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Biglaw Associate Gets His Protest-Related Charges Dropped, Hopes His Case Will Help Other Peaceful Protesters

'All of these charges should be dismissed in the interest of justice.'

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Justin Maffett (Photo by Avery J. Savage/Courtesy)

On June 5, Debevoise & Plimpton associate Justin Maffett was peacefully protesting racial injustice in the wake of the murder of George Floyd when he was arrested and charged with breaking New York City’s curfew. That curfew violation was a class B misdemeanor and carried with it not just a potential six-month prison sentence, but if found guilty, Maffett would have a criminal record.

More than a thousand others received summonses for curfew violations, and over 60 percent were issued to Black or Latinx people, including Maffett. But unlike many of those who were arrested, Maffett had some very powerful representation. Helen Cantwell, a white-collar partner at Debevoise and a former assistant U.S. attorney at the Southern District of New York, stepped up to serve as his defense lawyer, also offering her counsel to any other Debevoise employees arrested during the protests.

Although Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance said his office would forgo the prosecution of low-level offenses related to the protests (e.g., unlawful assembly or disorderly conduct) the charges still remain for many, and those who were arrested for breaking the emergency curfew are still fighting their charges — but not Maffett. After a series of exchanges with the New York Office of Court Administration (OCA), his charges were dismissed.

“I can’t say whether I was treated differently. But I do acknowledge that not everyone has a former prosecutor like Helen in their corner or a billion-dollar law firm at their back. It isn’t lost on me that this played a role here,” he said in an interview with the American Lawyer, where he details his experience of being arrested while protesting. “But we didn’t advocate this just for myself, but for all of those charged, because we can do something there. And because we can, I believe strongly that we should.”

In an op-ed published in the New York Law Journal, Maffett argues that all curfew-related summonses levied against peaceful protesters should be dismissed. “It does not take a law degree” to see why it would be in the interest of justice, he writes.

Protesters should not face different legal consequences just because they were out protesting during the one week the curfew was in place. This is arbitrary and does not inspire confidence in our legal system.

For far too many New Yorkers, justice has been delayed and due process has almost come to a halt. If cases are not immediately dismissed, these arrests made by the NYPD in response to the protests will only serve to exacerbate this mounting crisis. Our court system should not be clogged with cases involving these nonviolent, low-level issues, nor should everyday New Yorkers be forced to continue to pay attorney fees, take days off work, or make arrangements for child care in order to defend themselves against such claims. The city should instead focus its limited resources toward more urgent needs.

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Maffett’s court documents are currently under seal, but he has disclosed them to Above the Law, with his firm’s permission. He thinks their publication is in the public’s interest because it will provide a roadmap to other lawyers working on these curfew cases to make similar arguments. They are available on the next page.

“I believed then, and still believe today, that all of these charges should be dismissed in the interest of justice,” Maffett says. We hope that, armed with the arguments made in his own case, others will be able to get their charges dismissed as well.

After Getting His Protest-Related Charges Dropped, Debevoise Lawyer Hopes to Help Others [American Lawyer]
Debevoise Associate: NYC Should Dismiss Curfew Charges Against Peaceful Protesters Like Me [New York Law Journal]

Staci ZaretskyStaci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.

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