first let me say how glad I am to find you all -Sat night my 16 yr old son got busted for smoking a joint in Central Park(NYC).His 1st offense,no prior warnings,nothing on him but the lit joint,school ID,metro card,cell phone & $18- The cops followed him and his friend driving the wrong way down the road that runs thru CP,(only 1 road in,1 out as it's all pedestrian otherwise) They kept an eye on him as he walked in and out of the park because he saw them too. After he thought they were gone he lit the joint and they swung the car up behind him,got out and did the whole,"up against the car" nonsense,frisked him,cuffed him and took him in to the precinct where they booked him and arrested him. My kid spent the night in jail and will be arraigned on 02/08 in NY criminal court. This is a TRAVESTY! The entire night at the station he was the only arrest- The cops sat around eating take-out and watching the Jet game- There were roughly 15 on duty NYPD cops doing jack shit on a Sat night in NYC on taxpayer's dollars. I am FURIOUS. The resources will be further squandered when they tie up the court and he will miss humanities class on that monday morning because he'll be in court. He was celebrating Sat night with a buddy because he won his debate tournament- does a kid who gets up on at Sat morning at 6:30 am and chooses to spend 8 hours debating policy,(and winning) seem like someone the NYPD should be arresting? I know there's not much I can do about this now and will obviously show up at the arraignment but I'm curious if we should hire a lawyer or not.This is 1st offense, he's 16 and had a tiny little joint(lit) on him. After this is done I will fight until this precinct is either closed or the staff cut to a minimum and I've already written to Mayor Bloomberg,Rep Maloney,Councilman Groadnick and borough president Scott Stringer telling them how outrageous this whole thing is and that I want answers as to why there's a police station filled with cops doing nothing in the middle of CP. By the way, I've given him and his 14 year old sister permission to smoke at home from now on because I dont want this happening again and pot needs to be legal and I wish I still liked it because I'd do it with them if I did.Any advice appreciated. Thanks you guys, Best, Lisa
Yes it is BS. Yes it is a travesty. Yes it is business as usual. And absolutely yes, you need to hire an attorney. I am in Indiana and am certainly no legal expert other than my own bad experiences with the legal (NOT justice) system. Get an attorney and hopefully as a first offense he can arrange a deferrment or alternative sentencing of some sort. I can't even fake surprise that a bunch of public servants were sitting around doing nothing. That is what they do best....waste our money. Good luck to your son. 
Lisa first off do not tell anyone that you'd like to smoke with your kids or that you let them smoke !! If child welfare got wind of that you could lose your kids !!!! Do what you want it makes good sense to me but don't let anyone else hear that it could be serious !!. As far as the cops in NYC go half of them are probably selling drugs too, but that wont help you or your son and daughter. Do write letters the newspaper the village voice etc, also let your local news station hear from you as well, sounds like you have a couple of great kids so don't let the this minor mishap put them in any danger do ask for a public defender to maybe answer a few questions about the sevarity of the ticket . Good Luck and God bless you and your kids
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Thanks so much for your wise advice- I can't BELIEVE this is serious enough to need counsel but, I'll take both of your advice and find someone who understands the stupid NYC pot laws.You're right, I need to keep my mouth shut about how I want to raise my own kids in my own house because we live in a damn police state- I have spent a lifetime blasting my big opinionated mouth off to my detriment. I will do whatever needs doing to get him out of trouble and once this is behind us we will expose these jackass cops in a big loud way. I'll let you guys know how it goes. again, my sincere gratitude and sweet sleep to you all. xox Lisa
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btw, if anyone knows a good attorney for this kind of thing in NYC I'd love a refferal-My husband's a lawyer but not a criminal one and I don't think that's a good idea-He does contract/realestate and knows nothing about drug laws-He also feels rather differntly than I about this whole thing...of course!Thanks...
I don't believe any thinking person could feign surprise that cops are worthless jackasses. By all means, write letters to editors, politicians and chiefs. Just don't be surprised when it elicits no meaningful response.
Get the best criminal attorney you can afford. Do NOT trust your son's future to a public defender. PD's are more worthless than cop's. If they were any good as attorneys, they wouldn't work for peanuts as PD's.
Get the best criminal attorney you can afford. Do NOT trust your son's future to a public defender. PD's are more worthless than cop's. If they were any good as attorneys, they wouldn't work for peanuts as PD's.
Skateboard C
New Member
Its the cops its the story of every station when i was arrested it took 12 hours to process me out and when i got out i saw like 30 cops not doin shit but laughin and watchin tv legalized gang i tell u with shit better to do
Wingman420
Commercial Cultivator
Lisa first off do not tell anyone that you'd like to smoke with your kids or that you let them smoke !! If child welfare got wind of that you could lose your kids !!!!..... . Good Luck and God bless you and your kids
Thanks ol hippy thats great advice! +Rep
LisaB pay attention to that, it is solid advice! While I am a single parent caring for my four children it is a mess when State Agencies (Police, CPS Child Protective Services, Judiciary etc) become involved, and can be extremely detrimental to your child. While it sounds and seems as though you love and adore your children these State employees do not and are only trying to get their time in for a State Pension and could do your children real harm if they were placed in the system meant to protect them. As for Court and lawyers do not do anything yet go to court and at Arraignment plead "Not Guilty" this is your right and the State HAS to prove your guilt beyond a reasonable doubt so the burden is on them not you. The judge will ask if you can afford or have a lawyer say NO we are going "Pro Se" meaning you represent yourself and then ask the prosecutor or policeman in the courtroom (when on break) what their recommendation will be all the while calmly advising them of your strict punishment already handed down to the boy i.e. grounded, no phone, PC, bikes, cars, etc and he had to do whatever chores assigned him, thanking the police for stopping a problem before it began and how grateful you are, but what are they to recommend to the Court as he is on the debate team goes to PS #__ ?? or Private school ____?? and is doing well. DO NOT LIE you will get caught with education records. At this point they should offer "NFT:No Further Trouble case dismissed or dismissed with $250 fine or both but do not take probation as this is a record however juvenile this is how it all begins. The State of NY should drop the charges if you demonstrate a reason. If you determine you need an attorney because of the police's determination to scew your son further retain one, the case will only cost about $500 (atty fees) and will teach him whats what.
It s indeed a shame that with all the crime in Manhattan and NYC they arrest your son for simple posession while Mayors, Senators and Congressman all run arounf saying "Nobody gets arrested in our state for a joint or having a small personal amount of Marijuana." I always believed this to be Bull**** and after reading your story and others like it we all need to write our elected officials and contact NORML to see if we change these foolish draconian Laws and practices.
