New York state lawmakers have tentatively agreed on changes to criminal discovery laws, which had been a major hurdle in finalizing the state budget. Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie announced the framework deal with New York City district attorneys, aligning with Governor Kathy Hochul's push for reforms that set new evidence exchange deadlines between prosecutors and defense attorneys. The anticipated adjustments aim to prevent unwarranted dismissals of cases due to minor evidence oversights, while empowering judges to assess the impact of missing evidence on case outcomes.
"I believe we worked through and we have a framework on having the discovery issue resolved," Heastie said.
"The changes have allowed too many cases to be dismissed, at times because prosecutors failed to turn over evidence that was only tangential - and not crucial - to the case."
"We feel like we came with a pretty good compromise," Heastie said.
"The framework puts a focus on evidence that is 'related to the charges of a particular case.'"
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