Advocates Urge Queens DA-Elect Katz To Go Further With Reforms

QUEENS, NY — Queens Borough President Melinda Katz was elected Tuesday night as the borough's next district attorney on a promise to enact progressive criminal justice reforms in an office where prosecutors have traditionally favored a tough-on-crime approach.

The next day, the Legal Aid Society wrote a four-page letter to the DA-elect imploring her to go even further with the reforms she promised on the campaign trail.

The nonprofit's requests include refusing to add anyone who hasn't been convicted of a crime to the city's DNA index, not automatically charging bail jumpers and not demanding appeal waivers as the "price" of a plea deal.

"The Queens District Attorney's office has long held the title of the most punitive in New York City, and the need for reform is critical," says the letter, which is signed by Tina Luongo, chief attorney in the Legal Aid Society's criminal defense practice.

"This is an opportunity for you, as a progressive prosecutor, to redress the prosecutorial mistakes of the past that have exacerbated inequality in the borough, and to create an enduring positive impact on the lives of Queens residents," the letter adds.

The Katz campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Legal Aid Society, which serves low-income defendants, also asked Katz to reaffirm her campaign promises to start a conviction integrity unit to review decisions, end cash bail, ban U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents from patrolling in and around courthouses and not prosecute sex workers or low-level crimes such as marijuana possession, among others.

Read the full letter below.