Hochul proposes discovery overhaul with DAASNY

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEXSTAR) — New York Gov. Kathy Hochul proposed changes to the state's discovery laws that she said would speed up trials, keep violent people off the street, and hold repeat offenders accountable. She held a press conference on Friday morning in New York City with the District Attorneys Association of the State of New York (DAASNY) to talk about overhauling discovery.

“There’s one example where someone slashes a stranger on the subway and the court had to dismiss the case because they said the prosecutors took too long,” Hochul said. “They were looking for a medical record from the victim that the victim had forgotten about.”

“Discovery” represents a specific phase in the legal process when both sides in a case exchange evidence—like documents or witness statements—before trial. Discovery helps each side understand the facts and prepare arguments before going to court, and is supposed to maintain fairness and transparency.

In New York, discovery reforms in 2020 required prosecutors to give evidence to defense attorneys quickly and early in the process, but also created a loophole that Hochul said dismissed the wrong kinds of cases. A successful challenge against a prosecutor could create a retroactive delay, sometimes automatically triggering a release based on a timing technicality rather than the crime. Plus, law enforcement already struggled to make tight deadlines for sharing lots of records, at least in part because prosecutors don't have easy access to police evidence.

Hochul wants to get rid of those retroactive penalties. Her plan would also include automatic redaction to hide sensitive information like witnesses' addresses. Another proposed change would cut a 48-hour notice requirement for grand jury testimony down to 24 hours to help smaller counties advance cases through the legal system.

DAASNY said their members overwhelmingly back the governor's recommendations. The organization argued that an overhaul would help keep victims safe without sacrificing the spirit of bail reform.

Staten Island District Attorney Michael McMahon, DAASNY’s outgoing president, said the unintended consequences of the 2020 law caused thousands of dismissals and let repeat offenders skate free. He blamed the current law for spiking recidivism, calling Hochul’s reforms a necessary fix.

Critics of the current laws as written said that changing discovery would keep repeat offenders from cycling through the system without consequences. “I understand why the reforms were necessary,” the governor said. “Everyone deserves a fair, speedy trial. But those changes went too far, and legitimate cases are being dismissed on technicalities. That's why I proposed in my Budget this year new language to streamline the process, keeping the just intent while allowing us to crack down on the real criminals.”

The Legal Aid Society in New York City and other advocates pushed back, accusing critics of relying on cherry-picked data. They said that Hochul's claims about loopholes misled the public and ignored fixes made in 2022. Plus, the New York State Court of Appeals ruled in 2023 that prosecutors only need to be diligent, not perfect, in meeting deadlines.

They also said that dismissal rates outside of New York City have actually been steady or even dropped since 2019, and that last-minute evidence from or miscommunication with police usually cause delays, not the current discovery laws. They want lawmakers to give prosecutors access to police databases to make the process move faster. And they reasoned that the state could invest in the resources necessary to update outdated systems and hire more staff.

Advocates of the 2020 reform—referred to as “Kalief's Law”—claim that police and prosecutors used to be able to withhold key evidence until trial, compromising the integrity of the legal process. They've insisted that innocent people would plead guilty without ever seeing the case against them.

The 2020 reform was named for Kalief Browder, from the Bronx. He took his own life at age 22 in 2015 after having spent years as a teen at Rikers Island without trial.

The Alliance to Protect Kalief’s Law—which includes public defenders, civil rights groups, and exonerees—launched in January after the governor's State of the State address. They argue that rolling back discovery would only prolong wrongful imprisonments and disproportionately harm marginalized communities.

“Reopening the discovery debate serves only to distract us from addressing the known drivers of violence in our communities and the proven solutions to combat them: access to stable and secure housing, as well as community-based health and mental health services,” read a written statement from Legal Aid. “To the extent that there are issues with the efficiency of evidence sharing, the legislation recently introduced by Senator Myrie and Assembly Member Lasher addresses those concerns.”

In the Legislature, a bill that's independent of the governor's proposal would give district attorneys direct access to police records in criminal cases. Instead of sharing files manually, police departments would give prosecutors login credentials to review evidence—like reports, audio, or video—from cases in their county. According to the sponsors of the bill—State Sen. Zellnor Myrie and Assemblymember Micah Lasher, both Democrats—S613/A825 would let police focus on public safety, not paperwork.

The Alliance to Protect Kalief’s Law includes the Legal Aid Society, The Innocence Project, Citizen Action NY, the Bronx Defenders, New Hour for Women and Children Long Island, the Center for Community Alternatives, Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem, Queens Defenders, Brooklyn Defenders, the New York State Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the New York State Defenders Association, Freedom Agenda, the Erie County Assigned Counsel Program, the Nassau County Legal Aid Society, the Ontario County Public Defender, the Legal Aid Bureau of Buffalo, the St. John’s University School of Law Defense and Advocacy Clinic, It Could Happen To You, and The Bail Project.