The battle for justice for Eric Garner continued this week almost one year after he was put in an illegal chokehold by a New York Police Department officer and died.

In a video recording of the incident, which occurred on July 17, 2014, the 43-year-old black man is seen having a verbal confrontation with Staten Island Officer Daniel Pantaleo and another cop who accused him of selling untaxed cigarettes. Eventually, Officer Pantaleo put Garner in a chokehold while he was being arrested. Pantaleo also ignored Garner's repeated cries of "I can't breathe." Authorities say that the married father of six died from a heart attack about an hour after his arrest.

Meanwhile, Pantaleo was cleared on Dec. 3 on all charges by a special 23-member grand jury.

Now, civil rights advocates and lawyers are fighting to disclose the details that led to the grand jury's decision not to indict Pantaleo.

On Tuesday, lawyers from three civil rights groups, along with a lawyer from the office of New York City Public Advocate Letitia James, petitioned a panel of four New York appellate court judges to make the records from the grand jury that declined to prosecute Pantaleo available to the public.

James Myerson, an attorney representing the NAACP, accused former Staten Island District Attorney Daniel Donovan of being reluctant to file charges against police officers since he worked closely with them on other cases.

"If [Donavan] wanted an indictment, he could have gotten one in a New York minute," Myerson told Rolling Stone's Matt Taibbi.

New York Democrat Rep. Charles Rangel also accused Donovan, a republican who has since been elected to Congress, of protecting the officers.

Attorney Matthew Brinckerhoff argued in court Tuesday that there is a "perception of misconduct" in Donovan's handling of the case. Meanwhile, a recent New York Times investigation found evidence that prosecutors didn't aggressively pursue charges against Pantaleo.

Meyerson also argued on behalf of the NAACP, saying the organization was one of the "oldest" and "most respected" civil rights groups in U.S history, and therefore has a great and "particularized" need to see the grand jury records.

"Cops have a higher responsibility," and "don't have the same rights of privacy interests," he said according to The Huffington Post.

On the other hand, the district attorney's office argued that the records should remain sealed in order to protect the privacy of the jury. The D.A.'s office also claimed that releasing the grand jury record would not lead to new answers, and would have a "chilling effect" on witnesses, who testify under the condition of anonymity, reports The Guardian. Even prosecutors might feel pressure from the public to deliver a certain result if secrecy was no longer a guarantee, they said. Prosecutor Ann Grady from the Richmond County District Attorney's Office added that releasing the grand jury records could lead to jurors being targeted.

However, Myerson pointed out that witnesses were not targeted after grand jury records were released in the case of Michael Brown's shooting death. Justice Leonard Austin also noted that the petitioners had requested all the names of the witnesses be redacted.