Mani Tafari, Staff Attorney, and Nick Hillary, Education Specialist, are the proud co-founders of the Queens Defenders Justice 456 Initiative. Since their last outreach event in June 2021, they have been busy keeping the wheel of pro-justice turning.  

In July 2021, Justice 456 was featured on the television program, Brooklyn45, to promote the Initiative’s mission. The mission is to inform the community of their rights, in particular, the rights provided under the 4th,  5th, and 6th amendments of the US Constitution. During this television appearance, Nick shared a summary of his story about his encounter with law enforcement, and the five-year battle between him and the Justice System. It was this five-year battle that led to the creation of Justice 456. Mani shared his legal knowledge regarding the importance of knowing the rights afforded us by the 4th, 5th and 6th amendments. 

In September 2021, Justice 456 held a virtual Constitutional Day event in the form of a panel discussion. The Constitutional Day event was the Initiative’s first interactive public event where the people of Queens and other communities had the opportunity to ask questions of the panel and provide their feedback in real time on the information shared during the session. This event will be an annual event for Justice 456, as it continues to achieve its mission: 

  • Call awareness to the Bill of Rights of the U.S. Constitution, with simplification of the 4th, 5th and 6th amendments for a the average person 
  • Educate community members about their rights afforded to them by the U.S. Constitution, and 
  • Empower our community via their rights under the constitution 

It is truly Nick’s simplified knowledge of the 4th, 5th and 6th amendments of the U.S. Constitution that gave him the confidence he needed, even under distress, to make difficult life changing decisions during his fight for freedom. 

The Justice 456 Jingle: 

I will not consent to a search today, 

I have nothing to say, 

my lawyer is on the way! 

 

Learn more about the Justice 456 Initiative here.