DISCOVERY CHANNEL: Add the NYPD commissioner to the list of high-ranking people looking to make changes to the state’s discovery law this year. Commissioner Jessica Tisch today joined the chorus of voices demanding reforms as she embraced Gov. Kathy Hochul’s proposal during her “State of the NYPD” address. Mayor Eric Adams has emphasized the need to change the discovery process. And the state’s district attorneys association separately voted to endorse Hochul’s discovery proposal this morning. The “proposed change to the discovery law will remove onerous restrictions and irreverent technicalities that cause far too many cases to be needlessly dismissed, and allow dangerous offenders to avoid accountability under the law,” Tisch said earlier today. At issue is a 2019 reform to the way discovery worked in the state’s criminal courts. Lawmakers that year enacted requirements that prosecutors share the evidence they have with defense attorneys along a strict timeline. The changes were part of the state’s sweeping reforms to bail and other criminal justice measures that year, when progressive policies were all the rage in Albany. The move on discovery was an effort to put an end to the practice of having those accused of petty crimes sit languishing in jails like Rikers Island, where Kalief Browder infamously spent three years awaiting trial after being arrested at 16 for allegedly stealing a backpack. He took his own life after being released. But the 2019 changes mean more than half of criminal cases in New York City are forced to be dismissed, often because prosecutors say they are unable to hand over the evidence in time. (Prior to discovery reforms, 42 percent of cases were dismissed. In 2023, 62 percent of cases had to be scrapped, according to the Office of Court Administration.) While the state’s bail laws seem unlikely to be tweaked further this year — Hochul and the state Legislature have not indicated any desire to do so — district attorneys, law enforcement and the governor are aligned on discovery. On the other side of the debate, the Legal Aid Society, Citizen Action of New York, the Bronx Defenders and other advocacy groups are hoping to spend this year’s session playing defense to keep the discovery changes untouched. They’ve already formed a coalition — the Alliance to Protect Kalief’s Law — to that end. Hochul’s budget this year includes a slew of changes to discovery law, including limiting the material prosecutors are required to turn over to defense attorneys to only evidence prosecutors deem relevant to the charges in the case. "Governor Hochul wants to take further steps to stop the rinse-and-repeat cycle of offenders being released without consequences, which is why she has proposed closing fatal loopholes in the State's discovery laws that have delayed trials and led to cases being thrown out on minor technicalities,” Hochul spokesperson Sam Spokony told Playbook in a statement. “Our Administration's proposal is a common sense step to protect victims, hold perpetrators accountable, and protect the right to a fair and speedy trial." While Legal Aid and others fight Hochul’s changes, the group isn’t opposed to all changes to discovery. A separate proposal by state Sen. Zellnor Myrie and Assemblymember Micah Lasher, which would allow prosecutors direct access to NYPD databases containing body worn camera footage, is endorsed by both criminal justice advocates and the district attorneys. “The very clear difference is that Senator Myrie’s bill would not in any way limit the scope of the discovery required to be disclosed and would prevent the police from hiding evidence,” said Kalle Condliffe, a supervising attorney with Legal Aid. “Whereas the proposals on the table from the governor change the standards and definition of what prosecutors are required to disclose, to the extent that prosecutors would be permitted to pick and choose which items they believe are relevant and which they don't.” — Jason Beeferman
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