The newly elected district attorney for Queens will be stepping into a job complicated by the conduct of her precessors.
Borough President Melinda Katz won election to office this week, even as the current top brass is under fire for alleged misconduct. Three lawsuits, filed by men wrongfully convicted in Queens Supreme Court, allege that the Queens DA's Office and Acting DA John Ryan failed to share evidence with defense attorneys.
Queens Daily Eagle editor David Brand told WNYC host Kerry Nolan that the suits claim that evidence wasn't shared due to office policies that put higher priority on winning cases over the rights of the accused.
"The lawsuits claim that the DA, Richard Brown, and then John Ryan and other top officials have fostered a kind of culture of win at all costs, where misconduct is ignored and, in fact, according to these complaints, incentivized," he said.
He says it's unclear how or if prosecutors were ever disciplined. Katz says she intends to interview every office staffer — more than 600 people — and will diversify leadership.
Listen to his conversation with WNYC host Kerry Nolan.