From the Village Voice:If you get arrested in Queens, you might get interrogated before being arraigned or meeting with a lawyer -- a practice which the New York Civil Liberties Union has decried as "unconstitutional" and "unethical" in a legal brief filed today against the borough's District Attorney.
The NYCLU claims that Queens D.A. Richard Brown's program, in operation since 2007, unfairly targets those who are too poor to find a lawyer.
Here's what happens, according to the civil rights group: when a person is jailed because of a cop's testimony, the constitution and state law require: "that a judge quickly determine whether the arrest was valid, appoint an attorney, and determine the conditions of release so the person can return to work, home, and family pending the disposition of the criminal case."
In Queens, wealthier suspects who retain an attorney do get the green light to proceed to court for this hearing.
If you are indigent, however, you get put into a room "just next door" to the court, where a prosecutor interrogates you, the NYCLU argues.
In there, prosecutors are said to mislead suspects by implying that they "will have no other opportunity to 'tell us your story.'"
6 comments:
Jeez, why are you picking on the midget?No- not Bloomberg-Brownie!
Damn that thing happened to me exactly as it says.
I have served on both regular and grand juries in Queens and have noticed a certain rote,robotic quality to case presentation which upon reflection would seem to be consistent with what has been alleged here.I must say that it makes me somewhat reconsider some of the things which went on during those periods of service. Food for thought indeed!
With the DA's chin barely clearing the curb...he's as low down as his height!
Forget "elevator shoes".
He'd need a pair of stilts to look anyone straight in the eye.
He's lookin'real old and feeble...........time to retire.....
the entire charges should be dismissed as being unconstitutionally charged
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