Justice Brendan T. Lantry of the Supreme Court dismissed felony charges against two people who were alleged to have purchased phony COVID-19 vaccination passports, sharply criticizing Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s prosecutorial discretion.
After carefully considering all of the reasons, Justice Lantry concluded that it was excessive to pursue felony charges in this particular situation. This was especially clear in light of the prosecutor’s office’s dismissal of more severe charges.
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The decision revealed a larger systemic problem that went beyond the particular case, criticizing Bragg’s office for implementing justice inconsistently.
“This Court is astonished to see the People make such an argument when the People routinely — nearly daily — move to dismiss significantly more serious counts or entire indictments in the interests of justice,” Justice Lantry made a comment, highlighting the irregularities in prosecution procedures.
“An indictment or any count thereof may be dismissed in furtherance of justice…when, even though there may be no basis for dismissal as a matter of law upon any ground specified…such dismissal is required as a matter of judicial discretion by the existence of some compelling factor, consideration, or circumstance clearly demonstrating that conviction or prosecution of the defendant upon such indictment or count would constitute or result in injustice,” the court noted.
Under the direction of Alvin Bragg, the New York County District Attorney’s Office learned that hundreds of people nationwide purchased phony COVID-19 immunization certificates. Sixteen of the more than two hundred participants were chosen to face felonies. A lower charge of misdemeanor for holding a falsified document was accepted by 14 of these customers. “J.O.” and “R.V.”, the final two defendants, were charged with purchasing fake COVID-19 vaccination certificates from Clifford.
“Clearly, Criminal Possession of a Forged Instrument in the Second Degree is not among the most serious crimes in the New York Penal Law, nor are the factual allegations against Defendants R.V. and J.O. particularly serious in nature,” the judge wrote.
The prosecution’s argument that fabricating a healthcare database—which Clifford and Barkley are accused of doing—is a grave crime was accepted by the court. Defendants J.O. and R.V., who purchased phony cards due to personal circumstances that lessened the severity of their conduct, received greater sympathy, nonetheless. R.V. had turned his life around following a prior conviction and was working as a vital worker during the epidemic, while J.O. was a nursing student who subsequently received the vaccination.
The court determined that although J.O. and R.V.’s activities were illegal, they did not directly hurt anybody, despite Clifford and Barkley’s conduct posing hazards to public health and requiring large expenditures to rectify. The court weighed the evidence against each defendant as well as the larger social consequences, and it was inclined to drop the charges against J.O. and R.V.
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The court highlighted good parts of J.O. and R.V.’s past and character, particularly their absence of prior criminal history for J.O. and their rehabilitation and contributions to society for R.V. In terms of misbehavior by law enforcement, the court could not find any justification for dismissal on these grounds. The court concluded that probation or shorter sentences would be more suitable for some offenders after considering the possible effects of sentencing and how it fits with the goals of justice.
Appropriate smack Down on Bragg.