'Terror And Kidnapping': New Yorkers Jailed Without Seeing Judge: Suit

NEW YORK CITY — Certain New Yorkers are locked up on Rikers without any chance of first seeing a judge, a new lawsuit contends.

Four people who say NYPD officers illegally sent them from police custody to jail— allegedly bypassing the right to a court hearing protected by state and federal law — filed a civil suit in Manhattan federal court Wednesday, court records show.

"It is not permitted by law in any sense — and is an exercise of raw military power by the City of New York," the lawsuit states.

"The incarcerations the City has performed under the policy are nothing short of an extrajudicial campaign of terror and kidnapping."

Read More: Rikers Remains 'Potentially Life-Threatening,' Federal Monitor Says

The NYPD declined to comment and the Law Department — which handles court cases involving the city — did not immediately respond to Patch's request for comment, but also declined to provide one to Hell Gate, first to report the suit.

The lawsuit notes the NYPD Patrol Guide directs officers to take defendants directly to jail if it is after 5 p.m. and it's not possible to be taken to arraignments. It however also notes New York City arraignment courts are open 24 hours a day and on weekends and holidays, putting the logic of this policy in question.

The four cases detailed in the federal suit stem from bench warrants — issued to people who violate courthouse rules, such as missed appearances — that mandate the person named be taken to see a judge.

"A bench warrant must be executed in the same manner as a warrant of arrest," New York State law decrees. "Following the arrest, such executing police officer or court officer must without
unnecessary delay bring the defendant before the court in which it is returnable."

Plaintiff Paul Phillip's bench warrant dated back three decades and, despite what police records showed, had been vacated, or closed, long before his arrest, according to the lawsuit.

Phillips was hauled to Rikers Island when he was pulled over by a traffic cop in Albany in July 2020, the lawsuit states.

Faulty paperwork showed Phillips had an outstanding bench warrant, but because cops didn't take him to see a judge, the mistake went uncorrected, the lawsuit contends.

Phillips was handed over to the NYPD, who sent him to Rikers Island even after informing him he'd been taken in by mistake, according to the lawsuit.

And because Phillips hadn't seen a judge, he had no court dates, and therefore could not be released from Rikers Island under Correction department policy, the lawsuit states.

Phillips spent days on Rikers — without access to medication for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, bipolar disorder, and addiction — as his Legal Aid attorney and his girlfriend scrambled to get him out from behind bars, according to the suit.

Finally, on the fourth day, Phillips was released, the lawsuit contends.

Phillips' three co-plaintiffs detail similarly harrowing stories and, as Hell Gate notes, there are likely others with similar tales to tell, since this problem was brought to the attention of the courts nearly two years ago.

The Legal Aid Society filed a letter in December 2020 raising the alarm over what they called an escalating trend, court records show.

"Over the past few months, we have encountered numerous incidents in which people are taken directly into DOC custody on a bench warrant only to languish in jail for days and even weeks without being brought before a court," the letter states.

"Whatever the reason, it cannot be squared with the statutory requirements of CPL § 530.70(2). Moreover, as you are no doubt aware, each day of incarceration raises the risk that our clients will lose their homes, jobs, children, and now, risk exposure to COVID-19."