Hiram Monserrate.

• Position: People & Politics - Brief article

The New York Senate in February expelled Senator Hiram Monserrate following his conviction for misdemeanor assault against his girlfriend. Monserrate challenged the 53-8 ouster in U.S. District Court in Manhattan. His lawyer argued the Senate "conducted an unconstitutional usurpation of a Senate seat," and that the people who elected him were "disenfranchised and denied equal protection of law." The court denied Monserrate's request to block his expulsion, the first time a New York legislator has been expelled in nearly 100 years. Monserrate, a former New York City...