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Last year, with much fanfare, @BrooklynDA announced his office would expunge the criminal records of people with convictions for possession of small amounts of marijuana.
20,000 people would be eligible to have their convictions vacated.
abc7ny.com/politics/brook…
20,000 people would be eligible to have their convictions vacated.
abc7ny.com/politics/brook…
At the time of the announcement, many suggested the program announced by his office was not workable b/c it required people with a conviction to apply for relief, submit a motion, for his office to sign off & then go before a judge for final approval.
As late as the end of last year, @BrooklynDA continued to promote the program as a success. Meanwhile, just over 2 dozen people had had their convictions vacated, which the mainstream media did not immediately catch on to. nydailynews.com/new-york/ny-me…
This was because at the same time, @BrooklynDA was dismissing warrants for open marijuana possession cases (that is where the 1,400 figure came from).
What the media also didn't catch on to, and as public defenders we felt we were screaming into the wind about, was that at the same time as he was dismissing open cases, @BrooklynDA was continuing to prosecute new cases.
So now, finally, 2 days ago, @BrooklynDA has admitted his expungement program was a dismal failure, in a short letter to @nytimes.
IT DIDN'T WORK.
And unlike the massive media coverage the announcement garnered, this seems to have gotten none.
IT DIDN'T WORK.
And unlike the massive media coverage the announcement garnered, this seems to have gotten none.
But, get this, he blames it on the state legislature and he ignores the fact that people told him his plan wouldn't work from the beginning.
And he also ignores the fact that other DA's offices, for instance in San Francisco, have set up automatic marijuana expungement programs that do work.
When it comes to its marijuana policies, the Brooklyn DA's is office always and completely smoke and mirrors.
