Queens Defenders launch program to teach kids about their rights

Attorney Mani Tafari and educator Oral “Nick” Hillary launched Justice 456 to teach Black youth about their 4th, 5th and 6th Amendment rights. Photo via Queens Defenders

By Jacob Kaye

Two members of the Queens Defenders say that at the center of every wrongful conviction is a violation of either the 4th, 5th or 6th Amendment. And so in an effort to solve the problem, the duo has started a program to teach young kids about their rights.

The Justice 456 program was started by Queens Defender attorney Mani Tafari and

Oral "Nick" Hillary, an education specialist with the legal organization who was falsely accused of murdering a 12-year-old boy in 2011.

“Despite being framed for murder by a lot of combined powerful forces, those three amendments really, really saved his life,” said Tafari, who represented Hillary during the ensuing trial.

The initiative will see Tafari and Hillary, as well as other educators, visit schools and community centers to teach primarily Black kids and teens about their rights under the amendments that grant people the right against unreasonable searches and seizures, the right to remain silent and the right to an attorney.

“The way we say it is, ‘I will not consent to a search today, I have nothing to say and my attorney is on the way,’” Tafari said. “I think breaking things down easily and simply to people, especially young, Black youth, could save centuries in jail.”

The two men, who have known each other for over two decades, say knowing those rights is the only thing that kept Hillary, whose trial was riddled with prosecutorial misconduct, from going to prison on a wrongful conviction.

“This whole idea of Justice 456 actually, slowly came to life as a result of the whole thing,” Hillary said. “We were just saying, ‘how can we give back? What was the purpose of this ordeal?’ If we could help one person to avoid this going forward, then my encounter was more than worth it.”

The rollout of the program began in June, with Hillary and Tafari posting several videos to YouTube. As the city begins to open up again, the program will expand to in-person lessons.

Though the program is intended for Black teens and kids, the rights afforded to a person in the face of law enforcement should be known by everyone, Tafari said.

“Every single wrongful conviction happened because the 4th, 5th and 6th were not known,” Tafari said. “We not only have the perfect message with Justice 456, we have the perfect messenger with Mr. Hillary. That's why he's gonna point to himself and say to people, ‘I was that young guy, I was in that position. They held me for eight hours at the precinct trying to get me to talk but I did not because I knew the four, five, six.’”