A lawsuit claims the New York City Medical Examiner's Office violated the advance directive of a transgender Muslim man who specified what to do with his remains upon his death.

Shawn Frederick died in November 2018, giving his partner Nakemia Stanley the legal right to make decisions about Frederick's burial. After Frederick died, the suit claims that agreement was ignored; the body was released to his biological family, who didn't accept Frederick's gender identity or faith.

Remy Green, a partner at Cohen and Green, PLLC who is representing Stanley, said it's a violation of her right to sepulcher and caused her so much stress that she miscarried twins.

"It's not a right that somebody has to intend to violate," Green said. "There's no 'do-overs' here. You get one shot at putting somebody to rest in accordance with their wishes - and if you get it wrong, the harm is incalculable."

The group Compassion & Choices filed an amicus brief in support of the lawsuit. A violation of the right to sepulcher provides monetary relief to the person denied immediate control of a loved one's remains. The case is pending in the New York Supreme Court.

Frederick's body eventually was released to Stanley one month later, when she was able to arrange for a proper burial - but much later than is expected in Islam.

Amitai Heller, a senior staff attorney with Compassion & Choices, said this case is about ensuring this doesn't happen again to any New Yorker.

"When we don't respect somebody's disposition directive, it dishonors the dead," Heller said. "These laws also protect the autonomy and the bodily integrity of people who are living - because in their final moments, they can die knowing that their values and their religious beliefs will be honored."

The lawsuit also alleges discrimination on the basis of gender, sexual orientation and marital status. The New York City Medical Examiner's Office said in a statement that it "takes seriously the responsibility to handle all decedents in our custody with the greatest integrity and care." The spokesperson said upon notification of these concerns, the office worked to get Frederick's remains to his partner as quickly as possible.

The 95-year-old Texan known as the "grandmother of Juneteenth" will celebrate this weekend, as she has for the past nine decades, but with the added knowledge she was instrumental in securing the date as a federal holiday.

Opal Lee decided to walk from her home in Fort Worth to Washington, D.C., six years ago, to raise awareness about the significance of Juneteenth. Lee traveled about 2.5 miles each day to symbolize the two-and-a-half years Black Texans waited for their freedom after Abraham Lincoln abolished slavery in 1862.

Lee said she has heard the many stories about why it took so long for news of the Emancipation Proclamation to reach Texas, but she prefers to think about what it meant to her ancestors.

"And when the people came in from their labor, and somebody read that general order to them, we started celebrating," Lee remarked. "And we've been celebrating ever since."

In 2021, President Joe Biden signed a bill making Juneteenth a national holiday, which means federal and some local offices will be closed, as will banks and the U.S. Post Office.

Even as a child, Lee spent Juneteenth picnicking with her family in her predominantly white Fort Worth neighborhood. At age 12, she watched a mob of 500 white supremacists burn her family's house to the ground, with no arrests made. She said the experience led her to a life of teaching, activism and most recently, campaigning.

"If people have been taught to hate, they can be taught to love," Lee asserted. "I want them to know that freedom is for all of us. None of us are free until we're all free."

And Lee believes many more problems in America could be solved if everyone pulled together.

"We need to address joblessness and homelessness, and everybody needs a decent place to stay, and climate change" Lee outlined. "There are so many disparities that, if we work together, we can eradicate."

Juneteenth celebrations will include freedom tours, reenactments, parades, concerts and more.

Voting-rights groups in Michigan are working to increase awareness about and access to voting in jails.

In Michigan, anyone not serving a prison sentence is eligible to vote, although there are barriers often making it nearly impossible for those in jail pre- or mid-trial. They may not be fully aware of their voting rights, and lack internet access and the materials needed to learn about candidates and issues, or to register and cast a ballot.

Local groups are working to increase voter outreach in jails, and advocating for policies to make it easier.

Percy Glover, member of the Voting Access for All Coalition and a Genessee County Ambassador, explained part of the challenge of getting people in jail reconnected with voting.

"Being in jail and being in prison is very destructive on people. They doubt the system. They don't trust the system," Glover pointed out. "Some of them may have been also wrongfully arrested, wrongfully detained, so why would I be interested in voting?"

Glover urged educating eligible voters in jail, and building out jail-based voting systems across all county jails in Michigan. He also hopes Michigan will follow Maine, Vermont and Washington, D.C., in allowing people in prison to vote as well.

Amani Sawari, justice services director for Spread the Vote, which is partnering with Michigan to create a "vote-by-mail in jail program" program. They help with voter registration by paying for expenses required for jailed voters to obtain an ID, and providing stamps, envelopes, forms and voter guides.

"Our goal is to create if not an in-person program, at least a remote process for jailed voters," Sawari emphasized. "To not only register while incarcerated, but to also receive their absentee ballot to their place of incarceration, so that they can fully participate in voting."

Other states where Spread the Vote is working to facilitate jail-based voting include neighboring Wisconsin and Indiana. As Juneteenth approaches this Sunday, the Voting Access for All Coalition is spotlighting the ways social issues like poverty and race are intertwined in the criminal legal system as well as affecting voting rights.

Support for this reporting was provided by The Carnegie Corporation of New York.

A new report sounds the alarm about surveillance technology which could be used to target pregnant people if and when Roe v. Wade is overturned.

Since the leaked draft opinion from the Supreme Court indicating at least five justices plan to overturn the landmark abortion decision, New York lawmakers have passed bills to protect abortion patients and providers, and to limit the power of other states to extradite people who seek abortions in New York.

Albert Fox Cahn, founder and executive director of the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project and co-author of the report, said search-engine tools such as geofencing and keyword warrants are already used to track pregnant people, and could be scaled up without Roe.

"All of the apps on our phone that collect our data are one court order away from being turned into a policing tool," Fox Cahn asserted. "And while that's been the reality for countless Americans for years, that's going to be a life-changing threat for pregnant people in America."

The report pointed to a case in Mississippi where a woman's search history was used to charge her with second-degree murder after a miscarriage. Fox Cahn urged lawmakers to enact privacy protections to complement abortion protections. He noted a ban on geofence warrants is pending in the Legislature.

Fox Cahn emphasized even if the bill to stop extraditions of abortion patients in New York is approved, law enforcement agencies would still be able to share surveillance data with other jurisdictions.

"Just as we've seen for years that even when we claim to be a sanctuary city in New York City, our police data is still being used to target our undocumented neighbors," Fox Cahn pointed out.

A group of 42 lawmakers last month signed a letter to the CEO of Google, asking the company to stop collecting and retaining location data from its users.

Fox Cahn added it is just the latest warning since 9/11 of surveillance tools installed in the name of national security, which pose threats to personal privacy.

"I think that this is really going to be an inflection point in the history of surveillance in America," Fox Cahn contended. "Because I think we can't have denial any longer about just how dangerous these surveillance technologies are."