Busted in NYC - What does an ACD entail?

[Trisquall]

Hello,

I'm new to this forum, but I was wondering if you guys could give me some imput on my situation. A few months ago, I was busted for possession of marijuana in New York City along with my friend, because we were smoking in plain view, with a piece, no less (stupid, I know). We lucked out, as the cops who busted us only charged us with possession of pot, not paraphenilia. Anyway, I just went to court a few days ago, and recieved an ACD, or acquittal in contemplation of dismissal. The judge told me this means if I stay out of trouble for one year, the case will automatically be dismissed.

However, I'm not sure if this means I can't get caught for weed again, or if I can't break any law (even minor shit, like traffic violations). More importantly, I don't know if they are going to drug test me. The judge didn't say anything about this, just basically told me to keep my nose clean, but is this still possible? If anyone has experience with New York City/State laws, I would appreciate any input. Is drug testing normal in this case? Thanks a lot.

[juggalo420]

it doesnt include traffic violations.
it just means dont do any felanies(dont kill any one) or even any misdemenors(if your busted for pot again theyll most likely give you probation) or if you do any other misdemeanor like disorderly conduct or something theyll automatically put you on probation because of the pot charge.

[juggalo420]

i hate double posts

[Sensi Super Skunk]

http://www.norml.org/index.cfm?wtm_view=&Group_ID=4554

[Popopuffer]

you dont have to worry about traffic infractions, although you cannot get in trouble again for weed. You will be charged for that offense plus the one you got busted for earlier. Stay out of trouble for a year and your straight. Im a cop, Adjournment in Contemplation of Dismissal means just that they are contemplating your charge and wether or not to dismiss it. Get in trouble again and they wont contemplate, they'll charge ya. Capeesh? Good luck.

[Trisquall]

Thanks everyone for the information, I just wanted to be sure what my situation was.

[XTC]

you dont have to worry about traffic infractions, although you cannot get in trouble again for weed. You will be charged for that offense plus the one you got busted for earlier. Stay out of trouble for a year and your straight. Im a cop, Adjournment in Contemplation of Dismissal means just that they are contemplating your charge and wether or not to dismiss it. Get in trouble again and they wont contemplate, they'll charge ya. Capeesh? Good luck.


A member of the law community is a member of this Website. Wow.. I am Intrigued.....

[sawleaf]

Popopuffer??? That name is disturbing.

[kyskunk3]

Popopuffer, youre a cop.... Interesting to find you in a forum like this. Popopuffer is not completly correct. Another reason to never trust a cop. I am a student of the law. ACOD- Adjournment in Contemplation of Dismissal is a legal device which allows the case to be suspended for 6 months to a year. Charges are automatically dimissed at the end of that time if the defendent is not rearrested in the interim. Okay, popopuffer didnt tell you the whole truth, that if you get arrested for ANYTHING within that year youre charges will no longer be suspended. That's why cops dont represent people in the court of law. :cool:

[daust126]

Hey there kyskunk3, I saw your very informative response to Trisquall, and am asking for your kind assistance and input with my question/s.
First of all, I thought this excerpt on why new york city is the pot arrest capital of the world (even though it's 'decriminlized' for small amounts) was extremely insightful and interesting (from "New York" magazine).
"The fact is, New York City is the marijuana-arrest capital of the country and maybe the world. Since 1997, according to statistics complied by the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services, 430,000 people age 16 and older have been pinched in the city for possession of marijuana, often for quantities as little as a joint....cops have their areas of concentration when it comes to these violations....marijuana is very constant, a hardy perennial, you might say, rolling in regularly like the tide. The amounts are almost always tiny, which shows that for all the talk about going after the big guys, cops are mostly arresting low-end users.
Most arrestees will receive an ACD, or â??adjournment contemplating dismissal,â?? a kind of probation. It is rare, but repeaters could get time. At the very least, it messes up your night riding around handcuffed in a paddy wagon.â?�
The kicker in this is the apparently almost unknown fact that possession of 25 grams, or seven-eighths of an ounceâ??much more than the few joints that are getting people arrestedâ??is not a crime in New York State and has not been since the passage of the Marijuana Reform Act of 1977, or 32 years ago. (Right here add sound of potheads slapping their foreheads, like, how come they didnâ??t know that?) There are exceptions, however. If the pot is â??burning or open to public view,â?� then the 25-gram deal is off. It is this provision that has been the basis for the arrest outbreak, many civil libertarians contend.
The scenario of what happens on the street, as told to me by several arrestees, is remarkably similar. It goes like this: Youâ??re black, or Spanish, or some white-boy fellow traveler with a cockeyed Bulls cap and falling-down pants. The cops come up to you, usually while youâ??re in a car, and ask you if youâ??re doing anything you shouldnâ??t. You say, â??No, officer,â?� and they say, â??You donâ??t have anything in your pocket youâ??re not supposed to have, do you, because if you do and I find it, itâ??ll be a lot worse for you.â?� It is at that point, because you are young, nervous, possibly simple, and ignorant of the law, you might comply and take the joint youâ??d been saving out of your pocket. Then, zam: Suddenly, your protection under the Marijuana Reform Act vanishes because the weed is now in â??public view.â?� The handcuffs, the paddy wagon, and the aforementioned court date soon follow.

This is exactly what happend to myself and two friends in the parking lot at Citi Field in Queens, NY (yes of course we missed the mets game due to our unfortunate arrest). My concern is the part in about it being rare for 3rd time offenders to get jail time. About 10 yrs ago when I was 18 I got an ACD that got dismissed after a year. Then about 5 or 6 years after that I got another ACD which also got dismissed. So,..this technically would be my 3rd? or does the law mean 3 within the same year...in other words, since my last (2nd in total) ACD was over 5 years ago, do I have a clean slate for a regular ACD whereby if I don't get any other tickets for a year it will get dismissed? Or would this be my 'third time' in the eyes of the court...even though it would be 3 times over about 12 years?

Lastly, I'm a graduate student right now, working only part time, and can't really afford a lawyer unless I put it on a credit card. It was a joints worth of weed (less than a gram) divided up between 3 people (we all said it was ours together-no one person took the blame and we all got arrested for ""PL 221.10 01" NY Criminal Defense - Penal Law Section 221.10: Criminal Possession of Marijuana / Marihuana in a Public Place ( NY Criminal Defense - Penal Law Section 221.10: Criminal Possession of Marijuana / Marihuana in a Public Place :: New York Criminal Lawyer Blog (http://www.newyorkcriminallawyerblog.com/2008/10/penal_law_section_22105_crimin.html) ) The last 3 or 4 paragraphs of this link are very interesting by the way....about how some cases can be dismissed if its in your car and your not actually smoking it). Anyway, that must not apply to us, since my friend took the weed from the car and handed it to the cop. So when the cops pulled up in their unmarked van and asked if we had any weed and that they know all the car's hiding spots and would find it, my friend took the nickle bag out of the car where it was hidden and gave it to them while standing outside next to the car...I guess that means it's then technically in 'public view' at that point. I guess we should have said "it's in the car....and if we take it out, it will be in public view and get in trouble" . We were not burning/smoking it whatsoever...they just randomly decided to pick us out and give us trouble because of our looks i guess like - just like the excerpts from the article above.

I'm hoping that you write back telling me that I have a 'clean slate' and will simply get an ACD and that I don't need a lawyer for this, and that as long as I don't get in trouble again for the next year (which I will BE SURE NOT TO), then this will be dismissed in a years time....

What do you think? It's really just this part from the excerpts above that concern me: "Most arrestees will receive an ACD, or â??adjournment contemplating dismissal,â?? a kind of probation. [B]It is rare, but repeaters could get time". I guess I need to know if once previous ACD's are dismissed, if they are off your record so future onesâ?¦years laterâ?¦. like the one I just got, really are like the 'first' one in the court's/new york state's eyes.

Just for arguments sake, someone gets more than 1 ACD in the same year and they get probation (as opposed to dismissal)...how long is something like on their record for? Is something like that permanently on your record?

I am earning my teacher certification also, and therefore obviously donâ??t want anything like an arrest for a joint ever show up in my backround searches, etc for obvious reasonsâ?¦I will need a job when I graduate.

Even if you think I have a clean slate since my last dismissed ACD was over 5 years ago (and my first one about 10 years ago)â?¦..but should retain a lawyer â??just to be safeâ?? so nothing will be on my recordâ?¦please let me know what you think.

I just feel that if I call any lawyer and ask them if I need them, they will of course say yes even if I donâ??t really need them. In other words they wonâ??t turn my â??businessâ??/$ away, so Iâ??m hoping you can shed some light on this.

I know I wrote a book, thank you much for taking the time to read it, and I am more then grateful if you can respond and help me out with your knowledge of the law.

Thanks & Best Regards,

-daust126