Queens, NY – Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz has petitioned the court to vacate the convictions of 46 defendants in cases involving former NYPD Detective James Donovan, who was convicted of perjury in 2023. This action follows an extensive review by the District Attorney’s Conviction Integrity Unit (CIU).
These dismissals are based on findings of Constitutional error rather than actual innocence.
DA Katz stated, “I am asking the Court to vacate and dismiss 46 criminal cases where former Detective James Donovan was the primary witness. We cannot stand behind a conviction where the essential witness was a law enforcement officer convicted of a crime that irreparably impaired his credibility.”
The CIU, after identifying the affected cases, collaborated with the Legal Aid Wrongful Conviction Unit to file joint motions to vacate the convictions. Acting Queens Supreme Court Justice Joanne Watters granted these motions, resulting in the dismissal of all 46 charges.
According to the motions, Donovan pleaded guilty to perjury in the third degree before Queens Supreme Court Justice Anthony Battisti in May 2023.
Donovan falsely testified in August 2021 that he arrested a wanted individual in November 2020, claiming to have found a loaded firearm during the arrest. It was later revealed that Donovan did not make the arrest or observe the firearm, leading to the dismissal of the gun charges against the individual.
The CIU’s review of Donovan’s cases, prompted by his perjury conviction, led to the identification and dismissal of the 46 cases.
Since its inception in 2020, the CIU has vacated 148 convictions, including 132 based on the unreliable police work of former detectives convicted of crimes, and another 16 due to newly discovered evidence or other reasons.