NYC Prosecutors Split On Handling Of Gravity Knife Convictions

NEW YORK — New York City's top prosecutors are split on how to treat people who have criminal records for carrying a controversial type of knife that became legal two months ago.

District attorneys' offices in two boroughs say they are open to nixing old convictions for possession of so-called gravity knives following the recent repeal of a state law that banned them. But two others say they will stand by the past verdicts, while a fifth has not made up its mind.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed a bill May 30 removing mentions of gravity knives from state law, which prohibited knives with locking blades that can be opened with gravity or centrifugal force. Supporters of the change argued the old law was inconsistently enforced and put many workers at risk of arrest for carrying tools sold in many hardware stores.

Prosecutors should honor the new law's intent by vacating, or nullifying, New Yorkers' previous convictions under the old statute, according to a top lawyer at the Legal Aid Society, which pushed for the change.

"Possession of these basic work tools should never have been the basis of a criminal conviction, and now that the law has finally been repealed, district attorneys must heed the public’s message by vacating these convictions immediately," Richard Joselson, a supervising attorney with Legal Aid's Criminal Appeals Bureau, said in a statement.

Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark and Brooklyn DA Eric Gonzalez are open to canceling those raps on a case-by-case basis, spokespeople for their offices told Patch.

Clark's office will agree to vacate convictions if a defendant appeals to a higher court or files a motion in the original trial court, said Patrice O'Shaughnessy, a spokesperson for the office.

While there are no pending appeals for gravity knife convictions in Brooklyn, Gonzalez's office is open to vacating them if they do arise, spokesperson Oren Yaniv said.

"We will consider post-conviction relief petitions on a case by case basis (but don’t anticipate many because most convictions here resulted in a violation, which isn’t a crime and doesn’t result in a criminal record)," Yaniv said in an email.

Manhattan DA Cyrus Vance Jr.'s office has moved to dismiss 38 pending gravity knife cases and get rid of warrants related to more than 200 others, according to office spokesperson Emily Tuttle. But the office has not yet figured out how it will deal with old convictions that are appealed.

"We are still finalizing our plans for gravity knife possession convictions that are pending appeal," Tuttle said in an email.

Prosecutors in Queens and Staten Island plan to stick by the results of previous gravity knife cases.

Ikimulisa Livingston, a spokesperson for the office of Acting Queens DA John Ryan, noted that the new law governing the tools does not apply retroactively. The office will examine any individual claims that come its way, she said.

"These convictions are presumed valid," Livingston said in a statement. "Many gravity knife convictions are a result of guilty pleas where other crimes were charged — sometimes more serious crimes."

The office's stance could change when a new DA takes over next year. Borough President Melinda Katz and public defender Tiffany Cabán are still fighting over the Democratic nomination for the job; the winner will be heavily favored to win November's general election.

Staten Island DA Michael McMahon's office will dismiss all pending cases under the new gravity knife law, but won't vacate convictions "that are final or still pending appeal," office spokesperson Ryan Lavis said.

District attorneys' stances on the gravity knife law have shifted in recent years. The top prosecutors in all five boroughs reportedly urged Cuomo in 2016 to veto a previous bill that would have ended the ban. But the DAs did not actively fight the change this year.

When he signed the bill in May, Cuomo said his hand was forced by a Manhattan federal judge's declaration that the ban was unconstitutionally vague. Supporters of the repeal also contended that the law was disproportionately enforced against people of color — 85 percent of Legal Aid Society clients arrested for gravity knife possession in the first six months of last year were black or Latino, an analysis of the group's data found.