By Hank Russell
During her State of the State speech, Governor Kathy Hochul spoke about the strides she has made in reducing crime and enhancing public safety. She also mentioned making changes to the state’s Discovery Law by closing its loopholes. While local public officials were pleased to hear of the news, they wondered if she would keep that promise.
The state’s Discovery Law requires prosecutors to hand over all relevant evidence to the defense within a specific timeframe (within 15 days after arraignment, 20 days if the defendant is in custody). This, in turn, allows the defense to properly prepare their case and provide the defendant the right to a speedy trial, thereby bypassing the acceptance of a plea deal that may be unfavorable to the defendant.
Critics of the law said that the timeframe is too short and a prosecutor accidentally forgetting to provide a crucial piece of evidence can lead to the case being thrown out. On January 14, Hochul proclaimed. “I’ll fight to finally close the loopholes that were created in our discovery laws that delay trials and lead to cases being thrown out for minor technicalities.”
But some remain unconvinced. “Obviously we need to see whatever proposed amendments are made before commenting on them,” said Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney. “I am skeptical whenever a public official makes a sweeping pronouncement that a particular problem has been ‘fixed.’”
Tierney added that any changes to the existing law “must be effective and cannot just be more empty rhetoric accomplishing nothing.”
Assemblyman Keith Brown (R,C-Northport) proposed a bill last year that would extend the time period for prosecutors to compile evidence to 60 days. It is currently stuck in the Codes Committee. “Current unrealistic deadlines and obligations in our discovery laws statewide are preventing a thorough exchange of information and evidence from occurring, delaying trials and leading to cases being thrown out,” he said.
Brown said the Assembly Republican Conference and district attorneys statewide had been “voicing concerns about our state’s crippling discovery laws and calling for necessary changes” way before Hochul made her announcement. Under his bill, Brown said, it would amend the state’s Criminal Procedure Law and “would not only allow prosecutors the time to properly build cases against a defendant but also allow defendants ample time to craft a defense. It will be interesting to see whether the governor’s plans for discovery law reform come to fruition.”
Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly welcomed Hochul’s remarks, recognizing that the current discovery laws “have created extraordinary challenges for prosecutors, resulting in cases across the state being dismissed and justice denied for victims of crime.”
She acknowledged that “making commonsense changes to this process is imperative and long overdue,” but noted that the laws on the books “continue to hamper our criminal justice system while promoting a revolving door of criminality.”
“Our state’s bail laws are failing New Yorkers and must also be addressed,” Donnelly continued. “Judicial discretion must be returned to judges to prevent potentially dangerous individuals from simply walking free from a courtroom to reoffend without consequence. I continue to urge the governor and lawmakers in Albany to revisit these broken laws and prioritize the safety of our communities.”
Assemblyman Charles Lavine (D-Glen Cove), meanwhile, said he will take a step back and see what Hochul does. “I will evaluate the governor’s proposal with an open state of mind and will act accordingly.”