of the families could permanently end the sale of Sodium Nitrite and affect the outcome of the remaining cases. This would be HUGE!
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Allowing civil orders to protect New Yorkers
New York Daily News, March 26, 2025
By District Attorney Eric Gonzalez
Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez supports our the New York State bill S3394/A3226, the Ceasing Repeated and Extremely Egregious Predatory (CREEP) Behavior Act, which extends protections to all stalking victims in NY. He penned an op-ed for the New York Daily News in support of CREEP!
DA Gonzalez and his Office have invaluable insight into the criminal justice process NY stalking victims must go through when they cannot petition for a Civil OP due to the nature of their relationship with the person stalking them (check out our CREEP Act page for more info!). It’s a huge win as we work to pass the CREEP Act that he believes stalking victims should also be granted access to civil remedies! It’s long been our position that a benefit of CREEP is that it diverts cases from the carceral system for both victims and perpetrators.
“New York is working to create a justice system that prioritizes fairness and safety. A civil protective order system aligns with that goal by providing a practical, effective tool to prevent harm while minimizing unnecessary reliance on the criminal legal system. The CREEP Act is a common-sense solution that will empower people to protect themselves, reduce unnecessary criminal cases, and increase public safety.” – DA Gonzalez
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How the hacking allegations around former Michigan coach are rippling nationwide
ESPN.com, March 27, 2025
By Dan Wetzel
Carrie was quoted in this ESPN article covering the case of Matt Weiss, a former University of Michigan football coach, who is facing 24 counts related to unauthorized access to computers and identity theft (of which he pleaded not guilty). According to the charges, he spent YEARS hacking into the personal email, social media and iCloud accounts of approximately 3,300 female college athletes, including some from Westmont College in California, obtaining intimate photos of these athletes without their consent.
According to the indictment, Keffer Development Services, a third-party contractor that keeps the medical information for 150,000 athletes at approximately 100 schools, was Weiss’ initial entry point to gain heightened access to data. This is just another example of technology platforms being faulty products that are used to violate the sexual privacy of others.
“It is not a ton of victims for someone overseas running a hacking ring…But in terms of a single individual not trying to financially profit, this is the most prolific example I’ve seen.” – Carrie Goldberg
If you know impacted victims, please contact us!
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A Texas Student was Kneed in the Face by a School Cop: Her Civil Rights Case is One of Thousands That May Never Be Resolved
The74, March 28, 2025
By Mark Keierleber
This article covers the story of Ja’Liyah Celestine, a student from Texas, who filed a federal civil rights complaint after a campus police officer grabbed her by the hair and kneed her in the face, alleging persistent racial discrimination against Black teens at her high school. Now, her complaint, along with thousands of others nationwide, may never be investigated due to the Trump administration’s drastic cuts to the Education Department’s civil rights office.
Our Associate Katie McKay, whose practice features Title IX cases against universities and K-12 schools, is quoted throughout the article. She noted that a college student whose sexual assault case “had been open since Obama was in office,” made the decision to close the complaint after Trump was elected for a second term. She had “concerns that this administration would handle the case,” and that she made this decision in part because of the long history of sexual assault allegations against the president himself.
“There’s this fear that those values were going to be applied to the case,” McKay said. “Closing out the case at least created a sense of closure on their own terms rather than letting this administration speak for them.”
