‘Minor’ shift in small raps
POLICE DEPARTMENT lawyers will no longer handle the prosecution of small-time protest arrests.
The Manhattan district attorney and NYPD are ending an agreement that had department attorneys handling summons cases in an effort to limit lawsuit liability.
The change comes days after lawmakers sent a hard-charging letter to DA Cy Vance Jr. blasting his office’s February 2016 order that authorized the NYPD’s Legal Bureau to play prosecutor in summons cases.
Typically, there isn’t a prosecutor in summons court so the addition of one was considered a bullying tactic and a disadvantage to select defendants in minor public rally busts.
Attorneys for the NYPD insisted Black Lives Matter protestors admit wrongdoing in exchange for standard dismissal deals.
Admissions of that sort are not usually required in criminal court settlements known as adjournments in contemplation of dismissal.
Normally, someone’s case will be dismissed and sealed after six months of good behavior without any admissions.
Police attorneys wanted those they flagged to concede there was probable cause to arrest them, with the hope it would fend off civil claims.
The NYPD handled 38 cases since the agreement went into effect.
“I don't have the resources and time to do these cases anymore,” said Larry Byrne, NYPD deputy commissioner for legal matters. “If we do them we have the trial. We have to do the appeals. We decided to use the resources in a different way.”
Vance’s office notified Assemblyman Dan Quart and other representatives of the decision on Friday.
“Over the past several years, DA Vance has ended the criminal prosecution of tens of thousands of low-level cases and believes that summons matters are best handled by a judge or judicial hearing officer, so that limited prosecutorial resources are not expended on minor offenses,” wrote Joan Vollero, Vance’s senior adviser for intergovernmental affairs and public policy.
Activists and their advocates believed the policy was a threat to demonstrators’ First Amendment rights.