PRESIDENT
ANDREW KOSSOVER, NEW PALTZ
PRESIDENT-ELECT
JOHN S. WALLENSTEIN, GARDEN CITY
FIRST VICE PRESIDENT
ROBERT G. WELLS, SYRACUSE
VICE PRESIDENTS
MICHAEL T. BAKER, BINGHAMTON
LORI COHEN, MANHATTAN
ALICE FONTIER, MANHATTAN
ARNOLD J. LEVINE, MANHATTAN
DONALD G. REHKOPF, JR., ROCHESTER
SECRETARY
JESSICA HORANI, MANHATTAN
TREASURER
SUSAN WALSH, MANHATTAN
DIRECTORS
BRUCE A. BARKET, GARDEN CITY
VINCENT DE MARTE, WHITE PLAINS
MITCHELL J. DINNERSTEIN,
MANHATTAN
PETER A. DUMAS, M ALONE
MARC FERNICH, MANHATTAN
JAMES W. GRABLE, JR., BUFFALO
TIMOTHY HOOVER, BUFFALO
MARK D. HOSKEN, ROCHESTER
ROBERT N. ISSEKS, MIDDLETOWN
YUNG-MI LEE, BROOKLYN
ALAN S. LEWIS, MANHATTAN
GREG D. LUBOW, TANNERSVILLE
BRIAN MELBER, BUFFALO
MARSHALL A. M INTZ, MANHATTAN
KENNETH MOYNIHAN, SYRACUSE
TIMOTHY P. MURPHY, BUFFALO
LISA PEEBLES, SYRACUSE
RUSSELL A. SCHINDLER, KINGSTON
JAY SCHWITZMAN, BROOKLYN
CLAUDIA TRUPP, MANHATTAN
MARK S. W ILLIAMS, OLEAN
PAST PRESIDENTS
LAWRENCE S. GOLDMAN, MANHATTAN
PAUL J. CAMBRIA, JR., BUFFALO
JACK T. LITMAN, MANHATTAN
MARK J. MAHONEY, BUFFALO
DAVID L. LEWIS, M ANHATTAN
WILLIAM I. ARONWALD, WHITE
PLAINS
THOMAS F. LIOTTI, GARDEN CITY
IRA D. LONDON, MANHATTAN
JEANNE E. METTLER, COPAKE
MURRAY RICHMAN, BRONX
GERARD M. DAMIANI, NEW CITY
MARVIN E. SCHECHTER, MANHATTAN
KATHRYN M. KASE, HOUSTON, TEXAS
RUSSELL M. GIOIELLA, MANHATTAN
JAMES P. HARRINGTON, BUFFALO
RICHARD J. BARBUTO, GARDEN CITY
MARTIN B. ADELMAN, MANHATTAN
JOSHUA L. DRATEL, MANHATTAN
RAY KELLY, ALBANY
DANIEL N. ARSHACK, MANHATTAN
LISA SCHREIBERSDORF, BROOKLYN
CRAIG SCHLANGER, SYRACUSE
GEORGE R. GOLTZER, MANHATTAN
KEVIN D. O’CONNELL, MANHATTAN
RICHARD D. WILLSTATTER,
WHITE PLAINS
BENJAMIN OSTRER, CHESTER
AARON MYSLIWIEC, NEW YORK
WAYNE C. BODDEN, BROOKLYN
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
JENNIFER CIULLA VAN ORT, ALBANY
Statement on NYS Legislature’s Passage of Gravity Knife Law
Reform
S.6483A (Savino) / A.9042A (Quart)
June 15, 2016
Contact: Andy Kossover
(845) 255-4655, [email protected]
Albany, NY – Earlier this week the New York State Senate unanimously passed
legislation to narrow the definition of gravity knives to exclude ordinary tools used
by working New Yorkers across the state. The bill had already passed the Assembly.
In the last decade, 60,000 people in New York City alone were arrested and
prosecuted under Criminal Procedure Law 265.01, the vast majority for the mere
possession of folding knives or box-cutters sold at major retailers like Home Depot.
Andrew Kossover, Esq., President of the New York State Association of Criminal
Defense Lawyers, said:
“I applaud Assembly Member Dan Quart, Senator Diane Savino, and their colleagues
in the Legislature for passing common sense reforms to our State’s outdated gravity
knife law. The bill simply clarifies language in the penal law to ensure that workmen,
fishermen, artisans and other ordinary New Yorkers do not face criminal penalties for
carrying commonly used tools. Without these reforms, thousands of New Yorkers
would continue to be arrested every year and face the prospect of a permanent
criminal record for carrying tools that are necessary to their employment. In addition
to the possibility of time in jail, people often face losing their jobs, housing, access to
higher education and many other consequences when they are arrested. The New
York State Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers believes this legislation is
necessary and urgent to conform the law to match people’s very reasonable
expectations about carrying work tools, and we urge Governor Cuomo to sign it.”
***
New York State Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NYSACDL) is a statewide
organization of criminal defense attorneys, representing approximately 1,000 private
attorneys and public defenders that practice in courthouses in all parts of New York
State. We are the New York affiliate of the National Association of Criminal Defense
Lawyers, a professional bar association founded in 1958 that has over 40,000
members nationally.