UB art professor Steven Kurtz, who was indicted for mail and wire fraud for illegally obtaining bacteria he used in his artwork, is no longer under pretrial supervision while he awaits trial.
Under an order filed by U.S. Magistrate Judge H. Kenneth Schroeder Jr., Kurtz is now free on his own recognizance until his case goes to trial, according to The Buffalo News.
As a result, Kurtz is no longer required to check in regularly with a probation officer and is no longer subject to random drug testing or searches of his home. The recognizance means Kurtz is obligated to appear in court, and the condition of that particular act has been entered into as a record before a magistrate.
Additionally, Schroeder is reviewing a motion from Kurtz to have the charges dismissed, as reported by The Buffalo News, but government officials still decline to comment on the status of the art professor's case.
"The government has no comment on matters that are not related to the guilt or innocence of the accused," Assistant U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul Jr. told The Buffalo News.
At this time, no trial date has been set, and Kurtz continues to teach classes at UB.
He could not be reached for comment Thursday, as he is out of town, but in past interviews with The Spectrum, Kurtz said it's simply the nature of the courts that the pretrial stage is taking so long.
"This process can take a very long time, since the judge can take as much time as he pleases," said Kurtz, who denies any wrongdoing. "The deadlines are all artificial. He can decide to dismiss the case, have more hearings or send me to trial. If it's the first or the third, there will be an appeal and the case will continue in pretrial for at least another year."
Kurtz, 47, was indicted in June 2004 on charges that he illegally obtained bacteria to use in an art exhibit protesting government policies on genetic engineering. He and an associate are accused of scheming to use their university positions to obtain the agents found in Kurtz's home.
Robert Ferrell, the chairman of the University of Pittsburgh's human genetics department and Kurtz's co-defendant, has an illness that renders him unable to appear in his own defense, which is another factor slowing down the trial process.
The bacteria were discovered by Buffalo police who were in Kurtz's house following the death of his wife. The U.S. government briefly investigated Kurtz for bio-terrorism, but that probe was abandoned when there was no evidence of such claims and it was clear his wife died of natural causes.
Both the art department and UB administration have stood firmly behind Kurtz since his arrest and indictment.
If and when he goes to trial, Kurtz has said he will continue to teach throughout it.
"I'm still teaching and I plan to continue teaching here. I'll just miss some classes if I have to appear in court," Kurtz said. "It's business as usual for me, except I can't do as much of my own work anymore."
