New York state lawmakers have tentatively agreed with district attorneys on revising criminal discovery laws, addressing a significant hurdle in finalizing the overdue state budget. Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie announced a 'framework' agreement that seeks to provide prosecutors and defenders better clarity on evidence exchange deadlines. This shift comes in response to concerns that the 2019 reforms led to excessive case dismissals, allowing judges to exercise discretion regarding the relevance of evidence before dismissing cases. The deal reflects collaboration among various stakeholders.
The tentative deal between lawmakers and district attorneys aims to amend the state's criminal discovery laws to potentially resolve ongoing budget issues and reduce case dismissals.
State Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie stated, 'I believe we worked through and we have a framework on having the discovery issue resolved.'
The changes to discovery laws, reformed in 2019, have led to increased case dismissals, prompting the need for adjustments that better target evidence relevance.
Heastie noted that the agreement would provide judges discretion over evidence deemed 'prejudicial' before a dismissal can be pursued.
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