No easy out for protest prisoners

A Manhattan judge sided with police on Thursday by denying Legal Aid lawyers’ request for the immediate release of hundreds of prisoners held in custody for days after their arrest amid George Floyd protests.

The emergency lawsuit filed Tuesday against the NYPD called for the release of 108 New Yorkers “detained illegally” in violation of New York state’s 24-hour arrest-to-arraignment requirement.

As of the Thursday afternoon hearing, the number of people arrested in Manhattan who have been waiting to see a judge in cramped cells for more than 24 hours had climbed to 202, according to an NYPD lawyer.

After lengthy arguments from Legal Aid and city lawyers — who all appeared via video — Manhattan Supreme Court Judge James Burke denied the request, saying the police processing of the cases is “a crisis within a crisis.”

Burke elaborated, saying he saw “a civil unrest crisis within the overarching Covid-19 crisis.”

“To that end, the entire Police Department has been deployed and the entire Manhattan DA’s office is, quote, all hands on deck and working to relieve the problems which we are currently addressing,” Burke said.

“It is simply a fact that virtual parts [remote hearings] slow down the pace of arraignments, including but not limited to technical issues,” Burke said. He also noted that the volume of cases before the courts and police has increased.

Burke said in this case, an exception to the 24-hour rule could be made because of the unusual circumstances.

Legal Aid Society lawyers said they’d monitor the situation and would appeal “if necessary.”

“We are also disheartened, however, because the overwhelming number of people held illegally are those accused of charges that should have resulted in their automatic release,” the society said in a statement.

“Motivations aside, the NYPD is fully responsible for the hundreds of New Yorkers who are currently languishing in cages, deprived of their due process rights and at an increased risk of contracting COVID-19.”