640,000 NYC warrants for old summonses tossed in 1 day

But Staten Island DA Michael McMahon steered clear.

“I believe that issuing blanket amnesty for these offences is unfair to those citizens who responsibly appear in court and sends the wrong message about the importance of respecting our community and our laws,” he said in a statement, noting that he’s supported initiatives that invite people to appear in person to clear their records. All five DAs are Democrats.

The warrants date back a decade or longer and stem from summonses for nonviolent, small-scale offences 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.

They’re “law-abiding New Yorkers who committed a petty offence years ago and have not been in trouble with the law since,” Vance said in asking a court to toss more than 240,000 warrant cases. Clark said scrapping nearly 160,000 Bronx warrants was “simply the right thing to do.”

The prosecutors and Democratic Mayor Bill de Blasio also argued that arrests on such warrants tie up police time that could be better spent addressing more serious offences.

Some other U.S. cities, from Atlanta to Las Vegas, have offered people the chance to resolve certain old warrants, often by paying fines.

Jennifer Peltz, The Associated Press

by Canadian Press

640,000 NYC warrants for old summonses tossed in 1 day

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