The New York Supreme Court has determined that once arrested for a crime, you're supposed to spend no more than 24 hours before appearing before a judge.That's not the case in Brooklyn, where tight budgets have meant reduced hours for courts. Those arrested on a recent weekend waited an average of just under 31 hours. The Times reports that one construction worked who was arrested on a Friday for "tossing a lottery ticket to the ground" and refusing to show his ID, waited three days for a judge to tell him his case would be dismissed in 6 months for good behavior. "It took me three days," he said, "It was ridiculous."
Most of those who are waiting commit low-level offenses. On a recent week, 294 people in Brooklyn Criminal Court had their cases dismissed outright or were told they'd be dismissed in 6 months provided they stayed out of trouble. One Legal Aid attorney tells the paper, "A lot of these people should never even spend an hour in central booking." Citywide, the wait to see a judge on a weekend was a little over 26 hours. The mayor's criminal justice coordinator, John Feinblatt, criticized the courts' decision to reduce hours: "People shouldn't be spending two or three days in jail. It's not working." A spokesman for the Office of Court Administration agrees, and told the paper, "We recognize that it was certainly not acceptable to continue on the current path," and promised to add hours to the court's depleted schedule.
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