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Even though a push for a statewide law decriminalizing small amounts of marijuana has come up short, Ken Thompson said that if elected Brooklyn district attorney, he will order his prosecutors to dispose of nearly all cases involving less than 15 grams of pot. Instead, he would offer noncriminal fines. "These arrests are clogging the criminal-justice system," Mr. Thompson said in an interview.
Last year, 12,732 people were arrested in Brooklyn for possessing small amounts of marijuana, according to statistics. Mr. Thompson, a 48-year-old former federal prosecutor, defeated incumbent Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes in September's Democratic primary. Mr. Hynes, 78 years old, decided to continue running in the Nov. 5 general election as the candidate for the Republican and Conservative parties, both of which nominated him.
Mr. Thompson said the resources currently devoted to prosecuting low-level marijuana cases would be better used to address more serious crimes. He is also concerned about the racial disparity of the pot arrests and their potentially "far-reaching consequences," he said. Responding to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo's call for marijuana law changes during his State of the State address in January, the state Assembly passed a bill in June that would have essentially decriminalized possession of less than 15 grams of marijuana. Under the bill, public marijuana smoking would still be treated as a misdemeanor, a provision supported by Messrs. Thompson and Hynes.
Despite support from Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly and the city's five district attorneys, including Mr. Hynes, the bill stalled when the state Senate adjourned the legislative session without voting on the measure. "I'm going to treat possession of small amounts of marijuana as violations, the way the governor is calling for," Mr. Thompson said. "If the [state] Senate Republicans are not willing to pass that law, then I don't think the people of Brooklyn can wait."
State Sen. Martin Golden, a Brooklyn Republican who supports Mr. Hynes–and opposes the proposed changes–questioned if Mr. Thompson would have the legal authority to only charge violations. "He is not even D.A. yet and he's deciding not to uphold the legislation that's part of the state of New York's penal code?" Mr. Golden said. New York University law professor James Jacobs said the law allows a district attorney to charge a case as he or she sees fit: "They're not accountable to anybody other than the voters." The marijuana changes being sought by the governor are intended to address what critics call a loophole in existing law. In 1977, lawmakers created the possession of marijuana in the 5th degree charge, which made possession of 25 grams or less a noncriminal violation punishable by not more than a $100 fine for first-time offenders.
The law, however, allows that if the marijuana was "open to public view," then it is a misdemeanor punishable by up to three months in jail and a $250 fine. From 1977 until 1993, the NYPD annually averaged fewer than 1,900 of these arrests, according to state statistics. However, under Mayor Rudolph Giuliani's "zero-tolerance" policing approach, arrests for "open-view" marijuana skyrocketed to an average of just under 40,000 a year, a rate that has held steady during the Bloomberg administration.
Civil-rights and marijuana-advocacy groups have complained that most of these arrests have been caused by trickery–officers ordering people to take the pot out of their pockets, then arresting them for the "public-view" misdemeanor offense instead of writing a ticket. In September 2011, Mr. Kelly issued a department-wide memo, reminding officers not to arrest "an individual who is requested or compelled to engage in the behavior that results in the public display of marijuana." In 2012, the number of small-amount pot arrests fell by more than 22%.
A 2013 study by the New York Civil Liberties Union found blacks in Brooklyn are nine times more likely than whites to be arrested for marijuana possession. The study also found that Brooklyn leads the country in marijuana arrests.Mr. Hynes has had a policy of offering dispositions called Adjournment in Contemplation of Dismissal, or ACDs, to first-time offenders. The cases are dismissed as long as the offender doesn't get charged with another crime within a year, an office spokeswoman said. Over the past three years, on average, about 70% of all those arrested in Brooklyn for low-level marijuana possession have had their charges dismissed.
Another 21% resulted in noncriminal fines, according to the statistics provided by the office. "In almost all cases we do treat these cases as an infraction, even less than a violation," a Brooklyn district attorney spokeswoman said. Gabriel Sayegh, the New York director for the Drug Policy Alliance, said with these low-level marijuana arrests, "the process itself becomes the punishment," including being handcuffed, booked and typically spending eight or more hours in custody.
To fight one of these cases takes, on average, 362 days and several court appearances before a disposition is reached. To avoid that, many accept ACDs even though the marijuana wasn't displayed publicly, Mr. Sayegh said. These arrests can cause people "very serious long-term, if not lifelong, consequences" when it comes to employment, college and even bank loans, he added. Mr. Savegh says more marijuana-law changes are needed, but "if Thompson follows through on this, that would be a big first step."
News Hawk - The General @ 420 MAGAZINE ®
Source: Wsj.com
Author: Sean Gardiner
Contact: Customercenter.wsj.com
Website: In Brooklyn, Move to Alter Policy on Pot - WSJ.com
Last year, 12,732 people were arrested in Brooklyn for possessing small amounts of marijuana, according to statistics. Mr. Thompson, a 48-year-old former federal prosecutor, defeated incumbent Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes in September's Democratic primary. Mr. Hynes, 78 years old, decided to continue running in the Nov. 5 general election as the candidate for the Republican and Conservative parties, both of which nominated him.
Mr. Thompson said the resources currently devoted to prosecuting low-level marijuana cases would be better used to address more serious crimes. He is also concerned about the racial disparity of the pot arrests and their potentially "far-reaching consequences," he said. Responding to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo's call for marijuana law changes during his State of the State address in January, the state Assembly passed a bill in June that would have essentially decriminalized possession of less than 15 grams of marijuana. Under the bill, public marijuana smoking would still be treated as a misdemeanor, a provision supported by Messrs. Thompson and Hynes.
Despite support from Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly and the city's five district attorneys, including Mr. Hynes, the bill stalled when the state Senate adjourned the legislative session without voting on the measure. "I'm going to treat possession of small amounts of marijuana as violations, the way the governor is calling for," Mr. Thompson said. "If the [state] Senate Republicans are not willing to pass that law, then I don't think the people of Brooklyn can wait."
State Sen. Martin Golden, a Brooklyn Republican who supports Mr. Hynes–and opposes the proposed changes–questioned if Mr. Thompson would have the legal authority to only charge violations. "He is not even D.A. yet and he's deciding not to uphold the legislation that's part of the state of New York's penal code?" Mr. Golden said. New York University law professor James Jacobs said the law allows a district attorney to charge a case as he or she sees fit: "They're not accountable to anybody other than the voters." The marijuana changes being sought by the governor are intended to address what critics call a loophole in existing law. In 1977, lawmakers created the possession of marijuana in the 5th degree charge, which made possession of 25 grams or less a noncriminal violation punishable by not more than a $100 fine for first-time offenders.
The law, however, allows that if the marijuana was "open to public view," then it is a misdemeanor punishable by up to three months in jail and a $250 fine. From 1977 until 1993, the NYPD annually averaged fewer than 1,900 of these arrests, according to state statistics. However, under Mayor Rudolph Giuliani's "zero-tolerance" policing approach, arrests for "open-view" marijuana skyrocketed to an average of just under 40,000 a year, a rate that has held steady during the Bloomberg administration.
Civil-rights and marijuana-advocacy groups have complained that most of these arrests have been caused by trickery–officers ordering people to take the pot out of their pockets, then arresting them for the "public-view" misdemeanor offense instead of writing a ticket. In September 2011, Mr. Kelly issued a department-wide memo, reminding officers not to arrest "an individual who is requested or compelled to engage in the behavior that results in the public display of marijuana." In 2012, the number of small-amount pot arrests fell by more than 22%.
A 2013 study by the New York Civil Liberties Union found blacks in Brooklyn are nine times more likely than whites to be arrested for marijuana possession. The study also found that Brooklyn leads the country in marijuana arrests.Mr. Hynes has had a policy of offering dispositions called Adjournment in Contemplation of Dismissal, or ACDs, to first-time offenders. The cases are dismissed as long as the offender doesn't get charged with another crime within a year, an office spokeswoman said. Over the past three years, on average, about 70% of all those arrested in Brooklyn for low-level marijuana possession have had their charges dismissed.
Another 21% resulted in noncriminal fines, according to the statistics provided by the office. "In almost all cases we do treat these cases as an infraction, even less than a violation," a Brooklyn district attorney spokeswoman said. Gabriel Sayegh, the New York director for the Drug Policy Alliance, said with these low-level marijuana arrests, "the process itself becomes the punishment," including being handcuffed, booked and typically spending eight or more hours in custody.
To fight one of these cases takes, on average, 362 days and several court appearances before a disposition is reached. To avoid that, many accept ACDs even though the marijuana wasn't displayed publicly, Mr. Sayegh said. These arrests can cause people "very serious long-term, if not lifelong, consequences" when it comes to employment, college and even bank loans, he added. Mr. Savegh says more marijuana-law changes are needed, but "if Thompson follows through on this, that would be a big first step."
News Hawk - The General @ 420 MAGAZINE ®
Source: Wsj.com
Author: Sean Gardiner
Contact: Customercenter.wsj.com
Website: In Brooklyn, Move to Alter Policy on Pot - WSJ.com
