Lawmakers urged to reject changes to New York’s discovery laws

April 14, 2023 Robert Abruzzese

Lisa Schreibersdorf, Executive Director at Brooklyn Defender Services. Eagle photo by Robert Abruzzese.

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STATEWIDE — Brooklyn Defender Services and The Legal Aid Society have called on lawmakers to reject proposed changes to New York’s discovery laws in the state budget.

The organizations argue that the changes would undermine the 2019 reforms that brought transparency and fairness to the criminal legal system.

“For decades, prosecutors and police in New York were not required to provide crucial evidence, known as ‘discovery,’ to people facing criminal allegations or their attorneys until the eve of trial. Instead, people were coerced to plead guilty blindfolded to the evidence, fueling mass incarceration and wrongful convictions,” said the statement issued by BDS.

Prior to the 2019 reforms, prosecutors and police in New York were not required to provide crucial evidence, known as “discovery,” to people facing criminal allegations or their attorneys until the eve of the trial.

This lack of evidence-sharing led to wrongful convictions and contributed to mass incarceration. The 2019 discovery laws revolutionized the state’s approach, transforming it from one of the worst to one of the best in the country, advocates claim.

The new laws came with additional technological and staffing requirements, demanding more resources for both prosecutors and defenders. While previous state budgets allocated tens of millions of dollars for prosecutors to meet these obligations, Gov. Hochul’s executive budget proposal this year earmarked an additional $40 million for prosecutors but provided no funding for defenders.

Instead of allocating the necessary resources, Gov. Hochul and a handful of District Attorneys are pushing a proposal that would gut the reforms, diminishing prosecutorial accountability and resulting in more wrongful convictions. Both Brooklyn Defender Services and The Legal Aid Society have urged lawmakers to reject these attempts to weaken the discovery laws and to allocate proper resources for their implementation.“Rather than provide the necessary resources to fulfill the purpose of New York’s discovery law, Governor Hochul, alongside a handful of District Attorneys, are attempting to force through a proposal that would gut these much needed reforms,” BDS said through a statement. “Legislative changes to undermine the discovery laws will diminish prosecutorial accountability, result in more wrongful convictions, and cause more New Yorkers to languish in deadly jails for longer.

“Lawmakers must reject the governor’s and prosecutors’ attempts to weaken the discovery laws, and instead fulfill the promise of these laws with proper resources. New York cannot go back to the Blindfold Law.”