Pubdate: Wed, 09 Jul 2014
Source: New York Times (NY)
Copyright: 2014 The New York Times Company
Website: http://www.nytimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/298
Authors: Stephanie Clifford and Joseph Goldstein

BROOKLYN PROSECUTOR LIMITS WHEN HE'LL TARGET MARIJUANA

After months of resistance from the New York Police Department, the
Brooklyn district attorney's office announced on Tuesday that it would
immediately carry out its plan to stop prosecuting most low-level
marijuana cases.

The policy was proposed in a draft confidential memorandum in April,
but was delayed as prosecutors and police officials tried to iron out
their differences in meetings and phone calls.

The policy described in a memo dated Tuesday still offers plenty of
exceptions: Only those with no criminal records, or minimal ones,
qualify, and the cases of people caught smoking in public spaces - and
especially around children - will not automatically be thrown out.

The district attorney, Kenneth P. Thompson, said in the memo that the
policy was set up to keep nonviolent people, "and especially young
people of color," out of the criminal justice system; an open case,
Mr. Thompson wrote, can lead to problems with jobs, housing and school
for defendants.

The policy became an early criminal justice policy test for Mayor Bill
de Blasio, a fellow Democrat who had criticized police arrest
practices over marijuana in terms similar to Mr. Thompson's. But in
negotiating the policy, the mayor seemed to defer to his police
commissioner, William J. Bratton, a proponent of the "broken-windows"
approach to policing that holds that stopping lower-level crimes leads
to stopping major crimes.

The policy places the Police Department in what its officials say is a
difficult position: There will be one set of enforcement rules in
Brooklyn, and another in the four other boroughs.

In response to the policy, Commissioner Bratton released a statement
saying that he understood that Mr. Thompson had the prerogative to
decline to prosecute any criminal offense in Brooklyn.

"However, in order to be effective, our police officers must enforce
the laws of the State of New York uniformly throughout all five
boroughs of the city," Mr. Bratton said. "Accordingly, the Kings
County policy change will not result in any changes in the policies
and procedures of the N.Y.P.D."

Over the past 15 years, marijuana arrests in New York have soared,
partly because a rising number of stop-and-frisk encounters led to
searches of people's pockets.

There were 8,150 cases in Brooklyn in which the top count was a minor
marijuana possession charge in the year ending June 30, according to
the memo on Tuesday. Marijuana arrests have decreased during the first
six months of this year, compared with the same period in 2013.

The police were initially wary that the policy was a blanket one,
covering every arrest, but the Police Department was mollified when it
became clear that there would be a "case-by-case" review, according to
a person involved in the negotiations.

Another specific concern was whether Mr. Thompson's office would
prosecute members of crews on marijuana-related arrests. Such arrests
can be used by the police as part of its larger antigang strategy in
specific precincts, and department officials want to preserve that
option, the person said.

Police officials also pushed for the ability to make cases on someone
smoking or holding lighted marijuana, which they said was a
public-safety issue, particularly if the person was somewhere like a
playground, a law enforcement official said.

The district attorney's office agreed to add language in its policy
that the office may prosecute a defendant charged with smoking or
holding lighted marijuana in a public place. Continue reading the main
story

Whether they are smoking or holding marijuana, 16- and 17-year-olds
will be routed through a diversion program so they "may be
successfully redirected onto a healthier path," the memo reads.

Under the new policy, those arrested for marijuana-related offenses in
Brooklyn will still be taken to the precinct station house, and then
be sent to central booking, where they would await the next day's
in-court arraignment in a holding cell. Or, the police may give the
offender a desk appearance ticket for court on a given date. Continue
reading the main story

If the district attorney decides not to prosecute, and the person is
in the system, the office will tell the police to free the person. If
the person has received a desk appearance ticket, and the district
attorney decides not to prosecute, the office will send a letter
telling the person that the case will not be prosecuted and that there
is no need for a court appearance. In both instances, the offender's
fingerprints will be destroyed.

The policy covers possession of marijuana in the fifth degree, a
misdemeanor for either holding or burning marijuana in the open, or
possessing up to two ounces of marijuana; and unlawful possession of
marijuana, which is a violation.

The wording in the memorandum seems to reflect the political nature of
the negotiations; in one passage, which was not part of the draft
memo, the district attorney pays homage to the police.

"The policy does not undermine the authority of the police to enforce
the law," the memo read. "This office respects the officers of the New
York City Police Department."

"We recognize that the possession of marijuana is illegal in this
state, and that the police, when acting in a constitutional manner,
have authority to arrest offenders who break the law."

However, prosecutors believe the new policy will result in a better
use of the office's resources, and be more cost-effective.

But the primary reason for the new policy, the memo continues, is
because the district attorney has a duty to reform and improve the
administration of justice, not merely to convict.

In the majority of low-level marijuana possession cases, Mr. Thompson
wrote, "obtaining a conviction against the defendant does not advance
public safety with fairness and justice, and, indeed, might well
sabotage that goal."
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