Advocates sue NYC police over marijuana arrests

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

Advocates sue NYC police over marijuana arrests

By Joseph Ax
NEW YORK | Fri Jun 22, 2012 6:28pm EDT

(Reuters) - A legal aid group sued the New York City Police Department on Friday, saying officers had illegally arrested thousands of people for small quantities of concealed marijuana instead of issuing them tickets as required by law.

The lawsuit by the Legal Aid Society, filed in Manhattan Supreme Court on behalf of five New Yorkers arrested in April and May, wants the court to declare such arrests unlawful and issue an injunction to stop officers from making them.

The suit marks the latest line of attack by civil rights advocates against misdemeanor marijuana arrests, which have skyrocketed in New York City in recent years, from about 2,000 a year in 1990 to more than 50,000 annually in 2010 and 2011.

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According to Friday's lawsuit, the plaintiffs were all charged earlier this year with possession of a small amount of marijuana that is "burning or open to public view." The lawsuit says the marijuana only became visible when officers either searched them or directed them to empty their pockets.

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Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/06/22/us-usa-crime-marijuana-idUSBRE85L1G920120622

[RKP5637]

1. Until more and more people stand up against this BS, the police state will

advance forward.