Q: Does a DA’s office (Queens NY) have to confer with victims before accepting a plea deal?
Three members of my family and another person were phisyically assaulted by a person in Queens, NY and then arrested. We heard basically nothing from the DA unless I emailed them a few times. I have recently found out that the DA’s office accepted a plea deal without even consulting with us. The perpetrator only ended up being required to attend anger management. Is the lack of consulting with us prior to the plea deal even legal, or just a crappy job of prosecuting by the DA’s office?
Thank you,
Jim
A:
There is no requirement that you would get a say in the plea deal given to a defendant. You do have the right to make a victim's impact statement pursuant to CPL 390.50 "The district attorney shall also give at least twenty-one days notice to the victim or victim's family of the date of sentencing and of the rights of the victim pursuant to
subdivision two of section 380.50 of this chapter, including the victim or victim's family's obligation to inform the court of its intention, at least ten days prior to the sentencing date, to make a statement at sentencing." Unfortunately, this does not negate the validity of the plea.
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