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15 Mar, 9 tweets, 4 min read
🚨RIGHT NOW: NY is on cusp of finally legalizing marijuana. But there's a hold up. Cuomo is *insisting* cops still be able to lie about smelling an "odor" to justify racist stops & searches. Public defenders know that the "odor of marijuana" drives broken windows policing. No!
NY Judge in 2019: "The time has come to reject the canard of marijuana emanating from nearly every vehicle subject to a traffic stop. So ubiquitous is the claim, it should be subject to a heightened level of scrutiny to supply the grounds for a search.” nytimes.com/2019/09/12/nyr…
"One woman who served on a grand jury in Brooklyn recalled hearing officers in 2 separate cases claim to have 'detected a strong odor of marijuana' and use it as justification for a stop or a search. 'They said it very formulaically.'"
"Several officers said they had doubts their colleagues consistently told the truth about what they had smelled. 'Certain cops will say there is odor of marijuana, and when I get to the scene, I immediately don’t smell anything,' one Bronx officer, Pedro Serrano, said."
Also an accountability issue: Cops who lie about marijuana odor to search do not get fired even after judges find they lie. I wrote about how in one case, the *same* prosecutor relied on the same team of officers in another hearing just a few months later. nytimes.com/2019/09/25/opi…
Even though NYC claims to have stopped arresting people for possession, (a) it's not true & (b) the claimed "odor of marijuana" continues to drive racist broken windows policing. Racial disparities have only increased. Continued damage done. Saw it as a PD.
Advocates, organizers, community members, people w/ direct experience have been fighting FOR YEARS for marijuana justice. Not just decriminalization (that happened in the 1970s). Not just legalization (a flood of major marijuana business thriving while leaving communities behind)
What is Marijuana Justice? The Marijuana Regulation & Taxation Act (MRTA). Expunges criminal records. Equity in new industry. Direct resources to small-businesses. Tax revenue to communities pummeled by criminalization. Ends odor of marijuana as justification for stop and frisk.
NY has the opportunity to become a national leader in #marijuanajustice and economic justice. To do legalization right for the first time in our nation's history.

Take action: Tell @nygovcuomo, @CarlHeastie, & @AndreaSCousins to #PassTheMRTA today.p2a.co/qxx22LW

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More from @ScottHech

Scott Hechinger Profile picture
15 Mar
🚨RIGHT NOW: NY is on cusp of finally legalizing marijuana. But there's a hold up. Gov. Cuomo is *insisting* cops still get to claim an "odor" to justify racist searches. Public defenders know that the "odor of marijuana" drives broken windows policing. No!nytimes.com/2019/09/12/nyr…
NY Judge in 2019: "The time has come to reject the canard of marijuana emanating from nearly every vehicle subject to a traffic stop. So ubiquitous has the claim become that it should be subject to a heightened level of scrutiny if it is to supply the grounds for a search.”
"One woman who served on a grand jury in Brooklyn recalled hearing officers in 2 separate cases claim to have 'detected a strong odor of marijuana' and use it as justification for a stop or a search. 'They said it very formulaically.'"
Read 11 tweets
Scott Hechinger Profile picture
13 Mar
My son suddenly got this fear of having his nails clipped. So now the “toe-nail fairy” exists y’all.
To be clear: There is NO SAVING OF TOENAILS. Or putting them under a pillow. Or anything like that. The deal was: He let’s me clip, he gets a gift.
Basically most of my parenting strategy involves different fairies.
Read 5 tweets
Scott Hechinger Profile picture
11 Mar
Meet Terrence Hayes. Father. Community leader. Caged 12 years bc of a *law passed by the KKK* in Oregon. The Supreme Court struck the law down. But Oregon's AG still blocking retrials. And get this: she was his trial judge. “I watched my kids grow up from behind bars.” Thread:
The jury that convicted Terrence didn't all agree. 2 jurors thought he was innocent. “A jury of my peers is supposed to come from different backgrounds, different understandings. Those 2 jurors who clearly saw a different story—their voices were silenced.”portlandmercury.com/blogtown/2021/…
Up to 2020, Oregon was the only state that allowed non-unanimous juries. "The practice was approved by Oregon voters in 1934 following an explicitly xenophobic campaign, & a similar rule in Louisiana was enacted in the Jim Crow era to make it easier to convict Black defendants."
Read 11 tweets
Scott Hechinger Profile picture
10 Mar
THREAD: Perhaps the only positive development for Justice to come from COVID is virtual public access to the courts. Access is a public right & a public good. With access comes accountability. Now courts are trying to shut down virtual court watching. More:campaigns.organizefor.org/petitions/keep…
Back near the beginning of the pandemic, I met Qiana Johnson & Carmen Johnson. Two formerly incarcerated leaders of a local organization in Prince George's County, MD helping women coming out get back in to society. Started a courtwatch program. Carmen was the lone court watcher.
Carmen was in court. Took meticulous notes. Sent accountability letters. Churn of the system still continued. Then COVID struck. Fought to remain in the courts & were able to secure virtual access. They kept holding actors accountable. It was a lot of cases though for 1 person.
Read 11 tweets
Scott Hechinger Profile picture
5 Mar
THREAD: Watch this video. This is how cops take advantage of young people & even their parents to trick them into incriminating themselves. Cop asks “Are you willing to answer questions.” He says: “No.” So cop gets mom to ask for him. Illegal & too common:
This video was disclosed by public defenders from
@LegalAidNYC. This is the moment when the young man says "No." The cop should have stopped right there. But asks "No?" Already illegal at this point. Young man then says, "No" again. Cop doesn't give up. Follow for happens:
The cop says, "Hold on" and then walks out of the room. Leaving the young man and his mom waiting in the room. Remember: the young man has invoked his 5th Amendment right to silence. All questioning should have ceased already. The cop isn't done with them. He soon returns.
Read 10 tweets
Scott Hechinger Profile picture
3 Mar
THREAD: Andrew Cuomo wants to take a victory lap & be a "hero" again for trying to legalize marijuana in NY. But *marijuana justice is more than just legalization.* It must be done w/ equity, reinvestment, & justice to begin to undo the damage of prohibition. His proposal fails.
Marijuana criminalization has devastated Black & Brown communities. Criminal records. Broken windows. Jail & prison. Feeling imprisoned on your block. Excluded from housing. Precluded from work & education. Any plan for legalization that doesn't attempt to fully repair is wrong.
Even though NYC claims to have stopped arresting people for possession, (a) it's not true & (b) the claimed "odor of marijuana" continues to drive racist broken windows policing. Racial disparities have only increased. Continued damage done. Saw it as a PD:
Read 9 tweets

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