JURIST - Paper Chase: New York City agrees to destroy fingerprints of RNC protesters

In response to lawsuits filed by the New York Civil Liberties Union, the city of New York has agreed to destroy fingerprints taken, in an apparent violation of state law, from hundreds of protesters arrested at last month's Republican National Convention. One suit noted that under section 160.10(2) of the York Criminal Procedure Code, police may take fingerprints of those charged with minor violations such as disorderly conduct only if they cannot ascertain a person's identity, suspect the identification given by the person is inaccurate, or reasonably believe the person is being sought for another crime. Both suits also challenge the mass arrests of peaceful protesters and, in an effort to prevent indiscriminate arrests and fingerprinting during future political demonstrations in the city, seek court orders that such practices are unlawful. AP has more. In related news, DA Robert Morgenthau has agreed to an NYCLU request that charges be dropped against 227 protesters whose arrests were captured on videotape.

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