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Chief Judge Supports Decriminalizing Some Quality-of-Life Raps

By MARK TOOR
Posted 5/4/15

State Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman expressed support last week for City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito’s plan to remove criminal penalties for some quality-of-life summonses, though he disagreed with her on some of the details.

Ms. Mark-Viverito’s proposal is grounded in the fact that 40 percent of the people who receive summonses do not appear in court as ordered. If someone doesn’t appear, the court issues an arrest warrant. The Speaker is concerned that a conviction on an arrest warrant—unlike a simple summons—goes on a person’s record permanently, circumscribing future student-loan, employment and public-housing opportunities.

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