CLEAN LIVING: Criminal Court Judge Abena Darkeh in September cleared low-level pot convictions at an event
hosted by District Attorney Eric Gonzalez, who is hosting a similar session in Flatbush on Dec. 15.
File photo by Michael Simpson
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BY COLIN MIXSON
Many Kings County stoners
with misdemeanor pot convictions
can clear their criminal
records at a free event that
Brooklyn’s top prosecutor is
hosting on Dec. 15 in in Flatbush.
The upcoming amnesty session,
which followed a similar
event in Bedford-Stuyvesant
on Tuesday, will be staffed by
defense attorneys available
to counsel convicts with lowlevel
pot-possession charges,
and fi ll out legal documents
on their behalf, which District
Attorney Eric Gonzalez’s offi
ce will then review, before
prosecutors head to court
and request the judge vacate
their convictions.
The two events follow a
similar September session
where Gonzalez used his authority
to clear misdemeanor
pot charges, and come amid
his ongoing effort to overrule
state weed laws by refusing
to prosecute most marijuanapossession
and public-smoking
arrests, claiming they disproportionately
affect black
and Hispanic men.
Low-level weed charges
can seriously affect a person’s
life, complicating one’s ability
to secure loans, obtain work,
lease a residence, and even
keep custody of their children,
according to a top legal eagle
at Brooklyn Defender Services,
which, along with the
Legal Aid Society, partnered
with Gonzalez for the amnesty
events.
“Anyone who has a conviction
for marijuana should
come to one of the clinics and
get legal advice about their
eligibility to have that conviction
removed,” said Lisa
Schreibersdorf. “These convictions
have a wide-reaching
impact on many people.”
The consultations at the
forthcoming event are relatively
quick considering their
end result of a clean record, according
to Gonzalez’s spokesman
Oren Yaniv, who said
most people won’t spend more
than 15 minutes with a lawyer
before they’re good to go. Participants
are also free to waive
their right to appear in court,
leaving it up to prosecutors to
advocate on their behalf, Yaniv
said.
The record cleaning does
not extend to all stoners, however
— people convicted of
smoking while driving, as
well as anyone convicted of a
sex offense or certain violent
felonies can not submit motions
under the new policy.
Get your record cleared
at SUNY Downstate Medical
Center 450 Clarkson Ave. between
New York Avenue and
E. 37th Street in Flatbush,
(718) 270-1000 on Dec. 15, from
10 am to noon.
Weeding
them out
DA clearing low-level marijuana
convictions at upcoming event
■
Brooklyn’s Premier Entertainment Guide