Source: Law.com
Excerpt:
Patrick Timmins
Timmins was born in Manhattan and has lived there his whole life, he told the New York Law Journal.
He said he loves the borough and decided to run after becoming alarmed that no other Democratic candidate had emerged to challenge Bragg.
“I’ve always been on the side of bringing the action, so to speak, whether you’re a prosecutor or a plaintiff’s attorney on behalf of people,” he said in an interview.
Timmins says he is particularly concerned about the safety of New Yorkers on the city’s subways and was seeing “a lot of tension and fear” from other commuters. While he still rides the subways, he says multiple people he knows no longer do.
The candidate says that, if elected, he will open arraignment courts in the city’s subways to address fare-beaters and other crimes occurring underground. Ideally, he says undercover cops would return to riding the subway cars.
The transit arraignment hub would be around 34th Street in Midtown, he envisioned.
Turnstile hopping is a “gateway crime,” Timmins opined.
“My campaign, it’s about safe subways,” he explained. “A lot of people who hop the subways commit the crimes. It’s not somebody who swipes through and then goes down and knifes somebody on the platform.”
He said the hub would be akin to a satellite courtroom, and with Legal Aid and judicial buy-in could handle desk appearance tickets issued to fare-beaters.
“Certainly judges can try to travel a few miles every third week and just handle the transit crime,” he added.
Timmins said he had not discussed the proposal with the Office of Court Administration, Legal Aid or the New York City Police Department.
The new hub would pair with a new Transit Bureau. Currently, subway crimes are diverted to the bureau that specializes in the charged conduct, such as sex crimes.
Timmins says he sees discovery concerns as a management issue that can be handled by stricter oversight. Prosecutors have said that language in the reforms passed in 2019 was too restrictive and being applied inconsistently by judges.
“Everyone knows about deadlines,” Timmins said. “I don’t think [Bragg] managed well.”
“You need to have these people working late if the deadline is the next day,” he stated. “Allocate manpower, work ‘til midnight if you need to get it done.”
Timmins says his time as a prosecutor and a trial attorney have helped him develop management skills.
“I think I’ve been underestimated a lot of my life,” he said.
Timmins says that, if elected, he plans to address hate crimes, protect small businesses, and “honor self-defense.”
The candidate has raised around $120,000, he said.
He is a graduate of Manhattan College and received his law degree from the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University.
Timmins has been endorsed by The Pride Democrats of NYC and former New York City Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly.
