To the Editor: Stationing police officers in public schools clearly causes the criminalization of routine misbehavior. Last school year, 882 students were arrested in New York City public schools. Another 1,666 children were issued tickets. These children’s “crimes” ranged from drawing graffiti to possessing marijuana. Serious felony arrests were rare.

To the Editor: Local police departments should think twice before they emulate the New York City Police Department's aggressive and discriminatory stop-and-frisk practices. Used lawfully, stop-and-frisk is a legitimate law-enforcement tool. However, the NYPD's rampant abuse of the tactic violates the constitutional rights of hundreds of thousands of innocent people annually and sows mistrust between police officers and residents of the city's communities of color.

To the Editor: “The Right to Counsel: Badly Battered at 50,” by Lincoln Caplan (Sunday Observer, March 10), cites problems with public defense in Kentucky, Mississippi and Georgia. New York is also a prime example of a state that has failed to meet its obligation, under Gideon v. Wainwright, to provide lawyers to poor people accused of crimes.

To the Editor: The Women’s Equality Agenda will help break barriers to women’s full and equal participation in society. It also will help working women provide for their families. Women are the primary or co-breadwinners in two-thirds of New York families, but on average they earn 16 percent less than men. They are often denied jobs or promotions because they have children. Pregnant women can be pushed out of their jobs for requesting a modest, temporary accommodation.

To the Editor: Women’s rights pioneers met at Seneca Falls in 1848 to organize a campaign for equality. Women’s History Month is a perfect time to reflect on the enormous progress we’ve made since that historic gathering. It’s also an opportunity to tackle enduring barriers to women’s full and equal participation in society.

To the Editor: Within three minutes’ drive of The (Auburn) Citizen’s offices, New York state keeps more than 80 men in solitary confinement at Auburn Correctional Facility. Less than 20 miles away, more than 200 people are held in isolation in Moravia’s Cayuga Correctional Facility. These individuals spend 23 hours a day locked in tiny, barren cells – cut off from all meaningful human contact or mental stimulation. Meals arrive through a slot in the door. Recreation is an hour alone in an empty pen.

To the Editor: For a truly successful second term, President Obama must defend and expand the civil rights and liberties of our country’s most vulnerable and marginalized residents. This means fixing the broken immigration system so that millions of hardworking immigrant families can contribute to society without constant fear of being detained and deported. New York’s leaders can contribute by passing legislation to provide migrant workers basic labor protections like overtime pay.

To the Editor: Re “Officials Defend Fatal Shooting of a Knife-Wielding Man Near Times Sq.” (news article, Aug. 13): Reporting that “experts on police procedure” said the officers “did what they were trained to do,” the article quoted the Philadelphia police commissioner explaining that officers are trained to shoot at torsos, not limbs.

To the Editor: Rochester Police Chief James Sheppard’s “Cool Down” strategy raises serious civil liberties concerns. Police officers shouldn’t use minor offenses like loitering and bicycle bells as a pretext to stop and search people. This sort of aggressive policing won’t remove guns from the streets. It will almost certainly lead to racial profiling and rampant civil rights violations.

To the Editor: Village Attorney Joe Eriole's quoted response to the New York Civil Liberties Union's call to dismiss prosecutions against four Occupy New Paltz protesters amounts to quibbling over semantics ("NYCLU says drop Occupy charges," July 18).