By: Jared Evan
Mayor de Blasio recently blamed the slow-moving courts for New York’s spike in crime, meanwhile the NY Courts are blaming slow moving lawyers.
The mayor claimed the city’s courts were moving too slow when it comes to moving along non-gun violence cases through.
De Blasio pointed out that the courts delivered 18 trial verdicts in the first six months of 2021; by comparison, more than 400 were tried in the first half of 2019.
The lack of action on these cases, de Blasio said, allows suspects to evade justice on technicalities and walk the streets to commit more crimes.
A spokesperson for the New York State Unified Court System suggested de Blasio is off base — and pointed the finger of blame at prosecutors and defense attorneys for not being swiftly prepared, AmNY reported.
AmNY reported: Lucian Chalfen, a spokesperson for the Unified Court System, issued a scathing rebuttal moments after de Blasio’s remarks, accusing the mayor of “gaslighting” the public and failing to comprehend the system’s operations.
“Yet again, the mayor demonstrates his glaring lack of understanding of the criminal justice process in this state. His gaslighting rhetoric regarding court operations in an attempt to shift the public safety discussion continues,” Chalfen wrote.
The spokesperson stated that the courts have been back at full strength since May, but that the reduced number of trials were the result of attorneys not being quickly prepared to handle them.
“Trials are being held, but for cases to be tried, you need the prosecution and defense to have their cases prepared, which isn’t occurring in s number of Counties,” Chalfen added.
De Blasio said on Monday, the local courts were not keeping up with the large number of arrests for non-gun violence offenses.
The mayor claims NYPD officials have pegged the crime spike on the slow courts as well.
“To fight violence, to fight crime, you need to address all crimes,” the mayor said at his Aug. 30 briefing. “You can’t just focus on the gun offenses. … If the court system isn’t moving, there are no consequences. It stops us from ensuring there is every tool available to fight crime.”
De Blasio is suddenly sounding tough on crime, which is fascinating considering NYC Democrats voted for Eric Adams as their mayoral choice, in a rebuke to de Blasio’s and the City Council’s “progressive” policies on crime.
The mayor went as far as to suggest that criminals are emboldened by the situation. NY’s courts
Courts across New York state reduced in-person activity at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in March and April 2020, but in early May they have lifted restrictions to allow further processing of civil and criminal cases.
