The fate of one of the most effective tactics in controlling violent crime in New York City is now in the hands of one demonstrably biased jurist.
Last Tuesday, plaintiffs in a federal lawsuit against the city’s stop-and-frisk policy chose to have the case decided solely by Manhattan Judge Shira Scheindlin — instead of by a full jury.
Yes, Scheindlin said that she would’ve preferred to have the case go to a jury.
“Either way, the judge is going to be attacked,” she noted. “It’s not a verdict of the community, and I thought that would have been helpful for a case like this.”
However, once the plaintiffs waived the right to financial redress, Scheindlin was forced to take the case; the plaintiffs say they’re not out for a financial windfall — only to prove stop-and-frisk is unconstitutional and thus end it.
Still, it’s no surprise that they opted for the judge to decide the suit.
Scheindlin’s been pretty much on their side throughout its preliminary stages.
In addition to declaring that there is “overwhelming evidence” stop-and-frisk was illegal when she certified the case for class-action status last May, Scheindlin also knocked down an expert the city brought forward to argue the policy’s merits.
Scheindlin refused to permit most of the testimony of Dennis Smith, an associate professor of public policy at NYU who’s been studying New York policing since the ’70s.
Smith wanted to argue that one reason for the low percentage of stop-and-frisks uncovering illegal guns is that its very existence acts as a deterrent.
Scheindlin found that “irrelevant” and “too speculative.”
It’s fair to ask whether New Yorkers who are alive today because of stop-and-frisk would find such observations “irrelevant.”
On Monday, there was not one violent incident reported — no shooting, stabbing or rape — for the first time in known memory.
The startling murder drop in recent years has not only continued — it’s accelerated.
New York has had 366 murders thus far in 2012 — versus 472 at this time last year. The city’s on pace to have its fewest murders since 1960.
In contrast, Chicago, with 5 million fewer people, already has 462 homicides. Second City cops do stop folks but rarely frisk them, instead filling out informational “contact cards.”
Compare the results.
The trial is set to begin in March.
City residents are right to be worried.