The Legal Aid Society filed this lawsuit to challenge the NYPD’s practice of unlawfully arresting people for low-level offenses, instead of issuing them appearance tickets as is statutorily required by New York Criminal Procedure Law § 150.20, which mandates that police officers issue appearance tickets to individuals suspected of committing low-level offenses instead of arresting them.

In April 2023, the court denied the City’s motion to dismiss the case for failure to state a claim. The action is ongoing.