Members of the New York City Bar view recent changes in the state’s mandatory discovery in criminal cases as a setback for those accused of crimes.
To give some background, several years ago, the state instituted sweeping reforms in criminal pre-trial procedure.
Before that, if a person accused wanted to see the prosecutor’s evidence, they had to ask for it. More importantly, the prosecutor did not have to provide it until right as the trial started.
The result was New Yorkers had to accept plea offers without really knowing what the evidence against them was. Particularly if they were otherwise facing significant jail time, it was very temping for people to plead guilty to crimes for which they were not responsible.
The reforms corrected this problem, requiring prosecutors to provide the information they had about a criminal case earlier in the process and imposing real consequences if they did not timely comply.
Now, New York has scaled these reforms back after receiving complaints from law enforcement and victims groups. In backing the rollback, the Governor mentioned cases of domestic violence and sexual assault.
- The recent changes give prosecutors additional grace if they are not able to provide discovery to the defense by the applicable timelines.
- The new law also allows courts to evaluate a prosecutor’s efforts to provide discovery overall, rather than focusing on isolated missing information, so that cases do not get dismissed on what the Governor sees as technicalities.
- The law has narrowed the list of items prosecutors must provide. According to the Governor’s office, the eliminated items are marginally relevant in most cases.
- The new law reportedly protects certain information about witnesses from discovery, so they are not afraid to work with prosecutors and police.
While these changes may come as a disappointment for those concerned about the rights of defendants, those accused of crimes still have the right to see the evidence against them well before trial.
In any event, it is important for those accused to understand what information they have the right to review and to know how to evaluate it for any available defenses.