HuffPost Live: Report Highlights Marijuana Enforcement’s Costs
Bronx Defenders Fundamental Fairness Project Director Scott Levy appeared on HuffPost Live, hosted by Josh Zepps, earlier today together with Alberto Willmore, a New York teacher who lost his position after a marijuana arrest, to discuss the costs of marijuana arrests in New York City and The Bronx Defenders’ new report “The Hidden Tax: Economic Costs…
New York Post: Mayor pushes mail-in policy for marijuana fines
Mayor de Blasio wants to include ethnic and racial data on the NYPD’s new marijuana summonses — and allow people to pay fines by mail. The convenience would be similar to a system already in place for drivers who can get rid of parking tickets with a check and a stamp. “That’s a choice that…
Brooklyn Independent Media: Pot Arrest Policy
“The much larger issue is racial disparity in arrests: Citywide 86% of the people being arrested [for marijuana possession] are black and latino.” – Scott Levy, The Bronx Defenders The Bronx Defenders Fundamental Fairness Project Director Scott Levy, together with Gabriel Sayegh of the Drug Policy Alliance and Shapriece Townsend of Vocal NY discuss…
The Bronx Defenders’ Scott Levy on Hot 97’s Street Soldiers with Lisa Evers Discussing the NYPD’s New Marijuana Policy
Scott Levy, Project Director of The Fundamental Fairness Project at The Bronx Defenders, took part in a dynamic conversation surrounding the NYPD’s new marijuana policy on “Hot 97 Street Soldiers with Lisa Evers.” The radio program brought together drug policy experts, legal experts, law enforcement officials, and individuals with previous criminal justice involvement to discuss and debate…
NY1 Noticias: La Policía de Bill de Blasio y las minorías de Nueva York
La posesión de pequeñas cantidades de marihuana ya no desembocará en arresto, sino en multa o citación judicial. El concejal de Brooklyn y Queens Antonio Reynoso, Priscilla González, de Comunidades Unidas por una Reforma Policial y Walter Rodríguez, de Bronx Defenders, analizan las políticas policiales del alcalde Bill de Blasio y las relaciones entre la…
New York Daily News: Robin’s Steinberg’s Op-Ed – The wrong way to reform NYC’s pot policing policy
Read our Executive Director Robin Steinberg’s op-ed on New York City’s new marijuana enforcement policy in New York Daily News: New York City cannot solve the problem of discriminatory and overly-harsh marijuana policing by cramming more people into the overburdened summons court system. This week, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced a new policy aimed at…
New York Times: Shift on Marijuana Policy Was a Long Time Coming, and Too Late for One Man
Anthony Welfare closely followed this week’s news that New York City no longer will bring criminal charges against people who are seen with small amounts of marijuana, as long as they are not smoking it in public. “I find that funny,” Mr. Welfare, 28, said. But not hah-hah funny. Not LOL funny. After seven years…
The Bronx Defenders Announces the Release of “A Marijuana Arrest” on BuzzFeed
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE December 9, 2013 Contact: Molly Kovel, The Bronx Defenders, (718) 508-3421 The Bronx Defenders Announces the Release of “A Marijuana Arrest” on BuzzFeed “A Marijuana Arrest” is a short film collaboration between filmmakers Julie Dressner and Jesse Hicks and advocates from The Bronx Defenders. Bronx, NY – The Bronx Defenders announces BuzzFeed’s…
Buzzfeed: How A Small-Time Marijuana Arrest Has Devastated A Great Teacher’s Life
Watch Bronx Defenders Attorneys Phil Hamilton, Molly Kovel and Scott Levy interviewed in a Buzzfeed documentary regarding their representation of client Alberto Willmore.
New York Times: A Marijuana Stash That Carried Little Risk
LAST year, the Bronx Defenders, which represents poor people in criminal court, tried to have suppression hearings in 54 cases involving marijuana possession. In such hearings, the police officer would have been required to testify about the circumstances under which the marijuana was found. If it was the result of an illegal search, the judge…
MSNBC: Rethinking the ‘war on drugs’
Monday saw two major legal developments in the so-called “war on drugs.” First, a judge in New York City ruled that the police department’s stop-and-frisk policy violated the Constitution in targeting a disproportionate number of blacks and Hispanics. Then, Attorney General Eric Holder announced the end of mandatory federal prison sentences for low-level, non-violent drug…
Robin Steinberg Responds to New York Times Article “Bronx Courts Trim Big Backlog, With Outside Judge at the Helm”
In his July 29, 2013 article, Ray Rivera suggests that Justice DiMango’s “blockbuster part” has provided meaningful relief for the backlog of cases in the Bronx criminal courts. Nothing could be further from the truth. While the judge’s efforts may have closed a handful of cases, focusing on felony trials alone misses the larger and…
Federal Suit Claims Police Manufacture Misdemeanors
Today, Emery Celli Brinckerhoff & Abady, LLC and The Bronx Defenders filed a civil rights lawsuit in federal court on behalf of five Bronx residents, charging the New York City Police Department (“NYPD”) with targeting Black and Latino communities for marijuana arrests and “manufacturing” misdemeanor crimes against residents in order to meet departmental quotas. All…
ABA Journal: Stop-and-frisk project reaches ‘appalling’ conclusion: No right to misdemeanor trial in Bronx, NY
A special Bronx Defenders project—in which a Wall Street law firm was lined up to help those accused of misdemeanors after arrests resulting from questionable stop-and-frisk tactics by police—has reached a grim conclusion. Contrary to what the U.S. Constitution and New York state law requires, there is effectively no right to trial or meaningful court…
ThinkProgress: How Bronx Prosecutors Avert Any Challenge To Marijuana Stop-And-Frisk Arrests
In New York City, marijuana is the most common reason for arrest, even though only possession of marijuana in public view is a crime. A dramatic spike in these arrests has accompanied the rise of the New York Police Department’s controversial stop and frisk tactic, and an equally controversial reported tactic of considering the marijuana…
No Day in Court – a New Report by The Bronx Defenders
The report, No Day in Court, finds that manufactured marijuana arrests, prosecutorial delay, and an overwhelmed court system all conspire against justice in the Bronx. New York – Today, The Bronx Defenders released a report that shows that people who are unconstitutionally arrested for marijuana possession every year are consistently denied meaningful access to justice in…
New York Times: Federal Suit Claims Police Distort Marijuana Searches to Create Misdemeanors
One man was walking home with groceries. Another was on a break from his job at a meat market. A third was walking down the street listening to headphones. That is when the men say police officers confronted them, sometimes violently, searched their clothing and discovered small amounts of marijuana, according to a federal civil…
New York Times: Waiting and Waiting…for Justice
LATE in the summer of 2011, police officers in New York City arrested a full-time college student named Luis in the lobby of his apartment building in the Bronx and charged him with two misdemeanor offenses, obstructing governmental administration and resisting arrest. Luis, though, wasn’t guilty of either — a fact supported by a video…
New York Times: In Misdemeanor Cases, Long Waits for Elusive Trials
Francisco Zapata keeps a copy of the Constitution on his cellphone. So when the police stopped, frisked and charged him with misdemeanor marijuana possession, he wanted what that cellphone document promised. “I was under the assumption,” he said, “that if I kept going back to court, eventually I would get my day in court.” But…
Kate Rubin provides testimony to NYC Council on Community Safety Act
Written Comments of The Bronx Defenders, Submitted to New York City Council Committee on Public Safety Presented by Kate Rubin October 12, 2012 Written CSA Testimony_BxD_Final
The Guardian: New York mayor and NYPD back marijuana decriminalisation proposal
New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg and NYPD commissioner Ray Kelly have backed legislation proposed by governor Andrew Cuomo that would reduce the penalty for possessing small amounts of marijuana in public view from a crime to a misdemeanor. Cuomo’s proposal is an attempt to reduce the number of people exposed to a criminal charge…
New York Daily News: New study by Bronx public defenders claims NYPD cops made hundreds of unlawful marijuana arrests
Bronx Defenders says 41% of those arrested for pot had their rights violated. In New York, possession of a small amount of marijuana is only a misdemeanor when the pot is displayed in public. When the substance is concealed, it becomes a violation punishable by a fine – even when an officer pulls the pot…
The New York Times: Examining Marijuana Arrests
The New York State Legislature showed good sense when it exempted people convicted of low-level marijuana possession from having to submit DNA to the state database, unless they have been convicted of a previous crime. Still, the state must do more to curb the arrests of tens of thousands of people each year in New…
The Guardian: New York police officers defy order to cut marijuana arrests
Police officers in New York are “manufacturing” criminal offenses by forcing people with small amounts of marijuana to reveal their drugs, according to a survey by public defenders. Nearly half of New Yorkers picked up for small amounts of marijuana possession in recent months were not displaying the drug before they were stopped, the study…
WNYC: Data Shows Percentage of Wrongful Marijuana Arrests Rose After Kelly’s Order: Bronx Public Defenders
Data Shows Percentage of Wrongful Marijuana Arrests Rose After Kelly’s Order: Bronx Public Defenders WNYC By Ailsa Chang March 29, 2012 Public defenders in the Bronx said more than 40 percent of the marijuana arrests they investigated in their borough between May and October 2011 show violations of constitutional rights and problems with…
AlterNet: Hypocritical NYPD Continues Racist Pot Arrest Crusade
Despite a well-publicized police order instructing officers not to use bogus pretexts to justify marijuana arrests, New York City remains the pot-bust capital of the United States. Preliminary figures released in late November indicated a slight decline in arrests for misdemeanor possession of marijuana in the two months since Police Commissioner Ray Kelly told police…
WNYC: Marijuana Arrests Dip After NYPD Order, But Allegations of Improper Arrests Continue
Marijuana arrests in New York City are still high, but slowing down slightly. Police officers made 13 percent fewer arrests for low-level marijuana possession in public view after Police Commissioner Ray Kelly issued an order forbidding officers to arrest people for marijuana found in people’s clothes. But the dip in marijuana arrests hasn’t stopped allegations…
WNYC: Alleged Illegal Searches By NYPD Rarely Challenged in Marijuana Cases
[This is the second part of a two-part series. Read the first part here.] Illegal searches are more common than people realize, but few end up getting challenged in court, law enforcement officials and defense attorneys say. Checks and balances within the criminal justice system are intended to ferret out improper arrests, but many defendants and…
WNYC: Alleged Illegal Searches by NYPD May Be Increasing Marijuana Arrests
Police arrest 140 people every day in New York City for possessing small amounts of marijuana. It’s now by far the most common misdemeanor charge in the city, and thousands of these arrests take place when police stop-and-frisk young men in the poorest neighborhoods. While police say these stop-and-frisks are a way to find guns,…