If a Queens police officer handed you a desk appearance ticket, you were arrested, processed and released with a date to appear in Queens Criminal Court in Kew Gardens. CPL 150.20 requires officers, with exceptions, to issue an appearance ticket instead of holding you when the charge is below a class D felony, which means a DAT can accompany anything from a misdemeanor to a class E felony. Spodek Law Group P.C. handles Queens DAT cases before the return date, while the District Attorney's pre-arraignment diversion option is still available, and you start with a risk-free consultation where you can ask us anything you want.
What CPL 150.20 says about when police must write a DAT.
Under CPL 150.20(1)(a), when an officer is authorized to arrest without a warrant for an offense other than a class A, B, C or D felony, the officer shall issue an appearance ticket instead, subject to the exceptions in paragraph (b). Certain listed sex, escape and contempt offenses are carved out, and so are arrests that CPL 140.10(4) makes mandatory, such as a felony against a member of the same family or household or a violated order of protection. If you received a DAT, the officer decided your case fit the rule, but the charge written on the ticket is only the officer's view, and the District Attorney's Intake and Assessments Bureau makes the actual charging decision and prepares the accusatory instrument.
DAT hours and getting to 125-01 Queens Boulevard.
Desk appearance tickets in Queens are heard at Queens Criminal Court, 125-01 Queens Boulevard, near Hoover Avenue and 82nd Avenue, Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., except holidays. The E and F trains stop at Union Turnpike, and the Q60, Q37, Q74 and Q46 buses stop nearby. The Summons Part sits in the same building, so you may see people there on summonses rather than DATs, and it is worth confirming with us which part your paperwork sends you to. We meet you there, stand with you at the arraignment, and make sure the court and the prosecutor hear from your lawyer before anything is decided about your case.
The Queens DA Pre-Arraignment Diversion Program.
First-time offenders with desk appearance tickets may be eligible for the Pre-Arraignment Diversion Program that the District Attorney's Intake and Assessments Bureau runs with the Alternative Sentencing Program. The Diversion and Alternative Sentencing Unit offers pre- and post-arraignment diversion for low-level offenses, and the office says those programs typically result in the case being sealed on successful completion. A separate route, the Second Chance Community Justice Program, has members of the community hear referred low-level cases. None of these is automatic, and an early contact from a defense lawyer who knows the options can make a difference, so we reach out before your return date, explain your background and press for the outcome that keeps a conviction off your record.
