Queens DA to Pursue NYPD-Enforced Curfew for Pretrial Defendants

New York’s arraignment laws prescribe four main forms of pretrial conditions: release, electronic monitoring, cash bail, and jail. But judges have wide discretion to set other conditions. The use of curfew varies from courtroom to courtroom — as do interpretations of its legality.

Lucian Chalfen, spokesperson for the New York state court system, told New York Focus that curfew “may be appropriate where a judge considering all circumstances makes an individualized determination that it is the least restrictive condition … to ensure the defendant’s return to court.”

Meanwhile, defenders point to cases across several decades in which judges have ruled that curfew is irrelevant to someone’s likelihood of returning to court, and thus can’t be imposed pretrial.

Asked for comment on the policy’s legality, the Katz spokesperson simply replied, “No.” Asking judges for curfew is a “longstanding practice” among assistant district attorneys in Queens, the spokesperson said.

Katz is rolling out the curfew policy while Albany is in political upheaval over pretrial conditions. Governor Kathy Hochul continues to pressure legislative leaders to use the state’s annual budget bills — which are now more than three weeks past their due date — to pass measures allowing judges to consider factors other than returning to court. The battle comes after years of advocacy from law enforcement and tough-on-crime politicians, who assert that judges should be allowed to take defendants’ perceived “dangerousness” into consideration when setting bail.

Katz has openly advocated for pretrial incarceration based on defendants’ perceived dangerousness. In its 2022 annual report, her office states that “DA Katz recognizes that if an individual is a threat to the safety of the community because there is a strong likelihood that they will commit new crimes while released on a pending case, then they should not be on our streets.”