In a shocking blow to Bill de Blasio and the critics of the mayor’s stance on Stop-and-Frisk, the Federal appeals court blocked Judge Shira Scheindlin’s previous ruling on stop-and-frisk and removed her from the case.
Keeping it short, Democratic mayoral nominee Bill de Blasio released the following statement:
“I’m extremely disappointed in today’s decision. We shouldn’t have to wait for reforms that both keep our communities safe and obey the Constitution. We have to end the overuse of stop and frisk–and any delay only means a continued and unnecessary rift between our police and the people they protect.”
His Republican opponent, Joe Lhota, saw the Court’s ruling as a reason for celebration, in the last stretch before Election Day.
“Bravo! As I have said all along, Judge Scheindlin’s biased conduct corrupted the case and her decision was not based on the facts,” said Mr. Lhota in a statement. “The ruling by the nation’s second highest court was an unprecedented rejection of both the result of the case and the manner with which it was achieved. From Day One, I have stood with Mayor Bloomberg and Commissioner Kelly in support of these proactive policies that have saved countless lives. The court has vindicated our positions.”
“The only thing more dangerous than Judge Scheindlin’s behavior is Bill de Blasio’s naïve public safety approach,” he charged his opponent. “He has embraced the judge’s actions and has been the public face of unwarranted attacks on our police and the policies that have had a chilling effect on the NYPD. As I have said repeatedly, his policies will make us less safe. We need a mayor who will stand up for proper police practices, not one who will cave to political correctness.”This was a critical first step toward uncuffing the NYPD, but we cannot stop here. The next mayor absolutely must continue this appeal. New Yorkers need to know when they go into the voting booth on Tuesday that a vote for me is a vote for a safe city.”
(Jacob Kornbluh – YWN)
Join the official YWN WhatsApp status
3 Responses
Don’t celebrate to soon they can still get rid of it by council vote. Guess they like the jungle year before Rudy
Joe will win!
To call the ruling in this case, removing the trial judge and postponing the judge’s orders for a monitor for the Police Department, a blow to Bill de Blasio, is utterly wrong. When Mr. di Blasio is elected mayor (as the polls indicate he surely will be, by a landslide), he will have the authority to terminate or revise the stop-and-frisk conduct of the Police Department. The Court of Appeals ruling did not directly address the merits of the trial judge’s ruling, only her impartiality and judicial conduct. Nevertheless, the use of the stop-and-frisk tactic is controlled (subject to the state and federal constitutions) by the Police Department and the mayor, and if the mayor wants his police commissioner to stop or modify the practice, the Court of Appeals ruling will have little effect.