Katz outlines Day One plea policy reform for Queens DA’s Office

Eagle file photo by Jonathan Sperling.

By David Brand

Queens District Attorney-elect Melinda Katz will eliminate a controversial office policy that has prevented defendants from negotiating a plea deal after their grand jury indictment, she announced Dec. 23.

Katz outlined the reform during an interview with Brian Lehrer on WNYC. The next day, Dec. 24, her transition team issued a statement outlining the so-called “180.80 waiver policy” reform, which will take effect Jan. 1.

Section 180.80 of the Criminal Procedure Law describes a defendant’s right to a grand jury hearing within five days of their arrest. Under late DA Richard Brown and Acting Queens DA John Ryan, who led the office for 28 years, prosecutors in Queens would not allow defendants to plea bargain after five days unless the defendant waived their right to a grand jury. 

If the defendant did not waive that right, the Queens DA would only allow them to plead to the top charge or go to trial. 

“The rigid refusal to consider options other than a ‘top count’ guilty plea or trial is inconsistent with DA Elect Katz’s commitment to an open minded approach to case resolution that considers all possible dispositions of a case that will serve the ends of justice,” Katz’s transition team said in an emailed statement. 

Other policies are also “subject to revision,” the Katz transition team said.

Katz told Lehrer that she plans to replace nearly the entire executive staff of the Queens’ DA’s Office — many of whom have served for decades — and that she will implement a Conviction Integrity Unit to review wrongful conviction claims.

“It’s a new day in Queens County for defendants,” she said.

Katz is the first woman ever elected Queens DA. She is also the first new DA elected in Queens since 1991, the year Brown took office.