A Manhattan Supreme Court justice has ordered the sealing of more than 300 cannabis possession convictions; the result of a successful class action petition by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, the Legal Action Center, Community Service Society, The Legal Aid Society, New York County Defender Services, Neighborhood Defender Service, and pro bono counsel Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP.
The court was asked to seal the criminal records under New York Criminal Procedure § 160.59 which was enacted in 2017 and allows people to seal certain types of criminal records after ten years.
Legal Action Center Senior Staff Attorney Kate Wagner-Goldstein says that out of the estimated 600,000 people that are eligible to have their records sealed under the law, only 1,279, fewer than 1 percent, have done so.
She says that the successful petition is a first step.
Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance, Jr. says that there is no reason for convictions for smoking or possessing marijuana to follow New Yorkers for life.
“I was honored to work with defense providers to seal these records and remove unnecessary obstacles to employment, housing, education, and other opportunities for hundreds of New Yorkers,” said Vance in a press release. “This class action transforms New York’s complicated sealing laws by making sealing proactive, instead of requiring people who are eligible for sealing to navigate a complex application process.”
On September 12, 2018, Vance appeared before New York City Criminal Court Judge Kevin McGrath to dismiss a total of 3,042 outstanding cannabis possession and smoking cases, some of which were from as far back as 1978.
Manhattan District Attorney’s Office had previously announced on August 1, 2018, that it would no longer be prosecuting cannabis possession or smoking cases.
