Judge fines NYC over protester detentions
Quote:NEW YORK (CNN) -- A judge in Manhattan held the city of New York in contempt Thursday, saying police did not abide by his order to release more than 500 people arrested in protests this week.
The judge imposed a $1,000 fine for every person who was not released.
State Supreme Court Judge John Cataldo had initially ordered that 560 people, rounded up in demonstrations surrounding the Republican National Convention, be released or made ready for arraignment by 5 p.m. Thursday.
Later, Cataldo imposed sanctions after ruling that the city had failed to comply with his order. Cataldo rejected the city's argument that it was doing everything it could to expedite the releases. . . .
People have a constitutionally protected right to a prompt judicial determination of probable cause following a warrantless arrest.
The Fourth Amendment requires a judicial determination of probable cause as a prerequisite to extended restraint of liberty following arrest.
Gerstein v. Pugh, 420 U.S. 103, 114 (1975).
"[T]his determination must be made by a judicial officer either before or promptly after arrest."
Id. at 125.
"[A] jurisdiction that provides judicial determinations of probable cause
within 48 hours of arrest will, as a general matter, comply with the promptness requirement of
Gerstein."
County of Riverside v. McLaughlin, 500 U.S. 44, 56 (1991).
"Where an arrested individual does not receive a probable cause determination within 48 hours, the calculus changes. In such a case, the arrested individual does not bear the burden of proving an unreasonable delay. Rather, the burden shifts to the government to demonstrate the existence of a bona fide emergency or other extraordinary circumstance."
Id. at 57.
The NYC guidelines require that anyone arrested for a minor violation during the convention be released or arraigned within 24 hours.
A contempt fine $1000 per person for over 500 persons unlawfully restrained exceeds a half million dollars. ($1000 X 560 persons = $560,000.) That's a LOT of money! Do you think NYC will succeed in getting the contempt order overturned?
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