NEW YORK (AP) — In a single morning, courts on Wednesday threw out more than 640,000 warrants for New Yorkers ticketed for minor offenses years ago.
The move — requested by prosecutors and hailed by the mayor — marks a sweeping step in city officials’ efforts to promote what they see as a more fair and workable approach to low-level offenses. But one of the city’s five district attorneys said the dismissals sent a problematic signal about law-breaking.
Applause broke out among politicians, clergy members and others gathered in a Brooklyn courtroom after 143,532 warrants there were cleared in no longer than it took Criminal Court Judge Frederick Arriaga to say: “The court will grant the motion to dismiss each case for the furtherance of justice.”
“Someone who owes a $25 fine should not be arrested and brought down to central booking and spend 20 or 24 hours in a cell next to a hardened criminal.
That’s not fair, and that’s not justice,” acting Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said after going to court himself to make the request, as did Bronx DA Darcel Clark and Manhattan DA Cyrus R. Vance Jr. Queens DA Richard Brown’s office also participated.
But Staten Island DA Michael McMahon steered clear.
The warrants date back a decade or longer and stem from summonses for nonviolent, small-scale offenses such as littering, open-container drinking, being in a park after hours or walking an unleashed dog. The warrants were issued after recipients didn’t show up in court or pay fines.
Many people didn’t realize their warrants existed, officials said. Sometimes, people find out only when an encounter with police — after a fender-bender, for instance, or even while reporting a crime — turns into an arrest when an officer checks their ID. For others, the warrants pop up as roadblocks during applications for jobs, housing or public benefits.