Low-Level Warrants More Than 10 Years Old Vacated
Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark today announced the dismissal of nearly 160,000
summons warrants involving low-level, quality of life offenses that are 10 or more years old,
allowing thousands of Bronxites to advance their lives.
District Attorney Clark appeared today before Honorable George Grasso, Supervising
Judge of Bronx Criminal Court, in the Bronx Hall of Justice and moved to dismiss 159,394
outstanding summons warrants that were issued in the Bronx.
District Attorney Clark said, “These 159, 394 summonses are 10 years or older and are
for minor offenses such as drinking alcohol in public or riding a bicycle on a sidewalk. We
know that quality of life is important to the community, but given the ten year passage of time,
and many of these offenses are now decriminalized, these offenses no longer pose public safety
concerns that would justify jailing people.
“In addition to leading to jail, an unresolved warrant can pose obstacles to employment,
obtaining citizenship, housing or educational opportunities, and prevent people from becoming
productive members of society.
“The people who have these warrants have not been in trouble with the law for a decade
or more, and it is time that they are given the opportunity to live productive lives, free from
summonses hanging over their heads. As a result, I move to vacate and to dismiss these matters
in the interest of justice.
“After consultation with the other NYC District Attorneys, the Mayor’s Office of
Criminal Justice, The NYPD, the City Council and the Office of Court Administration, I submit
that this is simply the right thing to do.”
Judge Grasso granted the motion, saying, “I credit the Office of the District Attorney to
take the initiative … I am going to grant the motion to vacate. I dismiss each case in the
furtherance of justice.”
The warrants stem from outstanding summonses issued for minor offenses including
littering, loitering, riding a bicycle on the sidewalk, open container violations, public urination,
noise violations, being in a park after dark, various subway offenses, unlawful possession of
marijuana and disorderly conduct.
The Brooklyn, Manhattan and Queens District Attorneys also moved to dismiss open
warrants in their boroughs today, allowing for a total of 645,000 warrants to be vacated out of
the 1.5 million outstanding summons warrants.
Judge Grasso ordered that the NYPD not arrest people on these warrants and that the
court clerks not calendar them for 90 days to provide enough time to enter the voluminous
information into the court and NYPD databases.
EDITOR'S NOTE TO A-TEAM:
Charges dropped.
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