Governor Kathy Hochul and city district attorneys celebrated new changes to New York’s evidence-sharing laws, reflecting a compromise reached in budget negotiations. Initially proposed by Hochul in January, these modifications address concerns about previous discovery reforms, which prosecutors claimed were too stringent and resulted in many case dismissals. Although not all proposed rollbacks made it into the final budget, the successful changes grant judges greater discretion regarding prosecutors’ evidence-sharing obligations, aiming to balance the needs of justice while protecting victims’ rights.
Governor Kathy Hochul celebrated changes to the state’s evidence-sharing laws, emphasizing the urgency of addressing challenges posed by the previous discovery law reforms.
Hochul stated, 'I've said all along, I would hold up over a $250 billion budget on this issue. Behind all the legal jargon, there are real people's lives at stake here.'
The new legislation gives judges more discretion in deciding whether to toss a case due to prosecutors’ failure to share evidence with defense.
Hochul’s proposals aimed to alleviate challenges faced by prosecutors under previous discovery reforms, which had led to an increase in dismissed cases.
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