Schwartz v. City of New York

An Orthodox Jewish psychotherapist filed a federal lawsuit against the city of New York for violating his freedom of speech and infringing on his religious faith and that of his patients. Dr. Dovid Schwartz, a licensed psychotherapist and member of the Chabad Lubavitch Orthodox Jewish Community in Brooklyn, is challenging the city’s ordinance that prohibits certain patient-counselor conversations that the New York City Council disfavors. The counseling censorship law extends to the counseling of willing adult patients and threatens increasing fines of $1,000, $5,000, or $10,000 for first, second, and subsequent violations.

Case Timeline

• July 2019: Alliance Defending Freedom filed a lawsuit on behalf of Dr. Dovid Schwartz.
• September 2019: In response to the lawsuit, the city repealed its counseling censorship law.
• July 2020: The city of New York agreed to pay $100,000 in attorneys’ fees and nominal damages. In light of the repeal and the settlement, ADF dismissed the lawsuit on Dr. Schwartz’s behalf.

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Jewish Counselor Challenged New York City’s Anti-Free Speech Law—And Won