A New York state Supreme Court Justice called out Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg for coming down harder against two residents who bought fake COVID-19 vaccine cards than he does for those charged with much more serious crimes.
In a recent ruling, state Supreme Court Justice Brendan T. Lantry dismissed Bragg’s felony charges against the two, identified by their initials in the case, who tried to flout NYC’s vaccine mandate.
J.O., a nursing student, and R.V., an employee with the city Department of Environmental Protection, were among hundreds accused of buying fake vaccination cards from a New Jersey stripper, Jasmine Clifford.
The two were among just 16 people Bragg’s office “cherry-picked” to prosecute and charge with felony criminal possession of a forged instrument, the judge said.
Fourteen pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor, but J.O. and R.V. moved to dismiss the charges, prompting the DA’s office to contest the effort — and sparking outrage from the jurist. (New York Post)
"Clearly, Criminal Possession of a Forged Instrument in the Second Degree (Penal Law § 170.25) is not among the most serious crimes in the New York Penal Law, nor are the factual allegations against Defendants R.V. and J.O. particularly serious in nature," the judge wrote in the opinion.
"Moreover, the factual allegations — that the Defendants purchased fake COVID-19 vaccination cards so that they could provide same to their employer (R.V.) and school (J.O.) — do not rise to the level of the majority of the crimes adjudicated in Supreme Court, New York County, namely homicide, sexual assault, drug sale, robbery, burglary, and other violent and non-violent serious felony offenses," he continued.
Lantry said the Court was “astonished” to see how Bragg’s office “routinely — nearly daily — move[s] to dismiss significantly more serious counts or entire indictments in the interests of justice simply to negate the consequences of New York's predicate felon sentencing statutes or to avoid immigration consequences.”
City Council Minority Leader Joseph Borelli praised Lantry for the decision.
“This is what Alvin Bragg is — a clown,” Borelli told the New York Post. “Imagine prosecuting a scared woman for this, even though she didn’t even use the fake card, while at the same time letting violent perps go," he added, referring to how one of the defendants got the fake card for her enrollment in nursing school, even though she ended up getting the shot anyway.
"I’m glad the judge called him out for the world to see," Borelli added.