Brooklyn Daily Eagle: De Blasio, Shea blame courts for violence; Legal Aid points out courts have arraigned 19,000

“In fact, since mid-March, courts in New York City have held nearly 19,000 arraignments,” said the letter. “By executive order, these individuals’ right to have their cases presented to a grand jury if they are charged with a felony is suspended, as is their right to a speedy trial and other due process protections. Police therefore make arrests that result in a person’s incarceration or myriad other consequences as usual, and are, in effect, under no obligation to ensure that these cases stand up to the scrutiny of a grand jury…

The letter was written by a group that includes Brooklyn Defender Services, the Legal Aid Society, the Red Hook Initiative, GANGS Coalition, Black Attorneys of Legal Aid (BALA) Caucus, The Bronx Defenders, Justice Strategies, LatinoJustice PRLDEF, Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem, Police Reform Organizing Project, The Policing & Social Justice Project at Brooklyn College, and VOCAL-NY.”

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